On Thursday, November 21, Governor Tony Evers signed AB 38- University of Wisconsin research contracts into law as Act 36. The bill will streamline the process by which UW System faculty members can enter into research contracts involving the university and an organization with which the same faculty members are connected. Currently, if a university faculty member enters into a research contract with an organization with which the faculty member is involved, the contract must undergo a 45-day passive review process by the Board of Regents if the contract is worth more than $250,000. This delays getting beneficial research into the market that can improve lives and communities. AB 38 eliminates the passive review process and lifts the contract threshold, but it requires the Board of Regents to create a policy on management plans that institutions must adhere to, ensuring all research contracts continue to be appropriately managed. See the UW System news release for more on President Cross’s response on the bill signing.

The Governor also signed into law AB 189- Transferability of courses between the UW System, Technical College System, and Tribally controlled and private colleges as Act 46. This requires the number of credits under the Universal Credit Transfer Agreement to increase from 30 to 72 credits by the 2022-23 academic year, and it encourages institutions to enter into program-to-program articulation agreements that focus on high demand fields of study.

Lastly, the Governor signed into law SB 142- Late Payment of tuition benefits for student veterans enrolled in the UW System of Technical College as Act 47. This bill puts into state statute a prohibition that prevents the UW System and technical college system from taking any adverse action against a student who receives federal veteran benefits for tuition if the benefits are not paid to the institution by the institution’s deadline for tuition and fees. UW System institutions are already compliant and do not take adverse action in these cases. Congress also passed the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act on December 31, 2018, at the federal level with the same type of prohibition.

The UW System facilitated an event with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) on November 21 at the Fluno Center in Madison. The full-day workshop explored the unique missions of foundations and affiliated organizations and national trends surrounding these organizations.  Some of the topics covered were:

• History of Foundations and National Trends
• Annual and longer-term Risk Management
• Alignment between University and Foundation
• Best Practices for Board Governance
• What to Measure and Report to the Board of Directors

Please e-mail Julie Jonuzi, at njonuzi@uwsa.edu, if you want a copy of the presentation and materials that were distributed at the workshop.

President Ray Cross, Regent President Drew Petersen, and Regents Jason Plante, Cris Peterson, Edmund Manydeeds III, and Karen Walsh joined UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Jim Schmidt and UW-Stout Interim Chancellor Patrick Guilfoile on Wednesday, November 20, for a series of events at UW-Eau Claire for the seventh stop of UW System’s All In Wisconsin tour. The tour is intended to demonstrate the value both UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout bring to the western part of the state. A full recap of the event can be found on the UW System news release.

On Tuesday, November 19, the Senate Committee on Education held a public hearing on SB 496– requiring that student identification cards include contact information for suicide prevention hotlines. The Assembly companion bill has already passed the Assembly with Amendment 1, and we expect the Senate version to continue to move through the Senate with the same amendment. The next step will be the Senate Committee holding an executive session to vote on the bill in committee.

The Associated Press- NORC Center of Public Affairs Research recently released the report Young Americans’ Views On The Value of Higher Education, which explores young adult and teen views on the value and cost of higher education and how prepared students feel going into their post-secondary pathway. The study also highlights concerns about college affordability and how teens view legislative proposals to deal with this issue.

President Ray Cross and Missy Hughes, Secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC),  met on Tuesday, November 12 in Eau Claire. They unveiled a new online resource to help businesses establish internship programs. The online toolkit will help businesses that may want to set up an internship program, but lack the resources to do so. See the news release for a full recap of the event and the link to the online resource.

Event Photos

The Assembly held a floor session on Tuesday, November 12, and considered AB 38-University of Wisconsin Research Contracts including  Senate Amendment 1. The bill has been enrolled and goes to the Governor for his signature. This will be a positive change to make the process for approving certain research contracts on all campuses more efficient, while maintaining strong accountability standards for their approval.