June University Policy Distribution
There are no draft policies in the June University Policy Distribution.
SYS Policy Approvals
On June 17, President Rothman approved substantive revisions to SYS 807, Medical Withdrawal and Tuition Adjustment Policy.
On June 18, President Rothman also approved technical revisions to SYS 410, Purchase & Payment of Business Air Travel and SYS 430, Travel & Expense – Purchase & Payment Miscellaneous Travel Expenses.
A brief summary of these items can be found below.
SYS 410, Purchase & Payment of Business Air Travel
These policy revisions will be effective as of July 1, 2024.
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- This policy outlines the process and requirements for purchasing and paying for airfare for business purposes. Proposed technical revisions to this policy are as follows:
- In the second bullet of Section 1, removed reference to Travel Incorporated as the contract with this vendor is ending on July 1, 2024.
- In Section 4, reformatted the statute citation to meet SYS policy formatting standards.
- In Section 5, updated the definition of “Independent Study Abroad” to align with how the terms are defined in other policies.
University Comments & Concerns
As this was a technical revision, this policy was not sent to universities for comment. The Finance and General Administrative Policy Committee did not have any concerns upon their review.
SYS 430, Travel & Expense – Purchase & Payment Miscellaneous Air Travel
These technical revisions were effective upon the signature of the UW System President.
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- This policy applies to any miscellaneous travel expenses paid on behalf of or reimbursed to employees, students, contractors, invited guests, other non-employees with university funds.
- In the Miscellaneous Travel Section, under the subsection Parking, language was adjusted to state that parking charges will be paid, not only reimbursed.
- In this same section, language was added to emphasize that receipts must be provided for “all parking paid with the purchasing card and any reimbursable parking over $25.”
University Comments & Concerns
As this was a technical revision, this policy was not sent to universities for comment. The Finance and General Administrative Policy Committee did not have any concerns upon their review.
SYS 807, Medical Withdrawal and Tuition Adjustment Policy
This policy was effective upon the signature of the UW System President.
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- This policy outlines provisions with respect to medical withdrawals and refunds beyond the 100 percent refund date.
- Title was changed to add “Medical Withdrawal and Tuition Adjustment Policy.”
- Throughout the policy, replaced “behavioral health” with “mental health.”
- Throughout the policy, replaced “institution” with “university.”
- Section 2 was updated to reflect office and title changes at Universities of Wisconsin.
- In Section 5, the definition of “Immediate Family Member” was changed to add “… or other member of the student’s primary familial support unit.”
- In Section 5, a definition for Last Date of Class Attendance was added.
- In Section 6.B, in the last sentence of the first paragraph, replaced “only possible” with “primary” regarding transcript adjustments for applications submitted after the end of the term.
- In Section 6.B, in the last sentence of the second paragraph, added “which could result in a change to the student’s overall financial aid” to clarify the possible outcome of the Financial Aid Office making award or repayment decisions.
- In Section 6.D, amended language about re-entry steps to make the process less prescriptive and burdensome on the student.
- Changed “medical circumstances” to “rationale” in the last sentence of the first paragraph.
- Added language to clarify the purpose to reentry activities, and that reentry activities should generally focus on reminding students of university and community resources.
- Added potential steps/options for re-entry activities institutions could provide.
- Added “Reentry requirements to return must not put undue burden on the student to prove their readiness to return.”
- Refocused language regarding a letter from a healthcare provider or meeting with a campus official to read, “If the institution requires a letter from a healthcare provider, the focus should be on aftercare recommendations that would allow the institution to offer resources that would support a successful transition back to campus.”
- Removed the requirement that this process be consistent with other institutional return processes.
University Comments and Concerns
See the SYS 807 University Comments & Concerns page for a full summary of the comments received and how they were addressed.
Fiscal Year 2025 Policy Priorities Memo
Below please find the FY 2025 Policy Priorities Memo.
This document details the policy work completed in FY 2024, as well as a list of SYS policy priorities for FY 2025. The policies were identified as high priority due to the policy’s content, the last revision date, or other emergent factors (e.g., changes to federal or state regulation). University leadership and Shared Governance Statewide Representatives were asked to provide input on SYS policy priorities that should be undertaken by Universities of Wisconsin Administration in the coming year. Comments were provided to Universities of Wisconsin Administration policy owners for final consideration in the development of this plan.
The list in the attached memo is not exhaustive, as other issues may arise as the fiscal year progresses, leading to other policy matters taking precedence. In addition, as part of the Universities of Wisconsin strategic plan, the Office of Enrollment & Student Success conducted a review of all SYS and Regent policies with an eye to identifying policies that created barriers, challenges or concerns that impact enrollment, student success or the student experience with a goal of making policy improvements. That work will be completed this summer and a report is expected to be distributed by early fall. Finally, policy owners were asked to include policies that will require revisions in response to the Administrative Transformation Program (ATP) and the implementation of WorkDay in their priorities, and it is likely that additional policies will be identified closer to the start of that initiative.
Quarterly preview memos will be provided at the beginning of each quarter with an updated listing of the policy work anticipated for the next three months.
Upcoming Policy Effective Dates
The following policy revisions were previously approved by President Rothman and have effective dates of July 1, 2024. Please review the revisions in preparation for the upcoming effective date:
- SYS 410, Purchase & Payment of Business Air Travel (approved June 18, 2024)
- SYS 1032, Information Security: Awareness (approved December 20, 2023)
- SYS 1221, Paid Parental Leave (approved May 28, 2024)