Human Resources News

SYS 138, Award of Credit by Prior Learning Assessment

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective upon approval.

This is a new policy and represents the elevation of a section of SYS 135 to a separate policy, set of procedures, and guidance. The policy outlines the definitions, evaluation and documentation practices for PLA.

SYS 616, University of Wisconsin Student Driver's Under the State's Liability Protection

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective on August 1, 2021.

This is a new policy to provide direction on when University System students are covered under the State’s liability protection as agents of the State. The University of Wisconsin System, as a unit of the State of Wisconsin, is protected by Wis. Stat. s. 895.46 (1). This coverage protects the UW System, its officers, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses arising out of any acts considered within the scope of employment and operations.

The Wisconsin Department of Administration Legal Counsel was consulted in cooperation with e Bureau of State Risk Management. They recommended the language that outlines when university students qualify as “agents" of the State for purposes of liability coverage under Wis. Stats. SS 893.82 and 895.46, under certain circumstances.

SYS 620, Working in Isolation

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective on June 1, 2021.

This policy has been developed in response to the FY20 laboratory safety audit conducted at UW System institutions, which broadly procedural gaps at the campus level regarding the safety of individuals working in isolation or alone. This policy will assist UW System institutions in their process improvement efforts to provide safe working environments at UW facilities.

SYS 805, Tuition and Fee Policies for Credit Instruction

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective on June 1, 2021.

This policy outlines statutory, Board of Regents, and administrative policy provisions with respect to the payment and refund of fees and a variety of specialized fee assessment issues. The proposed revisions reflect the rescission of Regent Policy Document 4-15, Excess Credit Policy.

SYS 810, Study Abroad & Study Away Programs

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective upon approval.

This policy addresses the funding for study abroad and study away programs and normalizes these practices across the UW System. Revisions to the policy add the definition for "Study Away" and added references to study away in the policy body.

SYS 1032, Information Security: Awareness

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective May 1, 2022.

The policy ensures that all individuals who interact with non-public University of Wisconsin (UW) System information technology assets are exposed to information security awareness materials commensurate with their role within the UW System. The policy has been broken out into two sections, including Security Awareness Training and Phishing Simulations.

SYS 1210, Vacation, Paid Leave Banks, and Vacation Cash Payouts

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective upon approval.

The proposed revision changes decision date for vacation banking from November 30th to September 30th.  This was changed to make date for vacation banking align with date late sick leave reports are due before sick leave reduction occurs. The change is needed due to HRS update.​

SYS 1212, Sick Leave

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective upon approval.

First revised section requires that any employees seeking to take advantage of the sick leave credit conversion program with WI ETF must submit all missing leave reports within 90 days of termination of retirement.  This change is made to allow for timely certification of sick leave credit with ETF.

Second revised section clarifies that an employee who is laid off during their initial 18-month sick leave entitlement period does not get to access the full amount of the initial entitlement (176 hours) for purposes of sick leave conversion.  Rather, they receive the amount of sick leave they would have otherwise earned, absent the 176 hour Initial Entitlement.  This language change reflects the existing practice, the policy update is for greater transparency for employees around these practices.

SYS 1250, Job Security

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, May 19.

This policy will be effective upon approval.

The proposed change extends the probationary period for law enforcement personnel, to be consistent with industry standards and the requirements of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Standards Board.

SYS 165, The Academic Calendar

Feedback on this policy is due Wednesday, June 23.

This policy will be effective upon approval.

As a result of the recent Regent policy update and rescission of the Board academic calendar policy, it became necessary to review and update the System academic calendar policy. A review of the current system academic calendar resulted in the decision to eliminate material in the policy that is not related to the academic calendar. After consultation with System Legal and UW System Human Recourses and the creation of a policy analysis crosswalk with other system policies, several components of the policy were recommended for elimination. The rationale for these revisions is to make clear the UW System adoption of the federal credit hour definition as a guiding principle for our institutions.​

Information Security Policy and Procedures Approval

On April 20, President Thompson approved the new information security policy SYS 1042, Information Security: Threat and Vulnerability Management.

On April 14, Vice President Langdon approved the new information security procedure SYS 1042.A, Information Security: Threat and Vulnerability Management Standard.

For more details on the policy and procedure, see the summaries below:

SYS 1042, Information Security: Threat and Vulnerability Management

This policy will be effective April 1, 2022.

·        The purpose of SYS 1042, Information Security: Threat and Vulnerability Management is to establish the minimum requirements for vulnerability management, vulnerability scanning, patch management, threat intelligence and penetration testing of University of Wisconsin (UW) System information technology (IT) assets.

·        All University- owned or leased IT assets must have an operational process and technical enforcement for discovering, reviewing, reporting, and remediating vulnerabilities.

·        Institutions shall report and confirm compliance with this policy on an annual basis.

SYS 1042.A, Information Security: Threat and Vulnerability Management Standard

This procedure will be effective April 1, 2022.

·        The purpose of SYS 1042.A, Information Security: Threat and Vulnerability Management Standard is listed below.

·        Automated vulnerability scanning tool(s) must be run against University- owned or leased IT assets on a periodic basis commensurate with each UW institution’s risk tolerance. At a minimum, IT assets containing High-Risk data must be scanned monthly and all other University owned, or leased IT assets must be scanned quarterly.

·        UW Institutions must conduct routine threat Intelligence gathering and sharing.

·        UW institutions are responsible for maintaining a documented patch management program.

·        UW institutions are responsible for documenting vulnerability and patch management metrics.