Classification

Re-Classification or Re-Title Requests

What is Reclassification/Retitle

Within the University of Wisconsin System, there are opportunities to evaluate and potentially modify one of three areas of an employee’s position.

Reclassification – refers to the transition from one employment classification group to another. For example, a University Staff position is transitioned to an Academic Staff position.
Retitling – refers to the assessment of whether a job has either dynamically and substantially changed so that the title for which it was originally placed is no longer appropriate or valid. For example, an accountant’s work transforms to reflect that more of a purchasing agent.
Promotion/Progression – refers to the assessment of a position as to whether the duties assigned to the current incumbent have increased substantially enough to warrant a promotion or progression within their current title. For example, Accountant I move to Accountant II; or an Assistant Director moves to an Associate Director; or a Budget Planner progresses to a Senior Budget Planner. Incumbents must meet the minimum policy requirements and be in an eligible position in order to promote/progress within their title.

Last modified: 06/14/2022

Requesting a classification review

When the specific nature of the duties assigned to a position change so significantly it may be time to request a review of the position to determine if there may be an opportunity to reclassify the position.

Reclassification involves a review of all titles within the current classification, (e.g. Academic Staff, University Staff, etc.), and outside of the current classification.

Reclassification review is about the position - not the incumbent. When a supervisor or department chair begins to observe that the specific need for a position is changing, they may request a review of the position. In order to request a review, the supervisor will need to provide Human Resources with the following:

Proposed, updated position description
Justification as to why the position need has changed
Justification as to the proposed need and how it differs from the current, authorized position.

The justification need only be a few sentences to paragraphs in explanation.

The proposed changes and justifications should be combined into one document and sent to hrinfo@uwlax.edu for review. The subject heading should be "Classification Review". A member of the Human Resources Team will review the request and provide a response.

Please note, that some work may increase the need for additional credentials or education requirements. This may have an impact on the current job incumbent.

Human Resources uses the UW System Administrative Policy as a guide to review titles and the nature of work that is being reviewed. You can learn more about the Title and Compensation system here.

Last modified: 02/09/2021

Review Classification upon vacancy of a position

The other time in which a classification review may be needed is at the point in time when a vacancy within a position has been created and the requesting unit supervisor/chair is requesting to search for the open resource.

In this scenario, the supervisor/chair should follow this process: https://kb.uwlax.edu/108420.

Last modified: 02/09/2021

Position Descriptions

Position descriptions are required for all positions at UWL. You are encouraged to use the attached template as a starting point in drafting a position description. The information you provide in the template will be reviewed by Human Resources and once finalized, can be transferred to the position management module in PeopleAdmin, where you are able to view and modify position descriptions for your subordinates.

Additional Resources

Position classification is based on the duties and responsibilities of the job and not on the qualifications held by an applicant or incumbent. All positions are assigned to a specific title and salary range. This assignment of positions to titles is based on “best fit” using the title definitions.