Change of Academic/Administrative Home for Academic Programs and Subjects

Layout for printing
Policy Number:
UW-1000
Responsible Office:
Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

Academic programs and subject listings are associated with academic units. This relationship is critical in linking academic activity to the academic unit for purposes of administration, evaluation, governance, and resource allocation, among others.

Definitions:
Academic Division (School/College)
An academic group of the university, defined in UW-803, Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 3, that serves as a school, college or like unit and is led by a dean or director who reports to the provost. 
Academic Program
An area of study that leads to a degree/major, certificate, minor or named option.
Academic Unit
The academic and administrative home for an academic program or subject listing, also known as an academic department, housed within an academic division (school/college). The academic unit originates all program and curricular changes through academic governance; ensures the curriculum is appropriate and that courses are offered regularly; provides student support services such as advising; prepares all content for the Guide and assures the program and subject listing is represented accurately at all times; oversees the course evaluation process; coordinates assessment and program review; and receives allocation for program enrollment, degrees, certificates and credits in the information systems. Three types of academic units exist at UW-Madison:
Department
A group of faculty with a common field of knowledge or closely related scholarly interests. A department serves as the tenure home for faculty, exercises a broad range of functions and duties in relation to faculty academic life, and may house academic programs and course subject listings. A department is approved as such by the University Academic Planning Council, the University Committee, and the Faculty Senate per UW-805, Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 5. In some cases, the academic division serves as the department.
Department-like Unit with Tenure
A group of faculty who are not all in the same department but who share responsibilities for departmental functions. This unit exercises a broad range of functions and duties in relation to faculty academic life, and generally houses at least one academic program (degree/major or certificate) or subject listing. A department-like academic unit usually does not serve as a tenure home. When a department-like academic unit is approved to serve as a tenure home, each faculty member's tenure home will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the University Committee.
An academic organization that has department-like status and serves as a faculty tenure home, sometimes with restrictions, is approved as such by the University Academic Planning Council and the University Committee per UW-805, Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 5.
Department-like Unit without Tenure
A group of faculty who are not all in the same department but who share responsibilities for departmental functions. This unit exercises a broad range of functions and duties in relation to faculty academic life, and generally houses at least one academic program (deree/major or certificate) or subject listing but does not grant tenure or act as a tenure home. 
Subject Listing
Structure for organizing groups of courses in a related subject area or topic that represent a coherent area of study.
UDDS
An organizational code comprised of the Business Unit (U), Division (D), Department (D), and Sub-Department (S).
Scope:

All academic divisions and units.

Policy:

Academic units must meet the standards of a department or department-like unit as defined in UW-805 Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 5, and be housed within an academic division per UW-803, Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 3. A record of any change made to an academic program or subject listing’s association with an academic unit must be documented and approved through governance.

A proposal to change the association between an academic program or subject listing and an academic unit must be originated by either the current or proposed unit. Memos that document faculty governance votes at the academic unit level and academic division level must accompany the proposal. A change to the academic unit for an academic program is made in Lumen Programs. A change to a subject listing is made through Lumen Structures.

If a change of academic home is embedded in a larger restructuring proposal, the proposal must include these same points.

Related UW-Madison Policies:
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:
External References:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Policy Manager:
Vice Provost for Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research
Contact:
Associate Director, Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research -- Michelle Young, MEYOUNG@WISC.EDU, (608) 262-2143
Effective Date:
12-01-2016
Date Issued:
12-01-2016
Revised Dates:

02-19-2020, 02-27-2023

Retrieved:
04-19-2024 19:20:53