Departments and Department-Like Academic Units

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Policy Number:

UW-1047

Responsible Office:

Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

This policy specifies the criteria the University Academic Planning Council utilizes in the establishment, reorganization, or discontinuation of academic units.

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, also referred to as a plan or subplan.

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 (degree/major or certificate) or subject listing but does not grant tenure or act as a tenure home.

Scope:

The University Academic Planning Council and faculty of schools/colleges seeking to establish, reorganize, or discontinue academic units.

Policy:

The University Academic Planning Council uses the following criteria, which includes definitions, privileges and responsibilities, when considering proposals for the establishment, reorganization, or discontinuation of academic units.

Research Centers are excluded here because they do not serve students through academic programs or subjects/courses. Governance approval is required for a department or other unit to serve the functions listed here.

 

Table 1. Features of Departments and Department-Like Academic Units

Criteria for Academic Units	Department	Department-Like Unit with Tenure	Department-Like Unit without Tenure
Common Use	Serves as a tenure home. Supports the scholarly work of faculty. Houses academic programs and subjects (courses) for enrolling students. Supports the research/scholarship and outreach/public service missions of the university. Maintains sufficient number of faculty and infrastructure to support faculty mentoring and development.	Exists as an academic unit at a level equivalent to a department (not a subdepartment). May serve as a tenure home; assignment of faculty to the unit as a tenure home requires University Committee approval. Houses academic programs and subjects (courses) for enrolling students. Supports the research/scholarship and outreach missions of the university. Maintains adequate governance structures to support participating faculty and staff, and enrolled students.	Exists as an academic unit at a level equivalent to a department (not a subdepartment). Does NOT serve as a tenure home. Houses academic programs subjects (courses) for enrolling students. Supports the research/scholarship and outreach/public service missions of the university. Maintains adequate governance structures to support participating faculty and staff, and enrolled students.
Faculty Tenure Home	Yes	Yes University Committee approves the assignment of any faculty member to this kind of unit as a tenure home.	No
Approval Path	School/College > University Academic Planning Council > (University Committee) > Faculty Senate (reading only)	School/College > University Academic Planning Council > (University Committee) > Faculty Senate (reading only)	School/College > University Academic Planning Council Follows same path as academic program or subject
Faculty Leadership; selected per UW-805	Chair (appointed as chair in Human Resources System with tenure in the department) or Academic Program Director with tenure or joint executive appointment in the department.	Academic Program Director, including those with 0% appointment, with tenure home or joint executive appointment in the academic unit.	Academic Program Director, including those with 0% appointment, with joint executive appointment in the academic unit.
Governance and Faculty Oversight	Executive Committee comprised of tenured faculty and joint executive appointees (UW-805)	Faculty with joint executive appointments and Academic Staff (Category B Instructional) as defined by the unit’s governance documents approved by the University Academic Planning Council and the University Committee, and consistent with UW-805, as applicable.	Faculty with joint executive appointments and Academic Staff (Category B Instructional) as defined by the unit’s governance documents approved by the University Academic Planning Council and the University Committee, and consistent with UW-805, as applicable.
Tenured faculty may have joint executive appointments (UW-805)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Faculty and academic staff may have joint department appointments (UW-805)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Faculty and academic staff may have affiliate appointments (UW-805)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Research mission	Expected	Expected	Dependent on mission
Outreach/public service mission	Expected	Expected	Dependent on mission
Teaching/ instructional mission	Expected	Expected	Expected
Home for academic degree/major or certificate programs	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
Home for Subjects (courses)	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
Responsible to maintain necessary records required by the university in regard to teaching, research, and public service	Yes	Yes	Yes
Follows requirements set by school/college, university or external agencies with respect to teaching, research and public service	Yes	Yes	Yes
Name Format	Department of . . . School/College of . . .	Center of/for . . . . . . Program “Department” is not used.	Center of/for . . . . . . Program “Department” is not used.
Identified by Department ID – UDDS	Yes	Yes	Yes

Related UW-Madison Policies:

UW-805 Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 5 – Departmental Faculties

UW-806 Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 6 – Faculty Committees

UW-1002 Establishing, Evaluating, and Changing Centers and Institutes

UW-1013 Substantially Redirect an Academic Program

Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

Business Services: Department Change Request Form

OHR: Organizational Department Changes/Requests

External References:

Regent Policy Document 4-19, Naming of University Academic Units

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:

08-30-2019

Date Issued:

08-30-2019

Revised Dates:

02-19-2020, 06-30-2023

Retrieved:

07-27-2025 20:49:12