Minimum Teaching Workload Expectations

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Policy Number:
UW-1100
Responsible Office:
Office of the Provost

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

This policy establishes minimum teaching workload expectations for faculty and instructional academic staff at UW-Madison, consistent with Wis. Stat. §36.115(10); Regent Policy Document 20-25, Teaching Workload Policy; and UW System Administrative Policy 200-Interim 03 Interim, Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload. 

This policy provides requirements for implementation at the academic division and academic department levels. Implementation plans should reflect core principles of being equitable, appropriate, transparent, clear, flexible, and accountable.

UW-Madison aims to create, integrate, transmit, and apply knowledge. To accomplish this, faculty and instructional academic staff engage in teaching and research and perform academic, clinical, public service, outreach, and extension activities. Thus, the normal or expected educational workload will vary among academic departments and individuals.

It is important to acknowledge the division of time between teaching, research, outreach, and service activities differs by school, college, and department, according to the needs of the students, stakeholders, and discipline, as does the manner of delivering educational content to their respective learners. Furthermore, this policy accommodates differences in skills and experiences among individuals within academic departments and allows schools, colleges, and departments to assemble highly effective teams of faculty and staff to achieve their teaching, research, outreach, and service objectives.

Definitions:
Administrative Duties
Duties a faculty or instructional academic staff member may be asked to take on as part of their faculty or instructional academic staff role such as leading a program or strategic initiative and does not include chairperson duties.
Academic Department
As defined in UW-805 Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 5 – Departmental Faculties, a group of faculty members recognized by the faculty and chancellor, and the Board of Regents, as dealing with a common field of knowledge or as having common or closely related scholarly interests. This definition includes a functional equivalent designated by UW-1047 Departments and Department-Like Academic Units.
Academic Division
An academic group of the university, defined in UW-803 Faculty Policies and Procedures Chapter 3 – Faculties of the Colleges and Schools, that serves as a school, college, or like unit and is led by a dean or director who reports to the provost.
Center
As defined in UW-1002 Establishing, Evaluating, and Changing Centers and Institutes, a mechanism for faculty and staff to collaborate and develop depth in a defined range of problems within a discipline or apply a broader vision to issues that extend across traditional departmental structures.
Clinical Appointments
Provide instructional and professional services in a clinical setting, manage or provide patient care in hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and associated teaching clinical practices, and may be responsible for the supervision of the clinical training of students.
Credit Hour
An amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement as defined in UW-1011 The Credit Hour.
Department Chairperson
Serves as the official channel of communications for all matters affecting the academic department or department-like unit as a whole. The individual in this role must be a member of the faculty.
Extension Appointments
Faculty or academic staff with appointments partially or fully funded through the Division of Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Faculty
As defined in Wis. Stat. §36.05(8), an individual who holds the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor in an academic department or its functional equivalent in an institution and such academic staff as may be designated by the chancellor and faculty of the institution. For purposes of this policy, this does not include the chancellor, provost, or deans of an institution. It also does not include adjunct or visiting faculty, nor individuals in emerit status.
Group Instruction
Course sections intended for multiple students and one or more instructors. Course sections identified as lectures, labs, discussions, or seminars are considered group instruction.
Health Disciplines
For the purposes of this policy as defined by UW System Administrative Policy 200-Interim 03 Interim, Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload, includes disciplines related to human health, disease, and healthcare, including but not limited to natural sciences, psychology, social work, nutrition, physical therapy, medicine, and public health. It also includes disciplines related to animal health, disease, medicine and clinical care.
Institute
As defined in UW-1002 Establishing, Evaluating, and Changing Centers and Institutes, a mechanism for faculty and staff to collaborate and develop depth in a defined range of problems within a discipline or apply a broader vision to issues that is broader in scope than a center.
Instructional Academic Staff
Academic staff members who are expected to provide for-credit instruction. It does not include adjunct or visiting instructional academic staff, nor individuals in emeritus titles.
Scope:

Faculty and instructional academic staff.

Policy:

  1. Teaching Workload Minimums

    1. In accordance with Wis. Stat. §36.115(10), Regent Policy Document 20-25, Teaching Workload Policy, and UW System Administrative Policy 200-Interim 03 Interim, Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload, each full-time faculty and instructional academic staff member with a nine-month appointment will teach a minimum of 12 credit hours per academic year.
    2. If employed on a 12-month appointment, an additional three credit hours are added to the 12 credit hours, totaling 15 credit hours per academic year.
    3. Clinical appointments in health disciplines and extension appointments that meet requirements through alternative measures and instructional activities are excluded.

  2. Course Minimums

    1. Each full-time faculty and instructional academic staff member must teach at least one course per semester.
    2. Those on a 12-month appointment must also teach one course during the summer session.
    3. Faculty and instructional academic staff who use adjustments outlined in section V of this policy to meet the minimum teaching workload expectation must teach three credits of group instruction and may not have to meet the course minimums per semester as outlined in this section.

  3. Adjustments to Teaching Workload Minimums

    The scenarios outlined in this section describe circumstances in which a faculty or instructional academic staff member’s effective teaching load is reduced, such that section 1 teaching workload minimums and section II's course minimums per may be modified.

    1. Less than full-time faculty and instructional academic staff members will have their minimum credit hours reduced proportional to their full-time equivalency (FTE) and may meet the teaching requirement in one semester.
    2. Faculty and instructional academic staff members who also hold appointments that do not include teaching responsibilities, such as associate dean will have their minimum credit hours reduced proportional to their FTE in their faculty or instructional academic staff appointment.
    3. Sabbatical and Other Leave
      1. Faculty on sabbatical leave and faculty and instructional academic staff on federal and/or Wisconsin Family and Medical Act leave, parental leave, a leave of absence, or other approved leave that changes their teaching assignments are not required to meet the minimum requirements in this policy.
      2. Short-term leaves, such as sick leave or brief absences that do not change the teaching assignments, do not change teaching workload minimums.
    4. Buyout
      1. Faculty and instructional academic staff may reduce their teaching workload expectations in proportion to their base salary and fringe benefit rate using buyouts that are paid through non-general purpose revenue (GPR) and tuition sources.
      2. GPR and tuition funds may not be used to reduce teaching workload expectations unless funded through the Freshwater Collaborative, Dairy Innovation Hub, or other programs categorically funded in Chapter 20, Wis. Stats., Appropriations and Budget Management.
      3. Department chairpersons must approve any reductions in teaching workload expectations through buyouts.  
      4. Buyout of faculty and instructional academic staff salary and fringe benefit rates must be reflected accurately in the payroll system.
    5. Administrative Duties
      1. Some faculty and instructional academic staff may be assigned non-teaching duties as part of their instructional appointments. Any reduction of teaching workload expectations must be directly related to the expectation of the administrative commitment and not for activities that may be considered under section V of this policy.
      2. Consistent with Wis. Stat. §36.115(10); Regent Policy Document 20-25, Teaching Workload Policy; and UW System Administrative Policy 200-Interim 03 Interim, Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload, UW-Madison is permitted to reduce teaching workload expectations for up to 10% of its faculty and instructional academic staff for administrative expectations. Any reductions for this purpose must be reviewed and approved by the academic department chairperson, dean or director of the academic division or the dean or director designee, and the provost or provost designee annually.
    6. Additional Adjustment Factors
      1. UW-Madison is permitted to reduce teaching and workload expectations for up to 10% of its faculty and instructional academic staff to accommodate the needs of specific disciplines or other factors. Any reductions for this purpose must be reviewed and approved by the academic department chairperson, dean or director of the academic division or the dean or director’s designee, and the provost or provost designee annually.
      2. These may include but are not limited to:
        1. Demonstrated market considerations approved by chancellor or chancellor designee;
        2. Accreditation requirements in specific disciplines;
        3. Development and/or implementation of best practices in teaching, including improvement of specific courses;
        4. Fellowships related to teaching;
        5. Changes to roles and responsibilities due to organizational and/or institution needs; or
        6. New and early career faculty and instructional academic staff who need time to develop new courses, establish research programs or carry out other activities that are necessary to become established in their roles.

  4. Chairperson Adjustments

    Faculty or instructional academic staff serving as department chairperson, or director of a center or an institute that has been formally recognized through established governance processes, may have their teaching workload expectations reduced proportional to their department chairperson or director responsibilities and are not included in the percentage of employees that may have teaching workload expectations reduced for administrative duties in section III., E.

  5. Adjustments to Capture Instructional Activities Not Accounted for in Student Credit Hours

    1. Acknowledging that teaching also occurs beyond formal mechanisms of courses and credits and considering that instructor effort varies by course enrollment and type of instruction, academic divisions and academic departments may develop credit hour conversions and define credit equivalencies in their teaching workload implementation plans.
    2. Individuals who report equivalencies not accounted for in student credit hours must teach at least three credits of group instruction during the same academic year.

  6. Academic Division Procedures

    1. Each academic division will develop procedures and specify the criteria used to determine how the division will meet this policy.
    2. An academic division may allow academic departments to develop procedures subject to dean approval.
    3. Academic division and academic department procedures will be submitted to the provost after dean review for approval and certification that it is consistent with the standards in this university policy. These procedures must be reviewed and submitted at least once every five years.
    4. At a minimum, divisional procedures will include:
      1. Overall teaching workload expectations for faculty and instructional academic staff. Teaching workload assignments for individual faculty and academic staff members should take into account research and service/extension expectations and must meet and may exceed the minimum requirements set forth in sections I and II of this policy;
      2. Criteria for adjustments, including buyouts, credit hour conversions, credit equivalencies, and other factors as indicated in this policy.
Related UW-Madison Policies:
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:
External References:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Chancellor
Policy Manager:
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Contact:
Vice Provost for Data Academic Planning & Institutional Research -- Allison La Tarte, allison.latarte@wisc.edu, (608) 890-4701
Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs -- Kent Weigel, kent.weigel@wisc.edu, (608) 262-0767
Effective Date:
09-01-2026
Date Issued:
04-13-2026
Retrieved:
04-13-2026 12:19:36