Administrative Resources

Personnel and Curricular Deadlines - See CHAIRS tab.

By-Laws Template for all Academic Departments (Faculty Senate approved)

College of Business Administration Departmental By-Laws
College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities Departmental By-Laws
College of Science and Health Departmental By-Laws
School of Education (Department of Educational Studies) By-Laws
Murphy Library (Library Department) By-Laws

Interested in starting a new academic program (major, graduate program, minor, emphasis, concentration and/or certificate)?

There are three steps:

STEP 1: Consult with the Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Sandy Grunwald (sgrunwald@uwlax.edu).

STEP 2: Submit an overview of the idea for review.

STEP 3: Develop a proposal and guide it through UWL's governance process.

Please follow the complete proposal guidelines available at: https://www.uwlax.edu/academic-affairs/resources/new-program/.

Interested in establishing a new center or institute?

Please contact the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Sandy Grunwald (sgrunwald@uwlax.edu) and note the: New Centers or Institutes Proposal Template

Academic Program Review - Academic programs at UW-La Crosse undergo an Academic Program Review (APR) on a regular cycle as one component of our commitment to academic excellence. Coordinated by the Faculty Senate's Academic Program Review Committee, the review process provides an opportunity for program faculty to reflect on curriculum, assessment, new initiatives, personnel, and support for achieving the goals of the program.

Programs that have external accreditation participate in UWL's APR the year following their accreditation review. Programs without external accreditation participate in the process, which includes an external review, every seven years. Free standing minor programs go through an abbreviated process every seven years.

The Academic Program Review Committee is the governance body responsible for maintaining and updating the procedures and criteria used to review academic programs at UWL. The APR Committee is also responsible for scheduling and conducting, in consultation with the Provost/Vice Chancellor, the audit and review of academic programs.

Academic programs are reviewed according to the Program Review Schedule.

Program Review Process and Timeline:

Self-Study Report Guidelines:

Other Pertinent Documents

Hiring & Personnel

Fiscally-related Policies

Summer School & J-term

Miscellany

Personnel Review Calendar - Spreadsheet
Faculty and IAS Review Calendar - sortable

Academic Calendar (Personnel & Records) - UWL website
2023-2024
2024-2025

Administrative Deadlines Calendar (Chairs/Deans/ADAs)
Add to your Outlook or Office365 calendar? Follow these steps.

OneDrive folder associated with chair workshops (required NetID)
Agenda for Fall/Spring workshops
List of current department chairs
Tools for responding to concerns
Academic Department Handbook

Annual Reports (due July 1 to Dean's Office)
Digital Measures instructions for annual reports
Inclusive Excellence Report guidelines upload to Digital Measures following the guidelines

Mid-Year Hiring Information.

A thumbnail overview of hiring related issues for tenure-track (ranked faculty). Note, additional information about hiring mid-year can be found at this link.

RANK - unless specifically indicated otherwise in the advertisement for the position, UWL hires at the rank of assistant professor. When a faculty member is hired into a tenure-track position but is not yet tenured, they are referred to as "probationary" and/or "junior" faculty.
OFFER - in most cases the offer is made by the Dean (occasionally by the department chair after the Dean has confirmed the details of the offer). The offer will include the salary, the length of the tenure clock, and the number of years of service granted towards promotion.
SALARY - starting salaries for all positions at UWL are based on CUPA data and reflect rank and discipline as benchmarked by peer institutions.
- Faculty contracts are traditionally 9-month contracts starting one week prior to the start of classes and ending when grades are due after the Spring semester. J-term (wintersession) and summer teaching is optional and reflected in overload pay.
- Faculty members who are ABD traditionally are hired at a salary 90% of the target salary. The salary is adjusted upon completion of the degree (contact HR).
TENURE & PROMOTION - it is crucial for hires to understand that tenure and promotion are separate processes at UWL.
- Tenure is a decision of the department and the Chancellor with a recommendation from the Dean and the Provost serving as the Chancellor's designee. The UW System Board of Regents approves the final list. There is no salary adjustment associated with tenure.
- Promotion is a decision of the department, a campus-wide committee, and the Chancellor. A base-salary increase is associated with successful promotion.
TENURE - the vast majority of faculty at UWL are hired with a "7-year tenure clock." A 7-year clock actually indicates that if awarded, tenure will go into effect in the faculty member's seventh year at the university.
- A seven-year clock means that faculty will be reviewed by their department in their sixth year of service (usually in the Fall and no later than early Spring semester) on the 5 years of service completed at UWL.
- Generally speaking, it is best for the candidate and the department for the tenure-clock to be 7-years as it allows for an appropriate amount of time to review faculty progress in the position in terms of teaching, scholarship, and service. If a faculty member comes to UWL with a substantial level of previous higher education experience, the Dean (with approval from the Provost) may offer a shorter tenure clock.
- Faculty are traditionally hired with a 2 year contract, receive a review at the end of the first year, a formal contract-review in their second year and 1 or 2 year contracts until the time of the tenure review. The formal contract reviews are referred to as retention reviews and are based on departmental, school/college, and university criteria.
- Although a department can request an early tenure decision for a candidate, it is very unusual and will only be considered by the provost under extraordinary circumstances.
PROMOTION - at the time of offer, the Dean will indicate the number of years the candidate has been granted towards promotion. The number of years of service is determined by these guidelines. All promotion candidates for associate professor must have completed 3 years at UWL and 5 years of service overall (including the time at UWL). Unlike tenure, promotion eligibility merely indicates the "earliest" that a faculty member may be considered for promotion. In addition, if a faculty member is unsuccessful at promotion, there is no limit on the number of attempts. Complete information about promotion is available here; however, generally speaking, the Provost recommends that most junior faculty do not need to familiarize themselves with the criteria or process until after their first formal retention review within their departments.
Additional contract information for most new faculty hires will include start-up costs (if applicable) and any arrangements associated with completion of the doctorate (if not yet completed).

When a UWL instructor for an on-campus, hybrid, online, or concurrent course does not have a MS degree with 18 credits in the applicable content area as required by the Higher Learning Commission, the department chair must document their request for an exemption based on criteria indicated below. The Chair indicates approval and reasoning using the form (linked below) and forwards this to the Dean. The Dean will review and, if approved, forward the form to the Provost who will review and transmit to HR. If approved, the form is added to the instructor’s personnel file. Once this form is on file for an IAS, it need not be submitted at each time of hire unless approval is only for specific courses and the department is requesting approval for a different course or courses.

UWL Faculty Senate Faculty Qualifications Policy - see Senate Policy Document

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) aligns its faculty qualifications with Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requirements, allowing for exceptions in certain cases. The Faculty Senate policies at UWL, in conjunction with the Guidelines for Identifying HLC Faculty Qualifications established by Academic Affairs leadership, detail the process for exceptions to faculty qualifications, primarily requiring a master's degree with 18 credits in the relevant field. Additional exceptions can be made based on various criteria, including related teaching experience, progress toward academic credentials, applied experience, recognized achievements, and recognized equivalencies based on discipline-specific accreditation guidelines. Furthermore, some instructors may only be provided approval for a specific course(s). Additional information on each of these potential exceptions, as well as information on Faculty Qualifications in regards to graduate level courses, are found in the below linked document and should be used when filling out the Instructor Qualifications Review Form.

Guidelines for Identifying HLC Faculty Qualifications

LINK to form to complete

Academic Affairs Sabbatical Guidance

Murphy Library and SOE sabbaticals

UWL Guidelines for Undergraduate Teaching Assistantships

Summary: A department must approve the creation of an undergraduate teaching assistant course or the use of independent study for this purpose. The use of a TA at the sole discretion of an instructor is not appropriate, the decision must be considered in the context of departmental discipline and goals. An undergraduate Teaching Assistant (TA) is a student who assists an instructor providing instructional support under conditions where the learning outcomes of the experiential practice associated with being a TA are clearly articulated. Undergraduates serving as TAs should be provided credit for TA experiences to enhance the professionalism of the role and increase accountability for the student and the instructor. Best practices for selection and responsibility setting are provided.