Wis. Stat. § 36.115 — WI Code / Chapter 36 / Section 36.115
Section 36.115
Status: in_force

(b) The chancellor may not create or abolish any position under s. 16.505 (2m) or (2p) for any system employee assigned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison that would be inconsistent with par. (a) .

(10)

(a) In this subsection:

1. “Credit hour,” with respect to a course, means a period of not less than 50 consecutive minutes per week of instructional time for each week of the semester or session that the course is offered, excluding the week of or the week immediately preceding final examinations for the course.

2. “Faculty” has the meaning given in s. 36.05 (8) except that faculty does not include the chancellor or provost of an institution.

(b) Notwithstanding sub. (8) and any provision of the personnel systems under subs. (2) and (3) , the provisions of this subsection apply with respect to each institution within the system, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

(c)

1. Except as provided in subd. 2. and pars. (d) to (f) , beginning on September 1, 2026, each full-time faculty member and each full-time member of the instructional academic staff shall teach no fewer than 24 credit hours per academic year and, if the faculty member or instructional academic staff member is employed on a 12-month contract, an additional 6 credit hours during the summer.

2. Except as provided in pars. (d) to (f) , beginning on September 1, 2026, each full-time faculty member and each full-time member of the instructional academic staff assigned to an institution that is classified as Research 1 by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education shall teach no fewer than 12 credit hours per academic year and, if the faculty member or instructional academic staff member is employed on a 12-month contract, an additional 3 credit hours during the summer.

3. Beginning on September 1, 2026, an instructional employee who has less than a full-time appointment shall teach a minimum number of credit hours in the proportion that the appointment bears to the required credit hours for a full-time instructional employee.

4. Beginning on September 1, 2026, except as provided in par. (f) , an instructional employee shall teach not fewer than one course during any semester or summer session.

(d)

1. Each academic department in an institution may designate one individual to serve as the chairperson of the department. The duties of the chairperson shall be determined by the chancellor of the institution to which the individual is assigned. The teaching responsibilities under par. (c) may be reduced for the department chairperson commensurate with the individual’s duties as chairperson.

2. An institution may assign administrative duties to instructional employees other than the chairperson of a department and may designate these instructional employees as having these administrative duties, but the institution may not designate more than 10 percent of either faculty or instructional academic staff as having administrative duties. The teaching responsibilities under par. (c) may be reduced for instructional employees designated as having administrative duties to the extent a policy governing the reduction is approved by the joint committee on employment relations no later than January 31, 2026.

(e) The board shall develop a buyout plan that, if approved as provided in par. (f) 3. , allows for the reduction of the number of credit hours an instructional employee is required to teach under par. (c) .

(f)

1. Subject to subds. 2. to 4. , the board may adopt guidelines, consistent with the provisions of this subsection that provide additional details relevant to the requirements under this subsection, or that present exceptions for reasonably justified circumstances, but only if, no later than December 1, 2025, the board submits to the joint committee on employment relations the proposed guidelines for legislative review.

2. In the proposed guidelines submitted under subd. 1. , the board may propose exceptions to the requirements under par. (c) or other requirements under this subsection. If the joint committee on employment relations approves these exceptions prior to January 31, 2026, the board may adopt and implement the exceptions and incorporate the approved exceptions into its guidelines.

3. If the joint committee on employment relations approves the buyout plan under par. (e) prior to January 31, 2026, the board may implement the buyout plan.

4. To the extent applicable, the board’s submission under subd. 1. shall include any request for a reduction in teaching responsibilities for instructional employees designated as having administrative duties under par. (d) 2.

(g) Annually, the board shall report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) all of the following information:

1. The total credit hours taught by faculty and instructional academic staff, grouped according to the following factors:

a. Classification as faculty or instructional academic staff.

b. Institution to which the employee is assigned.

c. Whether the employee has a full-time appointment and, if not, the extent of the part-time appointment.

d. Each funding source and the amount of funding from each source.

2. The percentage of teaching staff at each institution meeting the full workload requirements under this subsection.

(h) In its report under s. 13.94 (1) (t) , the legislative audit bureau shall evaluate the board’s compliance with the requirements under this subsection.

History: 2011 a. 32 ; 2013 a. 20 ; 2015 a. 55 ; 2017 a. 59 ; 2021 a. 11 ; 2025 a. 15 .