AB40: Bill Text

AB40,522,13 (b) Members appointed under par. (a) 1. c. and 2. c., d., and e. shall have a demonstrated commitment to the welfare of the university and shall have management experience or possess expertise in aspects of the university's mission, such as undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, research, intellectual property, support of existing industries, new business startups, and public service.

AB40,522,16 (c) Members appointed under par. (a) 1. and 2. may serve no more than 2 consecutive terms. The member appointed under par. (a) 3. may serve no more than one term.

AB40,522,18 (2) A vacancy on the board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment to the board for the remainder of the unexpired term, if any.

AB40,522,21 (3) A member of the board may not be compensated for his or her services but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the performance of his or her duties.

AB40,522,25 (4) No cause of action of any nature may arise against and no civil liability may be imposed upon a member of the board for any act or omission in the performance of his or her powers and duties under this chapter, unless the person asserting liability proves that the act or omission constitutes willful misconduct.

AB40,523,6 (5) The members of the board shall annually elect a chairperson and may elect other officers as they consider appropriate. Eleven voting members of the board constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting the business and exercising the powers of the authority, notwithstanding the existence of any vacancy. The board may take action upon a vote of a majority of the members present, unless the bylaws of the authority require a larger number.

AB40,523,9 (6) The board shall appoint a chancellor to serve as chief executive officer of the university. The chancellor serves at the pleasure of the board. The chancellor shall receive such compensation as the board fixes.

AB40,523,11 (6m) The board shall appoint a secretary of the board, who shall keep a record of all its transactions.

AB40,523,13 (7) The state treasurer shall be the treasurer of the board for those moneys appropriated to the board under s. 20.280.

AB40,523,15 (8) (a) The board shall provide in its operating policies for access to the board by the public, faculty, students, and employees.

AB40,523,18 (b) The board meetings shall be open and all records of such meetings and of all proceedings of the board shall be open to inspection in accordance with subchs. II and V of ch. 19.

AB40,523,21 37.03 Responsibilities. (1) Board. (a) The primary responsibility for governance of the authority is vested in the board, which shall operate a university at or near the seat of government, and adopt policies for governing the university.

AB40,523,23 (b) The board shall determine the educational programs to be offered by the university and may discontinue educational programs as it deems necessary.

AB40,524,5 (c) The board shall appoint a chancellor; faculty; other employees; the state geologist; the director of the laboratory of hygiene; the director of the psychiatric institute; and the state cartographer; and fix the salaries, the duties, and the term of office for each. No sectarian or partisan tests or any tests based upon race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, or parental status shall ever be allowed or exercised in the appointment of the employees of the university.

AB40,524,8 (d) The board shall delegate to the chancellor the responsibility for the administration and operation of the university within the policies and guidelines established by the board.

AB40,524,16 (e) In order to provide for the evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of the university, the board shall prepare an accountability report measuring its performance in such areas as the access and affordability of the university, student achievement, the research efforts of the university, the economic impact of the university on the state, the services provided by the university to the residents of the state, and the financial accountability of the university's operations. By July 1, 2013, and biennially thereafter, the board shall submit the accountability report to the governor and shall post the report prominently on its Web site.

AB40,525,3 (2) Chancellor. The chancellor shall be the executive head of the faculty and the university, shall be vested with the responsibility of administering board policies, and shall be accountable and report to the board on the operation and administration of the university. Subject to board policy, the chancellor, in consultation with the faculty, is responsible for designing curricula and setting degree requirements; determining academic standards and establishing grading systems; defining and administering institutional standards for faculty peer evaluation and screening candidates for appointment, promotion, and tenure; recommending individual merit increases; administering associated auxiliary services; and administering all funds, from whatever source, allocated, generated, or intended for use of the university. The chancellor may designate a person as provost, to act as chief executive officer of the university in the chancellor's absence.

AB40,525,10 (3) Faculty. The faculty, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board and the chancellor, shall be vested with responsibility for the immediate governance of the university and shall actively participate in university policy development. As such, the faculty has the primary responsibility for academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters. The faculty have the right to determine their own faculty organizational structure and to select representatives to participate in university governance.

AB40,525,18 (4) Academic staff. The academic staff, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the chancellor, and the faculty, shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the university. The academic staff have the primary responsibility for the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development, of all policies and procedures concerning the academic staff, including academic staff personnel matters. The academic staff have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in university governance.

AB40,526,3 (5) Students. The students, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the chancellor, and the faculty, shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the university. As such, students have primary responsibility for the formulation and review of policies concerning student life, services, and interests. In consultation with the chancellor and subject to the final confirmation of the board, students have the responsibility for the disposition of those student fees that constitute substantial support for campus student activities. The students have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in university governance.

AB40,526,7 37.11 Powers and duties of the board. (1) Generally. The board shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes and provisions of this chapter. In addition to all other powers granted the board under this chapter, the board may specifically:

AB40,526,9 (a) Adopt, amend, and repeal any bylaws, policies, and procedures for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business.

AB40,526,10 (b) Have a seal and alter the seal at pleasure.

AB40,526,11 (c) Maintain an office.

AB40,526,13 (d) Accept gifts, grants, loans, or other contributions from private or public sources.

AB40,526,15 (e) Establish the university's annual budget and monitor the fiscal management of the university.

AB40,526,17 (f) Execute contracts and other instruments required for the operation of the university.

AB40,526,24 (1g) Personnel system. The board shall develop and implement a personnel system, effective July 1, 2012, that is separate and distinct from the system created under ch. 230. The board shall develop and implement the system with the active participation of the faculty and academic staff as provided in s. 37.03 (3) and (4). In developing the personnel system, the board shall provide for the transfer of classified civil service employees to the university personnel system as necessary upon the effective date of its implementation.

AB40,527,6 (1m) Protection of people; custody and management of property. (a) The board may promulgate rules to protect the lives, health, and safety of persons on property under its jurisdiction and to protect such property and to prevent obstruction of the functions of the university. Any person who violates any rule promulgated under this paragraph may be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than 90 days or both.

AB40,527,15 (b) Except as provided in this paragraph, the board may purchase, have custody of, hold, control, possess, lease, grant easements, and enjoy any lands, buildings, books, records, and all other property of any nature that may be necessary and required for the purposes, objects, and uses of the university authorized by law. Any lease is subject to the powers of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority under s. 233.03 (13) and the rights of the authority under any lease agreement, as defined in s. 233.01 (6). The board may sell or dispose of such property as provided by law, or any part thereof when in its judgment it is for the best interests of the university and the state.

AB40,527,21 (c) The board may promulgate rules for the management of all property under its jurisdiction, for the care and preservation thereof, and for the promotion and preservation of the orderly operation of the university in any or all of its authorized activities with forfeitures for their violation, which may be sued for and collected in the name of the board before any court having jurisdiction of such action. Forfeitures shall not exceed $500.

AB40,527,25 (cm) The board shall promulgate rules prescribing the times, places, and manner in which political literature may be distributed and political campaigning may be conducted in state-owned residence halls. No such rule may authorize any activity prohibited under s. 11.36 (3) or (4).

AB40,528,5 (d) All fines imposed and collected under this subsection shall be transmitted to the county treasurer for disposition in accordance with s. 59.25 (3) (f) and (j). All forfeitures, including forfeitures of posted bail if any, imposed and collected under this subsection shall be transmitted to the county treasurer for disposition in accordance with ss. 778.13 and 778.17.

AB40,528,18 (2) Police authority. (a) The board shall have concurrent police power, with other authorized peace officers, over all property subject to its jurisdiction. Such concurrent police authority shall not be construed to reduce or lessen the authority of the police power of the community or communities in which the university is located. All university police officers shall cooperate with and be responsive to the local police authorities as they meet and exercise their statutory responsibilities. The designated agents of the board may arrest, with or without warrant, any person on such property who they have reasonable grounds to believe has violated a state law or any rule promulgated under sub. (1m) (a), (c), or (cm) or (8) and deliver such person to any court having jurisdiction over the violation and execute a complaint charging such person with the violation. This subsection does not impair the duty of any other peace officers within their jurisdictions to arrest and take before the proper court persons found violating any state law on such property.

AB40,529,2 (b) The board may employ police for the university and a chief to head such police, or contract for police, all of whom shall be deemed peace officers under s. 939.22 (22) under the supervision and control of the chancellor or the chancellor's designee. Such police officers shall meet the minimum standards established for other police officers by the law enforcement standards board or a comparable agency. Such police shall preserve the peace on all property described under par. (a), enforce all rules promulgated under subs. (1) (a), (c), and (cm) and (8) and all other laws, and for that purpose the chancellor or the chancellor's designee may call for aid from such other persons as is deemed necessary.

AB40,529,8 (3) Admission of applicants. (a) The board shall establish the policies for admission to the university and within these policies shall establish specific requirements for admission to its courses of instruction. No sectarian or partisan tests or any tests based upon race, religion, color, creed, national origin of U.S. citizens, sex, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, or parental status shall ever be allowed in the admission of students.

AB40,529,10 (b) The board may establish policies for the appropriate transfer of credits with other educational institutions.

AB40,529,12 (4) Injunctive relief. The board may obtain injunctive relief to enforce any rules promulgated under sub. (1m) (a), (c)) or (cm) or sub. (8).

AB40,529,15 (5) Insurance. (a) The board may procure liability insurance covering the members of the board, any officer, employee, or such students whose activities may constitute an obligation or responsibility of the university.

AB40,529,21 (b) The board may procure insurance to cover injuries sustained by students as a result of their participation in intercollegiate athletics. The board may not use general purpose revenue to pay for such insurance. With respect to any of the risks to be covered by the insurance, the board may contract for the services of a claims administrator and may obtain coverage by any combination of self-insurance, excess or stop-loss insurance, or blanket insurance.

AB40,529,22 (6) Financial aids. (a) The board may:

AB40,529,24 1. Make grants to students from funds budgeted to or controlled by the university and formulate policies and adopt rules for the grants.

AB40,530,3 2. Make grants equivalent in value to the payment of incidental fees to disabled residents of the state who are recommended and supervised by the department of workforce development under s. 47.02.

AB40,530,8 (b) The board may not make a grant under par. (a) to a person whose name appears on the statewide support lien docket under s. 49.854 (2) (b), unless the person provides to the board a payment agreement that has been approved by the county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) and that is consistent with rules promulgated under s. 49.858 (2) (a).

AB40,530,10 (7) Confer degrees. The board may confer such degrees and grant such diplomas as are usual in universities or as it deems appropriate.

AB40,530,13 (8) Parking rules. (a) The board may make general policies and shall authorize the chancellor to promulgate rules regulating the parking of motor vehicles on property under its jurisdiction.

AB40,530,18 (b) The board shall establish fines for the violation of any rule promulgated under par. (a). The university may collect such fines together with moneys collected from the sale of parking permits and other fees established under par. (a), to be used only for the purpose of developing and operating parking or other transportation facilities at the university and for enforcing parking rules under par. (a).

AB40,530,24 (8e) Parking fees. The board shall charge a parking fee for the parking of motor vehicles by students, employees, and visitors at campus. The board may require the fee to be sufficient to recover the costs of the construction and maintenance necessary for the parking facilities. Nothing in this subsection requires the recovery of the costs of land for parking facilities. Nothing in this subsection requires that all users of the parking facilities be charged a parking fee.

AB40,531,9 (8m) Transportation planning. The board shall work with the regional planning commissions and the local authorities of the community in which the university is located to evaluate the transportation needs of the university population. The board shall develop a transportation plan for the university to effect energy resource conservation and efficient use of transportation resources. The plan shall include pedestrian walkways, bikeways, bike routes, bicycle storage racks, car and van pools, and, to the extent feasible, improved mass transit services. The transportation plans shall detail parking management strategies that provide incentives for the use of mass transit and high occupancy vehicles.

AB40,531,14 (9) Condemnation. The board may acquire by condemnation proceedings under ch. 32 such parcels of land as it deems necessary for the use of the university whenever the board is unable to agree with the owner upon the compensation therefor, or whenever the absence or legal incapacity of such owner, or other cause, prevents or unreasonably delays such agreement.

AB40,531,24 (11) Surplus money. The board may invest any surplus money in such securities as are legal for trust fund investments; or invest such funds or any part thereof, in the senior or junior bonds or obligations that may be issued by such nonprofit-sharing corporation as may be contracted with by the board for the construction or equipment of dormitories, commons, or field houses, which bonds or obligations shall be secured by a mortgage or pledge of the buildings or improvements erected or to be erected by such corporations and by a mortgage or pledge of its leasehold interest. Any interest on any of such bonds or securities shall when received be added to the revolving funds and may be used for the purposes set forth in this subsection.

AB40,532,14 (12) Library depository. (a) The board may participate in the formation and maintenance of a nonprofit-sharing corporation sponsored by participating colleges, universities, and libraries for the purpose of providing and operating a central library depository at a location in a midwestern state for the storage of little used books and other library and research materials of participating institutions, and which corporation may also perform other functions for the benefit of participating institutions such as, without limitation because of enumeration, the correlating of library catalogs of the participating institutions, the coordinating and planning of the purchasing by each institution of costly or infrequently used books and research materials in order to avoid unnecessary duplication, and facilitating the loaning of library books and other library and research materials between participating institutions. The board shall possess all powers necessary or convenient to accomplish the foregoing, including the authority to designate representatives or members of such corporation in accordance with its articles and bylaws.

AB40,532,19 (b) The board may make use of and pay for the use of the facilities and services of such nonprofit-sharing corporation, but the board shall retain title to all books and materials deposited with such corporation for storage or loaned to other participating institutions. The appropriations to the board are to be available for the purposes of this subsection to the extent that such appropriations may be applicable.

AB40,532,23 (13) Auxiliary reserves. Auxiliary enterprise reserve funds established prior to merger of this state's public institutions of higher education for the benefit or support of an institution or group of institutions shall not be utilized for any other purpose.

AB40,533,5 (15) Tax deferred annuities. The board may continue all salary reduction agreements with its employees pursuant to section 403 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code. The board may enter into new salary reduction agreements with its employees pursuant to section 403 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code or other applicable federal law and may purchase annuities for its employees pursuant to these agreements from such annuity providers, both public and private, as the board deems appropriate.

AB40,533,13 (15m) Football coaches pension plan. The board may deduct contributions from the salaries of football coaches employed in the university who are eligible and wish to participate in the qualified pension plan for football coaches established as the American football coaches retirement trust, and remit the deductions to the administrator of that plan, if the American football coaches retirement trust or the administrator or agent of the plan indemnifies the board and its employees against, and holds the board and its employees harmless from, all claims and demands associated with the plan.

AB40,533,17 (17) Sabbatical leave for instructional faculty. The board may grant sabbatical leave of up to one year to university faculty, in order to recognize and enhance teaching efforts and excellence, under rules and procedures adopted by the board, subject to the following conditions:

AB40,533,20 (a) Sabbatical leave may be granted only to those faculty members who have completed 6 or more years, or the equivalent, of full-time instructional service in the university.

AB40,533,24 (b) Only one sabbatical leave may be granted for each 6 years of full-time instructional service in the university with preference given to those who have been making significant contributions to teaching and have not had a leave of absence except under s. 103.10, regardless of source of funding, in the previous 4 years.

AB40,534,4 (c) Sabbatical leave shall be granted for the purposes of enhancing teaching, course and curriculum development, or conducting research or any other scholarly activities related to instructional programs within the field of expertise of the faculty member taking such leave.

AB40,534,6 (d) Sabbatical leave shall be approved by appropriate faculty and administrative committees.

AB40,534,9 (e) A faculty member shall receive compensation while on sabbatical leave, but such compensation, when combined with outside compensation earned while on leave, shall not exceed the full compensation normally received from the university.

AB40,534,12 (f) The faculty member taking a sabbatical leave shall agree to return to the university for at least one year after the termination of the sabbatical or return any compensation received from the university during the sabbatical.

AB40,534,21 (21) Controlled substances and controlled substance analogs; discipline. Any student who engages in an activity, on campus or at an event sponsored by the university, that constitutes a violation of ch. 961 is subject to nonacademic misconduct disciplinary sanctions, as provided by the board by rule. In determining the appropriate sanction, the board or its designee shall consider those penalties, including suspension and expulsion, that will contribute most effectively to maintaining a university environment that is free from controlled substances, as defined in s. 961.01 (4), and controlled substance analogs, as defined in s. 961.01 (4m).

AB40,534,23 (22) Orientation program; information on sexual assault and sexual harassment. (a) The board shall do all of the following:

AB40,535,2 1. Incorporate in the orientation program for newly entering students oral and written or electronic information on sexual assault and sexual harassment, as defined in s. 111.32 (13), including information on sexual assault by acquaintances of the victims and on all of the following:

AB40,535,5 a. The legal definitions of, and penalties for, sexual assault under ss. 940.225, 948.02, and 948.025, sexual exploitation by a therapist under s. 940.22, and harassment under s. 947.013.

AB40,535,8 b. Generally available national and state statistics, and university statistics as compiled under par. (c) and as reported under par. (d), on sexual assaults and on sexual assaults by acquaintances of the victims.

AB40,535,11 c. The rights of victims under ch. 950 and the services available at the university and in the community to assist a student who is the victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment.

AB40,535,14 d. Protective behaviors, including methods of recognizing and avoiding sexual assault and sexual harassment and locations in the community where courses on protective behaviors are provided.

AB40,535,16 2. Annually supply to all students enrolled in the university printed or electronic material that includes all of the information under subd. 1.

AB40,535,20 (b) Annually, the board shall submit a report to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s. 13.172 (3). The report shall indicate the methods the university has used to comply with par. (a).

AB40,535,25 (c) Any person employed at the university who witnesses a sexual assault on campus or receives a report from a student enrolled in the university that the student has been sexually assaulted shall report to the dean of students. The dean of students shall compile reports for the purpose of disseminating statistical information under par. (a) 1. b.

AB40,536,5 (d) Annually, the university shall report to the office of justice assistance in the department of administration statistics on sexual assaults and on sexual assaults by acquaintances of the victims that occurred on campus in the previous year. The office of justice assistance shall include the statistics in appropriate crime reports published by the office.

AB40,536,11 (26) Building program planning and approval. The board shall establish a process for submission of building projects to the building commission for approval. No building project for the university may be submitted by the board to the building commission unless the project is developed and approved by the board in conformity with this subsection. This subsection does not apply to building projects of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority.

AB40,536,15 (27) Condition on financial assistance. The board may not provide any state financial assistance under this chapter to any person during the period that the person is required to register with the selective service system under 50 USC, Appendix, sections 451 to 473 if the person has not so registered.

AB40,536,25 (47) Armed forces. If a student who is a member of a national guard or a member of a reserve unit of the U.S. armed forces withdraws from school after September 11, 2001, because he or she is called into state active duty or into active service with the U.S. armed forces for at least 30 days, the board shall reenroll the student beginning in the semester in which he or she is discharged, demobilized, or deactivated from active duty or the next succeeding semester, whichever the student prefers, shall give the student the same priority in registering for courses that the student would have had if he or she had registered for courses at the beginning of the registration period, and, at the student's request, do one of the following for all courses from which the student had to withdraw:

AB40,537,2 (a) Reimburse the student all tuition and fees paid for all the courses and a prorated portion of room and board payments.

AB40,537,5 (b) Grant the student an incomplete in all the courses and permit the student to complete the courses, within 6 months after leaving state service or active service, without paying additional tuition or fees.

AB40,537,7 (50) Reserve officer training corps. The board may not prohibit the reserve officer training corps from operating on its campus.

AB40,537,9 (51) Automobile allowance. The board may not use general purpose revenue, tuition, or academic fees for the chancellors' automobile allowance.

AB40,537,14 37.12 Student discrimination prohibited. (1) No student may be denied admission to, participation in, or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course, or facility of, the university because of the student's race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, or parental status.

AB40,537,17 (2) (a) The board shall establish policies and procedures to protect students from discrimination under sub. (1). The policies and procedures shall do all of the following:

AB40,537,18 1. Provide criteria for determining whether sub. (1) has been violated.

AB40,537,19 2. Provide remedies and sanctions for violations of sub. (1).

AB40,537,21 3. Require a complainant to file a complaint with the university within 300 days of the alleged violation of sub. (1).

AB40,537,24 4. Provide periods within which the complainant and the university must act for each procedural step leading to the issuance of a final decision and for appeal of the final decision to the chancellor.

AB40,538,2 (b) The board shall establish policies and procedures for the appeal of the chancellor's decision to the board.