[Note: This information is meant to provide informal guidelines related to teaching and learning.]
These are some of the offices and officials who play key roles in policy and administration related to teaching and learning.
The Provost
The Provost, also known as the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, is the chief academic officer of the university and is central in campuswide academic policy, planning and administration in most areas of university life that affect teaching and learning. Within the Office of the Provost:
- The Associate Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning reports to the Provost, and is primarily responsible for helping to coordinate matters related to undergraduate education.
- The provost is advised by the University Academic Planning Council (UAPC), which assists with long-range academic planning; considers proposals for new majors, degrees, certificate programs, centers and institutes, departments, schools or colleges; considers proposals to discontinue or change the name of these academic programs and structures; and oversees academic program evaluation.
The Graduate School
The Graduate School, under the leadership of the Dean, also known as the Vice Chancellor for Research, has responsibility for graduate studies on campus, as well as research. Within the Graduate School:
- The Office of Academic Services provides a variety of useful information for graduate students and faculty.
- The Office of Graduate School Admissions coordinates the application process for all graduate degree programs, ensures that minimum admission standards are maintained and facilitates graduate student diversity.
- The Office of Diversity Resources helps departments and programs prepare, recruit, support, mentor and graduate underrepresented students. It serves as a clearinghouse to link underrepresented students, graduate school services, departments, institutions and organizations.
- The Office of Fellowships Administration deals with all aspects of Graduate School fellowships, including monitoring and facilitating satisfactory progress toward graduate degrees.
- The Office of Outreach and Graduate Student Professional Development coordinates, communicates and promotes learning opportunities that will foster the academic, professional and life skills of the graduate education community.
- An information page on the Graduate School Web site includes resources on mentoring graduate students and other helpful information.
Office of the Registrar
The mission of the Office of the Registrar is to “ensure the integrity of curricular and student records.” It is the data custodian for all student-related data, and the principal campus resource for the protection of the privacy and accessibility of student records, especially as it relates to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Registrar organizes the system for course enrollment, timetabling, classroom scheduling and grade reporting. It also works closely with the Office of Academic Planning and Analysis to ensure that curricular matters — such as approval of new majors or certificate programs, or department name changes — are accurately reflected in official Registrar records. The Registrar’s Web site contains information that faculty and instructional academic staff might find useful:
- The pages designed specifically for faculty and staff provide easy links to information about enrollments, class scheduling, grades and grading policies, and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and student privacy.
- The Timetable has the all-campus timetable for the current and immediate future semesters, and is updated every 15 seconds with information on class offerings and seats available.
- Consider looking at Parent’s Page on Academics, which defines basic terms that faculty may not know.
Divsional Committees
The four faculty “Divisional Committees”(more formally, the “Divisional Executive Committees”), of the Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Studies are perhaps recognized most for advising the deans about tenure cases. However, they also approve new course proposals and modifications of existing courses, and advise university administration on educational planning and policy. Forms necessary for proposing, modifying or deleting courses are found on the Divisional Committees’ Web site.
Shared Govenance Committees
Many shared governance committees deal with matters related to teaching and learning on a campuswide basis. Among these are:
- Access and Accommodation in Instruction Committee
- Associate Administrative Council (Registrar-related matters)
- Athletic Board (academic affairs for student athletes)
- Council on Academic Advising
- Information Technology Committee
- Morgridge Center for Public Service Advisory Board (service learning)
- Officer Education Committee (ROTC)
- Student Academic Misconduct Hearing Panel
- Student Policies and Non-academic Program Committee
- Committee on Undergraduate Recruitment, Admissions and Financial Aid
- University Academic Planning Council
- University Honors Committee
- University Assessment Committee
- Numerous awards committees
Current membership on all of the above is publicly available. The Secretary of the Faculty can explain how members are picked for any of these committees.
Most of the organization, governance and administration of teaching and learning takes place within the various schools and colleges. These vary in their structure, policies and procedures, so it is difficult to summarize here. Check the Web site for your college.
Departments and Programs
Departments and programs have crucial responsibilities in the governance and administration of teaching and learning. Most course and curricular discussion, development and monitoring takes place at the department and program level. Faculty and instructional academic staff at all levels should be involved in these efforts. Departments and programs have considerable autonomy in timetabling. Departments and programs also play critical roles in developing cultures and practices that support excellence in teaching and learning.Departments and programs differ in their rules and procedures; the department can provide specific information.
The quality of teaching and learning depends primarily on the faculty, academic staff, teaching assistants and other staff who carry out the university’s teaching mission individually and collectively. UW–Madison is committed to protecting academic freedom and to seeking ways to support and encourage all members of the UW–Madison community involved in teaching and learning.