Act 15 Tenure-track Instructional Equivalency Policy
Act 15 establishes the minimum instructional expectation for all UW–Madison faculty with each faculty member must teach at least one 3‑credit group‑instruction course per academic year. Group- and individual-instruction minimum loads are 12 credits for 9-month appointments and 15 credits for 12-month appointments. This requirement applies uniformly across the institution and serves as the statutory floor.
Act 15 establishes the minimum instructional expectation for all UW–Madison faculty with each faculty member must teach at least one 3‑credit group‑instruction course per academic year. Group- and individual-instruction minimum loads are 12 credits for 9-month appointments and 15 credits for 12-month appointments. This requirement applies uniformly across the institution and serves as the statutory floor. Within CALS, however, departmental teaching policies determine the standard teaching load for faculty in that unit, reflecting the department’s curriculum, enrollment demands, accreditation considerations, and overall instructional portfolio to support its programs. These departmental policies often exceed the Act 15 minimum and provide the framework for how teaching responsibilities, course equivalencies, and instructional contributions are distributed among faculty. In short, Act 15 defines the baseline, while departmental policies define the normative expectations for teaching within each CALS unit.
Supplemental Instructional Work for R1 Research Universities.
Instructional employees also provide educational opportunities outside of traditional group classroom settings. R1 research universities may develop instructional equivalency policies that permit instructional employees to meet a portion of their required credits under 36.115(10), Wis. Stats., through activities other than standard group classroom instruction, office hours, and grading, so long as those activities involve regular and substantive interaction with students in an educational setting.
Summary Table: What Counts?
| Activity Category | Equivalency? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Academic program leadership | Mostly No | Lacks student interaction |
| Mentoring & advising | YES | Regular, substantive educational interaction |
| Graduate committees & workshops | YES | Recurring academic engagement |
| Instructional activities | YES | Direct teaching/feedback |
| Outreach & recruitment | Sometimes | Only when structured & instructional |
| Departmental engagement | Sometimes | Only when teaching/mentoring occurs |
16 hours of activity ≈ 1 credit
1. Academic Program Leadership & Curriculum Work
These roles do not inherently involve student interaction, so most do not qualify unless the work includes direct, recurring instructional engagement.
Qualifies only if the role includes regular instructional meetings with students:
- Graduate Program Director when it includes recurring advising meetings, cohort seminars, or structured training sessions.
- T32 or similar training grant director when leading scheduled trainee seminars or workshops.
- National Research Center Director only when delivering recurring training sessions or workshops.
Does not qualify:
- Undergraduate Program Director (curriculum/assessment only)
- Academic program director/manager roles (administrative)
- New course development (no student interaction)
2. Mentoring and Advising
These are strong equivalency candidates when recurring, structured, and educational.
Qualifies:
- Undergraduate advising — if scheduled, ongoing, academic in nature
- Graduate student advising (non‑advisees) — recurring academic mentoring
- Mentoring postdocs, research scientists, visiting scholars — if structured and instructional
- Mentoring undergraduate researchers (non‑credit) — regular meetings, feedback
- Mentoring high school students — if structured and educational
- NSF REU/SROP/postbac mentoring — built‑in instructional structure
- Hourly student mentoring — if recurring and instructional
- Research group/lab/weekly graduate meetings — clearly substantive and scheduled
3. Graduate Education & Committee Service
Qualifies:
- Graduate thesis committee service — recurring meetings, feedback, academic guidance
- Fellowship application feedback, manuscript feedback — substantive academic interaction
- Semester‑long or unit‑long workshops (PREP, SciMedGRS, fellowship writing workshops) — scheduled instructional contact
Does not qualify:
- Writing recommendation letters
4. Instructional Activities Beyond Instructor‑of‑Record Teaching
Qualifies:
- Preparation for laboratory instruction — if paired with actual instructional contact
- Guest lecturing — counts if substantive and scheduled
- Faculty advisor for senior design sequences — recurring instructional meetings
- Online or hands‑on safety training — instructional, scheduled
- Training and managing TAs for a large course with multiple sections
- National Research Center workshops/scientific meetings — if instructor‑led and recurring
5. Outreach, Recruitment, Student Engagement
Qualifies only when the activity includes structured, recurring instructional interaction.
Qualifies:
- K–12 education and camps — teaching
- Student Contests and Competition — if faculty provide structured coaching or instruction
- Student organization advising — if recurring and educational
Does not qualify:
- One‑off outreach events
- Media interviews, TED‑style talks
- Recruitment activities (non‑instructional)
6. Departmental & Scholarly Engagement
Qualifies only when instructional:
- K-12 Teacher Professional Development — instructional workshops
Does not qualify:
- Department colloquium participation or summary preparation (no student interaction)