University of Wisconsin–Madison

Act 15 Q&A Sessions

The Office for Faculty Affairs and Development is hosting two virtual Q&A sessions. All SMPH faculty and staff are welcome to join and ask questions about Act 15.

The sessions will be held on:

  • Wednesday, September 16 from 5:15p-6:00p, and
  • Tuesday, September 22 from 4:15p-5:00p
Register here

Act 15 Implementation at SMPH

Background

Act 15 is a law that sets minimum teaching workload expectations for all faculty and instructional academic staff in the state of Wisconsin.

The UW Regents, UW System, and UW-Madison have all drafted policies to guide the implementation of these minimum teaching expectations. The School of Medicine and Public Health has created an Act 15 Implementation Plan and Appendix to address SMPH’s unique approach to meeting these requirements.

Key Points

  • The Implementation Plan and Appendix are both currently being reviewed by the Provost’s Office. These documents may change based on the feedback that is received.
  • We anticipate that the vast majority of faculty and instructional academic staff at SMPH will meet the minimum teaching expectations set forth in Act 15.
  • Act 15 sets minimum teaching expectations. Your actual teaching responsibilities may exceed these expectations. Work with your supervisor and/or department chair to discuss your teaching responsibilities.
  • If you have questions about Act 15, please send them to the Office for Faculty Affairs and Development at ofad@med.wisc.edu.

Resources

FAQs

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  • No. CHS / CT / Clinical Instructors are exempt from Act 15 minimum teaching expectations. The UW-Madison policy states that “Clinical appointments in health disciplines and extension appointments that meet requirements through alternative measures and instructional activities are excluded.”

  • No. Act 15 sets minimum teaching expectations. Individual department chairs and supervisors assign specific job responsibilities, and your expected teaching workload may exceed these minimums.

  • Maybe. Contact your supervisor to discuss. If you are still uncertain, please contact the Office for Faculty Affairs and Development for further guidance.

  • Yes, tenure-track assistant professors are eligible to receive teaching workload reductions to support them in establishing their research programs:
    • First and second-year tenure-track assistant professors: 100% reduction.
    • Third-year tenure-track assistant professors: 50% reduction.

  • Teaching often happens outside of standard for-credit courses. Under SMPH guidelines, 15 hours of educational effort is equivalent to 1 credit hour (with 0.5 credits being the minimum tracked amount).
    • Examples of qualifying educational activities can be found in the Appendix.
    • Important limit: If you use credit equivalencies to meet your requirements, you must still teach at least 3 credits of group instruction per academic year (unless you have bought out your teaching requirement with at least 10% non-GPR/non-tuition funding).

  • Courses entered into the Student Information System (SIS) are tracked automatically. So long as you are listed as an instructor for a course in SIS, these credits will automatically count towards your minimum teaching expectations.
    • For courses that are co-taught or taught in a team, all instructors listed in SIS will receive full credit.
    • For those not listed in SIS, this can be counted at a rate of 1 credit hour = 15 hours of educational work.

  • You will receive individual instruction credit for these, with each student/course counting separately.
  • For example, if, during an academic year, you have two students take the course for 1 credit and one student takes the course for 2 credits, you will receive 4 credits.

Scenarios

The following are examples of how faculty and instructional academic staff might satisfy the Act 15 minimum teaching expectations. Your individual situation may differ.

The scenarios below were created using the Act 15 Flowchart. You can use this tool as a resource to understand your own expectations. Please contact ofad@med.wisc.edu for any questions about Act 15.

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  • Step 1: Start with 12 total credits 
  • Step 2: Faculty member has 60% extramural grant funding 
    • 60 / 3.33 = 18 credits counted 
    • Act 15 requirements have been met 
    • Work with your supervisor to discuss teaching expectations for your position 

  • Step 1: Start with 15 total credits 
  • Step 2: Faculty member has 24% extramural grant funding 
    • 24 / 3.33 (rounded) = 7 credits counted 
    • 15 – 7 = 8 remaining credits 
  • Step 3: No administrative position, also not in first 1-3 years of assistant professor position 
    • 8 remaining credits 
  • Step 4: Co-teaching a 3-credit course Fall 2026 and Spring 2027, and listed as an instructor in SIS 
    • 6 credits across both terms 
    • 8 – 6 = 2 remaining credits. 
  • Step 5: Additional educational activities 
    • Serving on a dissertation committee 
      • 15 hours during the year = 1 credit 
    • Mentoring a student as part of a Shapiro Research Program Summer 2027 
      • 30 hours over the summer = 2 credits 
    • 3 credits counted, Act 15 requirements have been met 

  • Step 1: Start with 15 total credits 
  • Step 2: Faculty member has 30% extramural grant funding 
    • 30 / 3.33 = 9 credits counted 
    • 15 – 9 = 6 remaining credits 
  • Step 3: Center Director, funded by 101 or 131 funds 
    • Director position equals 40% of FTE 
    • 40% of 15 = 6 credits counted 
    • 6 – 6 = 0, Act 15 requirements met 

  • Step 1: Start with 15 total credits 
  • Step 2: No external salary support 
    • 15 credits remaining 
  • Step 3: No administrative position 
    • 15 credits remaining 
  • Step 4: Teaching multiple courses throughout the year 
    • 3 credit lab course Fall 2026, listed as instructor in SIS 
      • 3 credits x 1.5 lab course multiplier = 4.5 credits 
    • Teaching 1 credit 699 independent study course in Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 
      • 2 credits across both terms 
    • 15 – 4.5 – 2 = 8.5 remaining credits 
  • Step 5: Additional educational activities 
    • 80 hours of running anatomy lab for MD program Fall 2026 (not listed as instructor in SIS) 
      • 80 / 15 (rounded) = 5 credits counted 
    • 25 hours of guest lecturing in Phase 1 MD courses during the year (not listed as instructor in SIS) 
      • 25 / 15 (rounded) = 1.5 credits counted 
    • 30 hours of LCME Committee work during the year 
      • 30 / 15 = 2 credits counted 
    • 8.5 – 5 – 1.5 – 2 = 0, Act 15 requirements met

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