Chapter 1

Types of Unclassified Appointments





Academic staff includes professional and administrative personnel (other than faculty, classified staff, limited staff, student appointees, or employees-in-training) with duties and appointments primarily associated with higher education institutions or their administration [§36.05(1), Stats.]. Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP) 1.03. Academic staff positions are exempt from the classified service and subject to personnel rules defined in s. UWS 8-14, Wis. Adm. Code. A minimum of a bachelor degree is required for academic staff position.

Assignments to Positions

Assignments to academic staff positions are made when:

  1. the position involves teaching, research, public service responsibilities, academic support activities or academic program administration; or
  2. the position is separate and distinct to higher education; or
  3. the position involves assigned duties requiring close peer relationships with faculty members and academic administrators.

Categories of Appointments

Academic staff appointments also fall into three broad categories.
Category A—Professionals, program managers and administrative directors in an administrative, research, student, instructional or community-related area.
Category B—Individuals performing at a level typical of faculty as either a) Instructional, academic staff providing instruction or training to students in an academic discipline, or b) Research academic staff participating in identifying research problems, designing methodology, conducting research, and other related activities.
Category C—Academic administrators and program directors who also hold a concurrent faculty appointment and other specially defined and/or mandated positions; positions defined primarily with respect to the nature of their appointment (for example, artist-in-residence, consultant, coach, secretary of the academic staff, secretary of the faculty).

Types of Appointments

Academic staff appointments are fixed term (renewable or terminal) or indefinite. Rights associated with an appointment are limited to the operational area specified in the letter of appointment.

For detailed information on the types of appointments, refer to ASPP 2.01

Faculty Status

Members of the academic staff whose responsibilities are directly related to the instructional or research mission of the University and whose qualifications with respect to their assigned duties are comparable to those of faculty members may be designated by the Chancellor, on recommendation of the University Committee, as having faculty status.

Questions regarding faculty status should be directed to the Office of the Secretary of the Faculty (262-3956).


Benefits, Classification, and Compensation

Benefits available to academic staff are covered in the Staff Benefits Summary.

Academic staff titles and salary ranges are listed and explained in the Unclassified Title Guideline (UTG).
Faculty, academic staff and limited appointees are typically salaried, professional, administrative or executive employees and are therefore exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (for exceptions and more information on this subject, please refer to chapter 14 of this document). As a result, they are not required under federal or state law to be paid overtime or compensatory time for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Moreover, University policy prohibits the payment of overtime to exempt unclassified staff.

Hourly academic staff:  It is uncommon for academic staff positions to be paid on an hourly basis.  To approve such a request, a department must show that the work is sporadic and it would not be possible to assign a percentage of time to the duties.


For more detailed and specific information about academic staff appointments, please consult the ASPP, UWS 8-14, UTG, § 36, Stats., UPG #7, and Appendix 1-C.