The University of Wisconsin system is looking into making changes to its administrative code for the first time in several years.
According to UW spokesman David Giroux, the Wisconsin Administrative Code is a state code that applies to all 26 UW campuses.,”
The University of Wisconsin System is looking into making changes to its administrative code for the first time in several years.
According to UW spokesman David Giroux, the Wisconsin Administrative Code is a state code that applies to all 26 UW campuses. Only two chapters of the code are being addressed. Giroux also said the revisions are not being made in response to issues at any one location.
"We're updating it for the same reason we update anything," Giroux said, "(It) gets out of date."
Chapter 17, titled "Non-Academic Misconduct," and chapter 18, titled "Conduct on University Lands," are being assessed by a review committee that was formed in December. Originally there was one committee assigned to each chapter to evaluate potential changes.
The committee consists of seven UW staff members from various campuses and two students and will take their own ideas and public input into consideration while reviewing the code.
The two chapters of the code cover a wide range of topics. Chapter 17 addresses the system's jurisdiction in enforcing the code, student and staff conduct and due process. Chapter 18 covers parking, littering, smoking, bicycle use and other related issues.
Tom Luljak, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's vice chancellor of university relations, said changes to chapter 17 would make a significant difference on the UW-Milwaukee campus.
"There is a very small number of students that would be affected that simply don't care about how their behavior affects the university's relations with the neighborhood," Luljak said. "But this is a minority that we need to deal with."
According to Luljak, many UW-Milwaukee staff members pushed for the forming of the committee so that university jurisdiction could be expanded so that discipline can be enforced on students that live off campus.
"We want a tool available so we can address people who step over the line or are repeat offenders," Luljak said. "I would allow us to deal directly with a small handful of students who choose not to behave as they should."
Changes to this section of the code would probably increase safety on UW campuses.
"If someone's behavior off campus indicates they are a risk we want to make sure that's covered in the code," Giroux said.
Luljak emphasized that UW-Milwaukee's overall quality of life for residents is "terrific" and that is something he said he wants to be continued.
According to Giroux, the committee's work is just beginning and that there are no concrete ideas yet.
Any potential revisions will have to be presented to the Board of Regents before they are put into practice.
"This is a complex issue," Giroux said. "People want to boil it down to black and white, but it's more than that. We will proceed carefully and everyone will have the opportunity to have their voice heard."
The committee has plans to have a few public meetings to gather input from UW community. A plan for a Web site where people could post their ideas is also in the works.
"We want to go slow on this," Giroux said. "It's going to take some time."
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