Position Cap Process

In December 2023, the UW System Board of Regents approved an agreement between the Universities of Wisconsin and state legislative leadership to move forward critical priorities of UW campuses across Wisconsin, including the University of Wisconsin Madison. The agreement includes a provision that required the Universities of Wisconsin to institute a system-wide cap on hiring a range of positions for three years beginning Jan. 1, 2024, with a number of important exclusions.

Step 1: Determine if your position is exempt from the Position Cap

  1. Is the title exempt? 
    • Yes. if it is on the list of exempt SJDs
      • If there is a note in column 'D' indicating "Funding check required". Check that the funding string is also exempt (List of exempt funding strings)
  2. If No, Is the funding exempt?   

If neither the title or funding string is exempt, the 'position falls within our position cap' and will require the justification to advance form 

 Step 2: Request Position in Position Recruitment Tracker (PoRT) 

  1. Fill out the full PoRT request 
  2. If approved, you will get a message informing you if a Justification To Advance Position (JTAP) form is needed. 

Step 3: If Applicable, Complete Justification to Advance Position (JTAP) Form 

HRBP/Recruiter will complete the Justification to Advance Position online form, following the relevant instructions below depending on funding/position cap definition.  

Complete online Justification to advance form if "position falls within the position cap or 136/123 funds" 

  1. Complete section 1 
  2. Complete section 2
  3. Complete section 3
  4. In section 4:
    • Answer all questions
      • Question A: 
        • choose 
          • 101 funding: "position falls within position cap" 
          • 136/132 funding: definition that indicates gifts/grant/contract funding 
      • Question B: 
        • If 136/132 funding include: SMPH funding string falls under gifts/grants/contract - fund 136 fee for service or 136 billed to grants 
      • Question C and D:
        • provide answers 
      • Question E: 
        • "The SMPH is committed to finding administrative efficiencies and focusing growth on the core operational needs that support our research and academic missions. We will employ a robust process for review and documentation of any replacement or new positions in order to manage SMPH’s capped positions through December 2026.” 
    • Comment:
      • Job Requisition number 

 

  • In section 5:
    • Input HR Lead (Hope Broadus) hbroadus@wisc.edu  
      • HR Lead will then route to, Finance Lead (Heidi Conrad)
      • Finance Lead will then route to SMPH Dean (Bob Golden)

What will happen next: 

  • If Replacement FTE, form will be signed by HR Lead (Hope Broadus), Finance Lead (Heidi Conrad), and the SMPH Dean.
  • If New FTE, request will be reviewed by the Dean and a small committee. The Dean's committee plans to meet once a month to discuss positions that fall above the position cap. If supported, the HRBP/FR will be notified and asked to submit a justification to advance form. The form will then follow the standard routing process through the HR Lead (Hope Broadus), Finance Lead (Heidi Conrad), and the SMPH Dean.

Keywords:
position cap, exemptions, justification to advance position, form, PVL, JEMS, definitions, PoRT, DLT 
Doc ID:
138260
Owned by:
Jennique C. in SMPH Human Resources
Created:
2024-07-08
Updated:
2026-01-14
Sites:
SMPH Human Resources