{"id":61,"date":"2025-05-02T12:36:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T17:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/secu\/?page_id=61"},"modified":"2026-03-17T10:10:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T15:10:58","slug":"open-meetings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/secu\/resources\/open-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Under the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law, standing faculty committees, standing academic staff committees and university staff committees are \u201cgovernmental bodies\u201d and are, therefore, subject to the provisions of the law. Some of the relevant provisions to be aware of are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Committee meetings will be open unless the purpose of the meeting qualifies under one of the exceptions listed in Wis. Stat. sec. 19.85(1)(a)-(h).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Wis. Stat. sec. 19.85(1) contains the requirements for convening in closed session. A motion citing the purpose (by Section number) for closing the meeting must be made and seconded, and the vote must be by recorded roll call vote.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Wis. Stat. sec. 19.84 contains the requirements for public notice. This means, in practice, that the date, time, place, and agenda for each committee meeting should be filed at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting using 51ÁÔÆæ’s Open Meetings Online form<\/a>. A notice must be filed whether or not the meeting is open or closed and the expectation of a closed session should be indicated as part of the agenda.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Using Online Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If your meeting is fully online<\/strong>, you must include a meeting link (and\/or dial-in information) in your open meetings notice, but you can and should use Teams meeting settings<\/a> to limit the participation of outside participants (i.e., those who are not committee members or invited guests\/speakers). The meeting organizer can disable the chat as well as microphone and video camera for attendees (versus \u201corganizers\u201d) in \u201cMeeting Options.\u201d There is also a Q&A function that can be used instead of the chat, which allows the organizers to control what is published during the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If your meeting is hybrid<\/strong>, you can fulfill your open meetings obligations by including only the physical location<\/em><\/strong> for the meeting in your meeting notice. You are not required to publish the meeting link; this can be shared with organizers and participants privately. If you prefer to make your hybrid meeting widely accessible online, you can still do that, but you should enable the features noted above to restrict attendees\u2019 access to microphones, video, and the chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This assumes that your meeting agenda does not include a public comment period or other opportunity for general participation (which are rare). If it does, you would need to enable access at an appropriate time and be prepared to address potential inappropriate behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you have further questions about open meetings requirements, please contact the Office of Legal Affairs (x4278, nehringb@uwm.edu<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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    \nOpen Meeting Online Form<\/a>\n\n\n\nOpen Meeting Notices<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n