Partner access to be streamlined

The university is clarifying a campuswide policy for providing domestic partners access to many university services.

Steve Lund, director of the Academic Personnel office, says domestic partners of university employees and students have long had access to many university services, but various campus service providers have required different proof of domestic partnerships.

“This is not a change in practice because campus units are clearly doing this on their own,” Lund says. “But we would now have a campus policy that would create a common procedure.”

The University Committee, the executive committee of the Faculty Senate, and ASEC, the executive committee of the Academic Staff Assembly, already voiced their endorsement of the proposal. Discussions with the Council for Non-represented Classified Staff and the Associated Students of Madison also are planned. Provost Peter Spear will finalize the policy using input from all four groups. An initial proposal sets a standard method of documenting a domestic partnership that is to be used by all campus units. It requires that domestic partners have two different joint agreements, such as a lease, mortgage or bank account.

Domestic partners would then be eligible for campus services such as access to sports facilities, housing, libraries and health services. The services would be available to all domestic partners, regardless of the partners’ genders.

“This policy will make it clear that the university will offer domestic partners the same university services it offers to spouses,” Spear says. “It also will clear up any confusion over what the university considers to be a domestic partnership.”

The plan has no impact on insurance benefits, which are controlled by the state legislature. There is a bill before state lawmakers that, if passed, would provide health insurance benefits to domestic partners.