Phases of Implementation
Over time, more academic, administrative, and auxiliary units will join LinkUW and will be implemented in phases. Each phase will include a mix of units. Communication will be shared to each unit when their phase is known. When a new phase is being implemented, Transition Team members from each unit will work close with the LinkUW team.
LinkUW is currently supporting about 30 units and 3,000 employees. With the addition of Phase 2, this will expand our service to just over 20 percent of the campus and roughly 5,000 employees.
Phase 2 Implementation
The following units will transition to LinkUW in late summer 2026:
Units transitioning HR services
- Wisconsin School of Business
Units transitioning finance services
- Madison Budget Office
- Office of Human Resources (complete)
- Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
The following units will transition to LinkUW in winter 2027:
Units transitioning HR services
- School of Human Ecology
- School of Pharmacy
- UW Police Department
- Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Units transitioning finance services
- Division of Business Services
- Division of Extension
- International Division
- School of Human Ecology
- UW Police Department
- Wisconsin School of Business
- Wisconsin Public Media
- Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Phase 1 Implementation
Phase 1 implementation was completed November 2025 and the following units now use LinkUW services.
Units using HR services
- Administration Innovation and Planning (AIP)
- Administrative Transformation Program
- Division of Business Services
- Division of Extension
- Division of Teaching and Learning
- Facilities Planning & Management
- International Division
- Madison Budget Office
- Nelson Institute
- Office of Human Resources
- University Housing
- Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
- Wisconsin Public Media
- Workday and Enterprise Solutions Team (WEST)
Units using finance services
- Chazen Museum of Art
- Data, Academic Planning & Institutional Research (DAPIR)
- Division of the Arts
- Division of Teaching & Learning
- Facilities Planning & Management
- Global Health Institute (GHI)
- Graduate School
- Nelson Institute
- Office of the Chancellor
- Office of Legal Affairs
- Office of the Provost
- Office of the Secretary of the Academic Staff
- Office of the Secretary of Faculty
- Office of Strategic Consulting (OSC)
- Office of the Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications
- Office of the Vice Chancellor for University Relations
- Officer Education
- School of Pharmacy
- University Housing
- University of Wisconsin Press
- Workday and Enterprise Solutions Team (WEST)
Project Frequently Asked Questions
For Phase One, with implementation in December 2025, LinkUW employees will be participating in onboarding and training starting in November. If we do not have LinkUW employees with academic unit experience, we can train them during this time.
By including a mix of academic, administrative, and auxiliary units in the Phase One pilot, we aim to understand how best to change the way services are provided at UW–Madison, gather feedback throughout the process, and refine our practices and processes to meet unit needs and create smoother transitions during each new phase.
The LinkUW project team actively partners and collaborates with participating schools/colleges/divisions (s/c/d) from the start of the initiative. The project team takes time to understand each unit’s culture, operations, and needs during the Discovery stage. For HR and finance, this meant working closely with HR Leads and finance directors to learn about current business processes and how they function. Additionally, each s/c/d has a delegate on the Transition Team which helps keep employees informed of the transition.
We expect improved process efficiency and reduced time to complete transactions. By moving operational work to LinkUW, schools, colleges, and divisions will be able to focus more time, effort, and resources on strategic and mission-centered work.
The goal of this transition is to standardize the service offerings delivered by LinkUW. Units will not be able to pick and choose which services are included/they participate in.
The project team engaged with Phase One units to determine which services were the right fit for LinkUW. This list is likely to expand as employees within LinkUW gain expertise and additional units join.
The project leaders are committed to providing communicating information and updates shared governance bodies. Additionally, the team is committed to communicating, collaborating, and considering the perspectives of impacted staff members in participating units.