Editor's note: This article was updated at 9:39 p.m. to include additional information from ASM Chair Landis Varughese.
Editor’s note: This article was updated at 1:40 p.m. to include additional information from ASM.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials said the university’s ethnic studies requirement will remain in place Wednesday, as a plan to standardize required courses across the University of Wisconsin System left the requirement in ambiguity.
The proposal, tied to reforms approved in the state’s 2025-27 biennial budget, created six broad categories of courses shared across the system’s universities aiming to ease transferring between UW System schools. While an ethnic or cultural studies requirement does not fit under any of the categories, UW-Madison leaders said they will preserve theirs.
“The Draft Regent Policy Document does not change or require changes to UW-Madison’s general education, school/college or major requirements,” John Lucas, UW-Madison spokesperson, said in a statement to The Daily Cardinal. “We have heard the concerns about the future of the ethnic studies requirement. There is no current plan to change it from UW-Madison; it’s been an important part of the education we provide.”
The UW System does not have a system-wide ethnic studies requirement because of policies the Board of Regents approved in 2011, though all UW campuses independently offer a similar requirement.
UW-Madison first adopted a formal requirement in 1989 at the request of students after a report into minority affairs.
Much of the recent worry stemmed from incomplete interpretations of the FAQ circulated by the Associated Students of Madison and The Badger Herald. Both suggested UW-Madison could be forced to drop its ethnic studies requirement, sparking outrage from students and faculty who saw the change as a rollback of hard-fought gains.
ASM stated the ethnic studies requirement was at risk and asked students for support in an Instagram post Monday. ASM released a follow up statement on Thursday after UW officials confirmed the requirement would remain, claiming the UW System “misinformed the general public on the state of Ethnic Studies.”
ASM Press Secretary Drew Wesson later clarified ASM was confused by the language in the UW System’s FAQ.
“What ASM believes was happening was that the UW System was stating that the requirement won't exist when it already doesn't exist,” Wesson told the Cardinal. “In the old version of the page, in that context, it reads as if they are taking the requirement away. That is where the confusion stemmed from for ASM.”
ASM Chair Landis Varughese told the Cardinal they did not have confirmation from campus administration the ethnic studies requirement would cease before posting the initial statement, and they posted because of the FAQ and professors who had reached out to ASM.
The FAQ said there has not been a system-wide ethnic studies requirement since 2011 and there will no longer be one.
“The Design for Diversity (RPD 17-9) and Plan 2008 (RPD 17-10) were time specific reports or initiatives that were considered obsolete or no longer in effect when the Board of Regents approved removal of these policies in April 2011,” the FAQ reads."While courses that were previously considered under these initiatives may be mapped to one of the six broad categories, there will not be an ethnic studies or diversity course requirement.”
The UW System updated the language on the FAQ between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, clarifying UW System universities have discretion to enforce ethnic studies requirements.
“Ultimately, there was no need for this FAQ to be published given this information, let alone with this wording,” Varughese told the Cardinal in a follow up email.
Varughese also addressed the topic at the ASM meeting Wednesday night, saying “At best, this was a public departure from the values of ethnic studies by the University of Wisconsin-Madison when they did not have to. An embarrassing move, if you ask me.”
Regarding the original Instagram post, Varughese said he does not “regret making that Instagram post whatsoever.”
“It will be an insult to the students that I serve to not share this information with the masses, and it would be an even greater disservice to not notify everyone, but the information disseminated was straight up incorrect and harmful to students by the University of Wisconsin,” he said.
United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) urged members to share their “outrage” and voice their contempt with the decision in an Instagram post Sunday.
The African American Studies Department at UW-Madison sent out a newsletter on Tuesday asking supporters of the ethnic studies requirement to fill out a testimonial to be considered in decision making.
Administrators clarified the draft does not eliminate the requirement at UW-Madison, and the Board of Regents does not prohibit campuses from keeping such courses.
Mark Pitsch, director of media relations for the UW System, said the proposal is designed to improve transferability across campuses.
“The intent of the Core General Education requirements is to ensure a seamless transfer of general education credits across the Universities of Wisconsin, helping students move between universities without losing progress toward graduation,” Pitsch told the Cardinal. “This student-centered approach is designed to provide broader consistency and transparency in general education requirements and reduce time to degree completion and cost of attendance.”
He added the Board of Regents does not require ethnic studies or cultural diversity courses, leaving that decision up to individual universities. “That autonomy is not subject to change,” Pitsch said.
Campus news editor Annika Bereny contributed to this report.
Alaina Walsh is the associate news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has covered breaking news on city crimes and a variety of state and campus stories, including the 2024 presidential election and the UW-Madison budget.
