UW-Milwaukee Student Association v. Baum (1976) set the standard for interpreting state statute 36.09(5), clearly enumerating students’ rights to organize student government(s) as they see fit and the right of students to appoint their own representatives to institutional committees.

Student Association of UW-Oshkosh v. Board of Regents (1979) expanded on the Baum case and clarified that students still have the right to appoint their own representatives to UW-System-wide committees so long as the committees deals only with a single campus, i.e. search and screen committees.

Kaye v. Board of Regents (1990) defined UW student associations for the first time as official administrative bodies of a Wisconsin state agency and therefore must adhere to all laws and regulations that state agencies must follow, including Open Meetings law, Open Records law and the prohibition of obtaining a lawyer without prior gubernatorial approval.

Spoto v. Board of Regents (1994) provided the most in depth analysis of the shared governance process and the requirement that partners in UW shared governance must be in agreement for any policy to take effect, stating that the clause “subject to the responsibilities of the board…” does not mean “subordinate to,” and that such a process may inevitably result in impasse if agreement cannot be reached. Spoto is the most critical case in shared governance rights as it clarifies that an administrator cannot simply overrule a shared governance body just for convenience sake.

Also included is a 2009 letter from the Wisconsin Attorney General clarifying student governance bodies’ requirements to hold open meetings and provide access to their records.