Madison, La Crosse and Milwaukee are three University of Wisconsin System campuses that have specific spousal hire policies. At all three campuses, the goal is to help dual-career couples find gainful employment for both spouses in the community. The policies vary.

At Madison, there is the Dual-Career Couple Assistance Program, which is a collaboration between academic and administrative departments and the Madison community to find employment opportunities for spouses and partners of potential UW-Madison hires. Along with placing a spouse in an opening at the university, the program also helps spouses or partners look for career opportunities outside the college and can also provide assistance with non-employment issues including local schools, daycare options and/or housing.

Both the Madison program and Milwaukee's Faculty Partner Accommodation Program differ from UW-L's policy in that they target spousal hires at the time of recruitment. Both policies spell this out specifically, with Madison's stating that the university's dual-career assistance program is only available at recruitment and Milwaukee's program available only to hires contingent on an open position being identified for the spouse of a potential hire.

All three campuses outline a framework for how a spousal hire should work, to keep the process accountable and transparent. Communication between involved parties is stressed in all of the policies, as is the need to review the spouse or partners qualifications or credentials for the position. 

The hiring process does not need to be open for a spousal hire; no other candidates need be considered for the position before a spousal hire is granted. Both Milwaukee and Madison require waivers before a spousal hire can be finalized if an open search is not conducted.