VSIP Participation Follow-up

Dear Staff and Faculty,

Earlier this summer, I announced the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program for retirement-eligible KU employees on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses. The goal was to use this program to help the university reduce staffing and streamline operations where it made sense in an effort to decrease expenditures and improve KU’s fiscal health.

I want to share with you some results of this effort thus far.

When VSIP was announced to campus in June, 597 employees met the eligibility requirements to apply. Of those, 166 employees, 27.8% of those eligible, applied.

From there, 155 employees were approved to proceed as part of the program, although for a variety of reasons, a few withdrew their applications. At this time, 147 will retire at the end of 2020 through the program. Participants still have an additional step to complete after Dec. 31 in order to receive the VSIP payout.

Here’s a simple breakdown of the pool of applicants and the final count:

• Faculty: 173 were eligible, 15 applied, 15 were approved, 13 have submitted notice of retirement
• Staff: 424 were eligible, 151 applied, 140 were approved, 134 have submitted notice of retirement

A majority of the positions will not be refilled. Unit leaders have petitioned to refill a portion of the positions, roughly 20 percent. All of these factors will have an impact on the final savings as a result of the program and will play a role in what services and program are offered in the future.

I want to thank all of you for your patience and offer my appreciation for those who considered this option. As in previous times when the university has offered VSIPs, there is a pressing need that makes the program a viable option, but that doesn’t mean the individual decisions are necessarily easy. This effort will help KU for years to come.

Respectfully,

Barb

Barbara A. Bichelmeyer
Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor