Prepare Now for Winter Recess and Submit Plans
Sent on behalf of Vice Provost for Operations Mike Rounds.
Colleagues,
Please share the dates and information below about Winter Recess with faculty and staff in your unit. This information and more can be found on KU’s Winter Recess website.
On Nov. 10, Chancellor Girod announced most Lawrence and Edwards Campus offices would be closed Dec. 27 through Jan. 2. KU employees will receive paid leave without having to use their accrued leave. As mentioned in the announcement, an alternative week (Dec. 20 ̶ Dec. 26) of leave is available for employees in those small number of units that must provide minimal or continuous service during the campus-wide closure.
Please Note: If your unit has not yet filed plans for academic break (Dec. 12, 2020 – Jan. 31, 2021), please ensure that an authorized representative for your office submits plans for your unit as soon as possible.
Winter Recess and Academic Break
During the recess, administrative and student services offices responsible for completing fall semester graduation checks, for processing promotion and tenure files, and for discharging operational and business functions will continue, either remotely or onsite, although most buildings will be locked and accessible solely through key card.
Academic Calendar:
- Last day of classes – Nov. 24
- Study Week – Nov. 30 – Dec. 6
- Finals Week (conducted remotely) – Dec. 7 – Dec. 11.
Academic Break: Dec. 12, 2020, through Jan. 31, 2021
Winter Recess, campus closed: Dec. 24, 2020, through Jan. 2, 2021; paid leave provided for employees.
Holidays:
- Christmas Eve – Dec. 24
- Christmas Day – Dec. 25
- New Year's Day – Jan. 1
- Martin Luther King Day – Jan. 18
Fall semester final examinations conclude Friday, Dec.11, 2020, and spring semester classes begin Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 (except for School of Law, which starts Jan. 25). To better protect facilities and equipment after students leave at Thanksgiving, campus buildings will be locked and accessible through key card, beginning Monday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Jan. 31.
Information will be provided to units at a later date about campus operations during Winter Recess and about related payroll and personnel procedures.
Purchasing and Deliveries
During winter break, the ability to receive order deliveries on campus will be limited. Please use the processes and procedures your department used this spring and summer if your unit must continue purchases during this time. The at-home delivery options for necessary office supplies are still available for your unit to use. If there are no available personnel to receive deliveries, please do not allow non-essential purchases.
Severe Weather
Faculty and staff have received a reminder about severe weather that affects university functions. When severe winter weather appears imminent, members of the KU community should monitor alerts.ku.edu for news of closures and delayed start times for the Lawrence and Edwards campuses.
I encourage supervisors to discuss potential work arrangements with employees now before winter weather affects our campuses and the surrounding area. Please be sure that any weather-essential staff members in your unit understand their responsibilities when severe weather affects campus operations.
Note: Because of remote work arrangements during the pandemic, decisions about essential staff may necessarily be different this year than in past years.
Employees who currently work on campus but are not designated as “weather essential” are encouraged to use their judgement about safe travel and family needs during severe weather conditions and are expected to keep their supervisor informed. Employees may use appropriate forms of their accrued paid leave for the time they may be absent from work.
Mike Rounds
Vice Provost for Operations
cc: personnel-related staff