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DOCUMENT TYPE:
Policy
PURPOSE:
To define general conditions of employment designated to applicable employees at the time employment is offered or revised.
APPLIES TO:
Faculty, unclassified academic staff, and university support staff
CAMPUS:
Lawrence, Edwards, Leavenworth, Juniper Gardens, Parsons, Pittsburg, Salina (KUL), Topeka, Wichita (KUL), Yoder, Medical Center (KUMC), Salina (KUMC), Wichita (KUMC)
DEFINITIONS:
Limited Term/Fixed Term – A regular position that requires work for a specified time period with a specified end date. Limited/Fixed Term employment generally does not exceed one to two years in duration. Acting roles or Interim positions are viewed as Limited Term. Extension requests for Limited Term positions should be submitted to Human Resources (HR) no later than two months prior to the expiration date in order to be considered for renewal.
Contingent Upon Funding – A regular position for which there is not an ongoing state budget commitment of funding, and for which the continuation of employment is based on availability of funding (i.e., sponsored projects, grants, endowment, revenue funds, etc.).
Serve at the Pleasure – A designation made by the Chancellor, Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor, Vice Provost, Vice Chancellor, Dean, or their designees for employees holding higher level administrative or key positions considered critical to the unit’s operations, business, and/or financial processes which allows for termination for any reason without advanced notice.
Temporary Employment– Non-benefits eligible that may not exceed 12 months or 999 hours of work in a calendar year unless designated as seasonal or assigned a faculty title designated as temp as identified in the collective bargaining unit per Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
Hiring units may request a temporary position due to an immediate vacancy, special project assignment, seasonal volume, emergencies, etc. Units may elect to hire a temporary staff member through the University or through an external temporary agency. This policy applies only to temporary employees hired through the University. Temporary employees are at-will for the duration of their employment.
POLICY STATEMENT:
Hiring Authority
The conditions of KU employment are established in compliance with federal and state statutes, regulations, and are consistent with Kansas Board of Regents and University policies. Positions are authorized within those parameters by appropriate levels of KU administration. University policies governing employment is also promulgated by appropriate KU administrative offices.
In consultation with appropriate administrative offices, Human Resources (HR) determines the eligibility for hire or rehire of individuals seeking University employment. As with any other employer, HR may make such determinations based on, but not limited to, criminal history, employment history and/or status, eligibility to work, and/or employment references. Employees may not be eligible for rehire if terminated for cause. Individuals denied eligibility for employment may discuss this status with HR.
Conditions of Employment
Conditions of employment may be designated by the University for specific positions based upon the nature of the work, time commitment, or designated funding source. All employment conditions assigned to a position will be outlined in the offer letter or faculty renewal. If a conflict exists regarding the designation of employment conditions, the most recent of either the offer letter or the applicable faculty renewal notice will serve as the authoritative source. The acceptance of the faculty renewal affirms the conditions of employment.
University Support Staff (USS) are subject to a probationary period during which time their employment has an “at will” status as specified by the University Policy on Probationary Periods for University Support Staff and Unclassified Professional Staff.
Any conditions of employment stipulated in a memorandum of agreement must also be met.
EXCLUSIONS OR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES:
This policy does not include specific requirements, forms, policies or paperwork which may be required at the time of employment or for annual update periods nor prevent the University from establishing additional specific requirements that may not be identified in an offer letter.
USS positions designated as Contingent Upon Funding, Temporary, or Limited Term at the time of hire are not eligible for lay-off rights.
State of Kansas employees generally should not hold concurrent State of Kansas employment that exceed a full-time employment. The designation of a position as exempt (salaried) or non-exempt (hourly) must be consistent for all concurrently held State of Kansas positions.
Retiree rehires must comply with the provisions of the applicable University policy, and KPERS retirees may be subject to the provisions of the State of Kansas Working After Retirement (WAR) regulations.
Faculty or unclassified academic staff may hold joint employment as unclassified professional staff with or without the special employment conditions cited herein. A faculty or unclassified academic staff member’s joint unclassified professional staff position with or without special employment conditions is subject to the provisions of the Employment Conditions for Unclassified Professional Staff (UPS) policy and may be terminated pursuant to these provisions.
Temporary employees, except students or faculty designated as temp in the collective bargaining unit per the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA); are limited as follows:
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Actual hours worked do not exceed 999 in a 12-month period (from the original employment date), and
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Length of "Temporary" employment may not exceed 12 months (beginning with the original employment date).
Departments wishing to continue employing faculty/staff to work more than 999 hours or longer than a 12-month period will be required to use "Regular" employment. Using this employment option will make the faculty/staff member eligible for benefit program participation. Individual departments will be required to fund the additional costs.
The twelve-month restriction in the temporary section does not apply to Standardized Patients, KUMC adjunct faculty, students, or temporary employees working as Pro Re Nata (PRN) or seasonal. Temporary appointments are considered “at-will” and may be terminated prior to the end of the work assignment or at the discretion of the University. On the Lawrence and Edwards campus, minors under the age of 18 who perform work for the University and do not meet the University’s enrollment requirements must be appointed to temporary positions and hiring units must abide by provisions of the Minors on Campus policy.
Human Resources will notify department administrators approximately 30 days prior to the threshold for "Temporary" employment expiration. Departments are expected to manage their "Temporary" faculty/staff appropriately. Extensions of or consecutive "temporary" assignments will not ordinarily be permitted.
CONTACT:
Lawrence Campus and all reporting units:
Human Resources
101 Carruth-O’Leary Hall
1246 W. Campus Road
Lawrence, KS 66045
785-864-4946
hrdept@ku.edu
KU Medical Center and all reporting units:
Human Resources
1054 Wescoe, Mail Stop 2033
3901 Rainbow Blvd.
Kansas City, KS 66160
Hr-university@kumc.edu
RESPONSIBLE UNIT:
Human Resources
APPROVED BY:
Chancellor
APPROVED ON:
2017-06-15
EFFECTIVE ON:
2017-06-15
REVIEW CYCLE:
1 year
RELATED STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND/OR POLICIES:
Kansas Board of Regents Policy Manual (II.C)
KU Medical Center and all reporting units:
Faculty Handbook (login required)
KUMC Retiree Rehire & Contractual Services Policy (login required)
RELATED RESOURCES:
Kansas Public Employees Retirement System Plan (KPERS)
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
Working After Retirement
CHANGE HISTORY:
06/30/2026: Updated to remove Unclassified Professional Staff and combine for all-University applicability.
10/06/2025: Updated formatting.
09/22/2025: Updated KBOR link.
06/10/2025: Update Contact section.
04/25/2025: Updated links.
03/24/2025: Migration to TeamDynamix from Drupal.
09/20/2024: Updated Human Resource Management (HRM) to Human Resources (HR).
03/12/2019: The title VP for Administration and Finance no longer exists. Future approvals will be made by the Vice Provost for Operations.
06/15/2017: Supersedes the “Hiring/Rehiring Policy” of October 1, 2006; and the “Temporary Employment Policy” of April 21, 2011.
TITLE:
Employment Conditions