Recommendations From University Constituent Surveys Turned to Action

Staff:

Recommendation: “Offer wellness activities – e.g., maintain and extend the hours of the Robinson pool and gym facilities (including KU Card access); walking groups; healthy eating and other programs (i.e., comparable to HealthQuest activities, in addition to participation in health insurance benefits).” Docking Survey 2022

Actions: 

• Support for wellness has been expanded by the hiring of additional team members for the Office of Mental Health and Wellbeing.
• The Wellness website is consistently updated with activities such as lunch-n-learns, move-n-learns, and employee yoga.
• The monthly newsletter is sent directly to those that sign up. 
• Implementation of the Wellness Ambassador program.
• Crops to Campus partnership program. 
• JED campus certification.

Recommendation: All job postings should be required to list a salary range. This practice encourages a more diverse candidate pool and helps to ensure pay equity. Docking Survey 2022

Action:

• All staff postings include either a starting range or rate.

Recommendation: Provide services – Free copies of the Common Book for all employees (or at least shared within all units). Docking Survey 2022

• The Common Book program has been reimagined as KU Reads: A Common Book Experience.
• Copies for students, faculty, and staff are available upon request. 

Recommendation: The University should identify a department/position to be responsible for overseeing staff appreciation and recognition efforts. These duties should be assigned as a permanent function. Docking Survey 2022

Actions:

• Launched Total Rewards Center for Excellence this Fall - An office within this center will be focused on employee appreciation and recognition.
• A list of prior recognition programs has been compiled, and programs at other institutions are currently being researched.
• "Employee Recognition and Appreciation" is the topic selected for the 2026 Staff Fellows Program.

Recommendation: Enhance the condition and usability of all working spaces. Potential strategies include consolidation and other adjustments reflecting remote and hybrid working arrangements, reduction of the campus footprint for greater safety and productivity and accessibility, and increased funding for facilities. Docking Survey 2022

Actions:

• Hawk Route Phase 2 work is complete, with revisions made as needed.
• Youngberg renovations completed August 2025 and will be occupied by several research groups, allowing Wakarusa Research Facility to be vacated.
• Chiller Plant 4 work was completed over the summer 2025 providing more reliable cooling to Anschutz Library, Marvin, Chalmers, and Lindley Halls.

Faculty:

Recommendation: "The Wellness director should be engaged in the COACHE process and tailor programs accordingly."
COACHE Survey 2022

Action: 

• The Wellness Director is a member of the Implementation Team and is aware of recommendations and incorporating into department programs.

Recommendation: "A thorough cost-benefit analysis to faculty showing the financial benefit to the university after implementing the SSC model; evaluation of the efficiency of the SSC. Stakeholders should have more say in the evaluation of staff and the services being provided by the SSC." COACHE Survey 2022

Actions: 

• Transitioned about 30 SSC team members to HR. 
• Transitioned several SSC team members to Post Award in the Office of Research. 
• The Jayhawks Rising Finance Service portal, and the AIRE OAC dashboard, Payment Insights, are operational.

Recommendation: "Transparency: We recommend that there be a State of the University address every academic year by the provost or chancellor, or both. Information shared can live on a website." COACHE Survey 2022

Actions: 

• The Chancellor has hosted annual State of the University presentations since October 2023.
• The Provost has hosted annual State of the Campus (Lawrence & Edwards) presentations since October 2023.
• Libraries have hosted annual State of the Libraries presentations since March 2024. 
• The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosted a State of the School presentation March 2024.

Recommendation: One way in which the university can compete for, and retain, the best faculty is to ensure it has a strong spouse/partner hire policy.  The university lacks binding policy on this issue; rather, it has non-binding guidelines. Adopt binding policy that supports, pursuant to transparent criteria, spousal/partner hires.  Furthermore, the university, or all units, should annually budget to meaningfully meet these goals. COACHE Survey 2022

Actions:

• Faculty Affairs has established a workgroup around this that has met and will continue to meet.
• HR has been working with Faculty Affairs and team to develop an outline of a program/process to meet this recommendation. 
• Feb 2025: Guidelines are drafted. Working group established co-lead by HR and Office of Faculty Affairs considering feedback.

• Policy: https://services.ku.edu/TDClient/818/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=21137

   

Undergraduate Students:

Recommendation: "Encourage faculty in New Faculty Orientation, University Career Center, and other workshops to engage more frequently with students about their academic performance and career plans through regular office hours, mentorship programs, and integrating academic discussions into the curriculum." National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Survey 2024

Actions:  

• Kim Warren, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, attended new faculty orientation, and has been socializing these ideas through CTE workshops. 
• The University Career Center is collaborating with CLAS and University Core Curriculum Committee (UCCC).

Recommendation: "Expand first-year courses so that 50% of first-year students are exposed to student success/career-related strategies, including how to navigate through a large university." National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Survey 2024

Actions: 

• There will be 50 courses offered next year. More students are taking First Year Seminar (FYS). 
• In collaboration with CTE, a first-year teaching academy will be offered in May 2026. The academy will be open to all who teach 100 level courses and First Year Students.

Recommendation: "Create a system, (e.g., comprehensive learner transcript, badging system, or micro credentials), for undergraduates to track enduring skills and understand why it matters that they are studying at an R-1 institution." 
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Survey 2024

Actions:

• Vendors have been contacted for system cost quotes.
• Coordinating with the Office of Faculty Affairs, and a pilot group is in the process of being formed.
   

Graduate Students:

Recommendation: "Establish policies and/or procedures to require that graduate student handbooks for all master’s and doctoral programs are provided to graduate students in their first semester of their program and are available to students through program completion." Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES) 2024

Actions:  

• Policy went into effect July 1, 2025.
• A handbook template has been developed and is in the process of distributing. 
• Target completion of handbooks is Fall 2026.

Recommendation: "Expand professional development initiatives for faculty/staff and formal policies that support high-quality graduate student mentoring across all graduate programs." Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES) 2024

Actions: 

• The Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Faculty Affairs have developed a piloted a workshop to enhance graduate student mentorship.
• Workshops began in the Fall 2025 semester, and are scheduled throughout the Spring 2026 semester.

Recommendation: "Explore additional options (i.e., beyond GSES, Doctoral Completion Survey) for graduate students to anonymously report advising and mentoring concerns for aggregate (only) reporting to deans and for continuous improvement of professional development initiatives in OGS." Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES) 2024

Action:

• Report It has been updated to provide reporting options for Graduate Student Academic Advising or Mentorship Problems.

Recommendation: "Improve communication to students, advisors (broadly defined), and administrators regarding how student fees (e.g., Wellness Fee, Campus Fee) relate to specific service availability, particularly for students in online programs and across the various campuses." Graduate Student Experience Survey (GSES) 2024

Action:

• Distribution lists have been reviewed to ensure the correct students are getting information about these services.