A recent $225,000 investment from the Office of the Provost into the Deans’ Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant Initiative aims to reduce textbook-related costs for students and support retention by encouraging the adoption of free and publicly available educational materials in high-enrollment courses over the next few years. The Deans’ OER Grant Initiative will focus on KU Core 34 and other large courses that many students are required to take.

For the next three years, about $75,000 will be allocated in the Libraries’ annual budget to invest in stipends and other support for related course instructors, as well as a new OER Faculty Fellow, all of which will work in tandem with existing OER programs. Successful Individual proposals will receive $5,000 and collaborative proposals will receive $10,000, with a $5 bonus per enrolled student in the course. Funds can be used to compensate faculty and graduate students and cover general implementation needs. 

“This meaningful investment by the Office of the Provost positions KU to accelerate OER adoption in high-impact courses where it can truly make a difference for students,” Dean of Libraries Carol Smith said. “By reducing the cost of course materials and expanding access from the first day of class, we can advance both affordability and student success.” 

Read the full article on the KU News website.

Faculty and instructors will have an opportunity to deepen their understanding of first- and second-year students, connect with colleagues who teach foundational courses and learn strategies that help students thrive through the Student Success Academy. 

A new professional development experience, the Student Success Academy, is designed for faculty and instructors who teach 100- and 200-level courses. Co-hosted by Undergraduate Education, the Center for Teaching Excellence and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the academy will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 18 on the Lawrence campus. 

Through a mix of presentations, panels and hands-on activities, participants will learn more about how to support students’ intellectual and personal development with actionable recommendations based on real-life results.  

Participants will revise their syllabi and course plans to integrate student success curriculum, activities and principles into the class. Participants are also encouraged to apply for the Center for Teaching Excellence’s Course Design Institute from May 19 to 21. Stipends are available for those who complete the programs and follow-up sessions.   

Space in both programs is limited, and the application deadline is March 30. Participants can use one application to apply for one or both programs. 

On March 17, KU Information Technology will update its Single Sign-On (SSO) page, which is the login page where users enter their KU Online ID and password to access KU resources. 

As KU IT works to implement this update, the SSO page is expected to be down for a few minutes between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. During this time, users will be unable to access KU resources through the SSO page. If uninterrupted service is needed, including the KU Anywhere VPN, please plan to sign in to any KU resource before the maintenance window begins. 

After the SSO page is updated, it will look different but will remain safe to use. The screenshot above is what the new page will look like. 

Those who have issues following the update or have questions about the new SSO page should reach out to the KU IT Help Desk at 785-864-8080 or ithelpdesk@ku.edu. 

HazingInfo.Org recently gave KU positive ratings in three categories related to campus hazing: Campus Hazing Transparency Report, Hazing Prevention Policy and Hazing Reporting Form. HazingInfo.Org researches U.S. colleges and universities for compliance with the new federal Stop Campus Hazing Act and has a database of colleges and universities to show their findings.  

In December 2024, U.S. Congress passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which went into effect in January 2025. This act amended the Clery Act and required institutions of higher education to: 

According to HazingInfo.org, just 44% of colleges and universities disclose hazing incidents as required by federal law, and 56% of these institutions have not posted their Campus Hazing Transparency Report. Members of Student Affairs at KU and KUMC, the Office of Policy Administration, and the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX worked together to comply with the Stop Campus Hazing Act. 

While most KU Dining locations will be closed over spring break, the CoffeeHouse in the Kansas Union will remain open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Additionally, The Studio Grill and CoffeeHouse in Hashinger Hall will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the break.  

Mrs. E’s in Lewis Hall, South Dining Commons in Downs Hall and North College Cafe in GSP Hall will reopen at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.  

The campus community will notice some changes in parking and bus service during spring break. 

Parking enforcement continues for parking garages and gold, blue and red zone lots during spring break. However, parking in green student housing and yellow commuter zones will be open for all through 7 a.m., March 23.  

KU bus routes will be suspended during spring break, with regular service resuming the morning of March 23. Lawrence Transit and coordinated routes (1-12) will continue as usual.  

Jayhawk Boulevard will be open for drive-through traffic today through Friday. 

KU Employee Wellness’ next virtual Lunch-N-Learn will focus on “Strategies for Building a More Trauma-Informed Workplace,” from 12 to 12:45 p.m. March 25.  

In the United States, psychological trauma affects more than half of adults and can shape how people experience safety, manage stress and feel a sense of control at work. Join Meredith Bagwell-Gray, associate professor of social welfare, and Elizabeth Embry, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship, as they share their collaborative research on trauma‑informed workplaces and why understanding the impact of trauma is essential for supporting employee wellbeing and performance.  

Through real-world examples, they’ll offer practical strategies that leaders, managers, supervisors and employees can use to better support one another.  

KU employees can register through MyTalent and KU affiliates without MyTalent access can email wellness@ku.edu to register. 

Throughout March, KU Dining is celebrating National Nutrition Month with events focused on helping Jayhawks make healthy changes and learn more about nutrition on campus. The campus community is invited to attend a series of events, connect with KU Dining’s nutritionist and make food donations to Campus Cupboard. Donation locations are available in the South Dining Commons, the Underground CoffeeHouse, The Studio Grill and Kansas Union’s fourth level.   

As part of the month’s activities and to encourage balanced, nutritious meals, a 15 percent discount will be available on Fridays for açaí bowls and on Wednesdays for salads and grain bowls at Blend in the Market.  

From Tuesday to Friday, KU IT will perform network maintenance between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. within the Ellsworth and Price data centers on the Lawrence Campus. Interruptions to systems and services will occur during this time.  

Campus-hosted applications, such as Automic, Enroll & Pay, HR Pay, ImageNow and Maximo will be affected, as well as the Central File Server, Enterprise File Server, hosted databases, onsite hosted servers, international traveler remote machines and KU websites.  

Systems and services that will not be affected are internet connectivity, KU email service, network connectivity within a building, OneDrive cloud storage, Microsoft applications, Research File Storage and telephone services.  

Interruptions are expected to last less than 15 minutes but could last up to the five-hour maintenance window. If campus units have a process or system that requires an uninterrupted network connection to the Price Computing Center's data center during this timeframe, please make the necessary preparations by contacting the unit’s IT support team or the IT Help Desk at 785-864-8080. 

Save the date for the KU Employee Wellness Fair on April 8. The drop-in event is expected to bring together more than 400 faculty and staff and 50-plus wellness vendors and campus partners. Stop by the Kansas Union Ballroom from 10:30 a.m to 1 p.m. to enjoy live music from KU students, healthy snacks and plenty of chances to win prizes and swag. Free parking is available in the Mississippi Street Garage. 

More information is available on the Employee Wellness Fair website. 

“Belonging @ KU: First-Generation Perspectives in Higher Education” will take place virtually from 1 to 2 p.m. March 31. A panel of KU experts, including Angela Hendershot, Alejandra Hernandez-Castro and Jorge Aragon, will explore the evolving experiences of first-generation students, staff and faculty in higher education, highlighting various pathways and perspectives across the KU community. 

Registration is required. More information is on the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX website. 

Your KU email account is the official channel for important university communications.

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and procedures and is the Title IX Coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY. Reports can be submitted by contacting the Title IX Coordinator as provided herein or online and complaints can be submitted with the Title IX Coordinator or online.

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