Category: Human Resources

Now is the time for 9/10 month benefit-eligible faculty or exempt staff members to elect or cancel annualized salary spread for the 2026-27 academic year.

If you currently are paid over your 9/10 month appointment and would like to have that pay spread out over 12 months beginning with the pay period starting Aug. 2 for the 2026-27 academic year, complete the Annualized Salary Spread Agreement no later than July 10.

If you are currently paid your 9/10 month appointment salary over 12 months and would like to cancel that election for the 2026-27 academic year, complete the Salary Spread Cancellation Form no later than July 17.

If you have plans to take leave during the academic year, retire or otherwise leave employment at the end of the academic year this can impact how salary spread would function and whether or not you would be able to receive pay over the summer months, so consult the HR Service Center to get more information on those changes would you so you can make the best decision.

If you do not wish to make any changes to your current election, no action is necessary. For questions, email HR.ServiceCenter@wichita.edu.

The Kansas 529 Educational Savings Plan has a new name: Quest 529. This transition also includes a change in vendor, now supported by TIAA. The Quest 529 plan offers a wide range of benefits and can help you meet your family’s college savings needs.

Learn more about the Quest 529 program at an informational webinar at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 13. Learn more and register for the webinar.

More information about the Quest 529 Educations Savings Plan can be found on its website.

To help employees plan for time-off and work schedules throughout the year, the university has shared Winter Break has been approved this year to commence at the end of the day on Friday, Dec. 18, 2026, and the university will reopen on Monday, Jan. 4, 2027. The break is 10 business days, three of which are paid holidays. Thanks to President Rick Muma, employees may use four “Additional Personal Days” to remain in pay status during Winter Break. Classes will not be in session during this period.

Unclassified Professional and University Support Staff may use accumulated paid leave, Additional Personal Days or their 2027 discretionary day* to cover time off during Winter Break. Non-exempt employees may also use accumulated compensatory time off during Winter Break.

If an employee’s role requires them to work during Winter Break, it must be approved in advance by their immediate supervisor.

Dates of Winter Break:

• Monday, Dec. 21, 2026
• Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2026
• Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2026
• Thursday, Dec. 24, 2026 (paid holiday**)
• Friday, Dec. 25, 2026 (paid holiday)
• Monday, Dec. 28, 2026
• Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2026
• Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2026
• Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026
• Friday, Jan. 1, 2027 (paid holiday)

An employee must be in pay status the entire workday before and the entire workday after state holidays to receive holiday pay. This year the official state holidays (bolded) are Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Employees required to work during Winter Break will be allowed to use their four Additional Personal Days anytime from Dec. 21, 2026 through Jan. 31, 2027.

*The discretionary day for 2026 must be used on or before Friday, Dec. 18, 2026, prior to the beginning of Winter Break. The discretionary day for 2027 will be available as of Sunday, Dec. 20, 2026 and may be used during the 2026 Winter Break.

**The governor may designate additional paid holidays for state employees, often around holiday seasons in some years. In 2026, with Christmas falling on Friday, the governor has designated an additional holiday for Thursday, Christmas Eve.

Pursuant to Kansas Board of Regents and WSU Policy, all employees are required to annually disclose certain external interests, activities and consulting arrangements. The university has an internal platform designed for the collection and review of all such disclosures. This platform can be found in the myWSU portal under “Employee Required Training.” Employees who have not yet completed a disclosure will be prompted to complete the disclosure in its entirety. Employees who have timely previously completed a disclosure will simply be prompted to review and certify the accuracy of their prior submissions.

Employees must complete and submit their disclosures by end of day April 30.

For additional guidance on how and what to disclose, review the conflict of interest frequently asked questions. For any additional questions, email coi@wichita.edu.

As a reminder, in addition to the annual disclosure process, WSU employees are required to disclose new external interests, activities and consulting arrangements as soon as such situations become known.

Mike Crabtree, KPERS 457 advisor, will be on campus for in-person meetings from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9 in 238 Rhatigan Student Center, Meeker Room. Appointments need to be booked ahead of time.

The annual WSU Retirement Planning Seminar is from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 27. The all-virtual event offers information on a variety of topics with presentations on estate planning, Medicare, and understanding and making the most of your retirement plans.

There are two on-demand videos available now from HR Total Rewards covering retiree health plan options and the WSU retirement process. Many of the other presentations will be recorded and available for viewing at a later date.

The EAP and TIAA presentations require registration. All others can be joined at the time of the meeting via Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

The seminar agenda, information and meeting and registration links can be found on the Human Resources website.

Annual non-teaching employee performance evaluations for 2026-27 are now accessible for managers to complete the planning step of the myPerformance evaluation cycle. Planning should be completed by 11:59 p.m. March 31.

The 2026-27 review period begins March 1 and ends on Feb. 28, 2027. Managers should log into myPerformance to add expectations, competencies and goals for the current review period then meet with their employees to review and provide a copy of their evaluation for reference throughout the year.

A change was made for the 2026-27 evaluation form based on university feedback to simplify and reduce redundancy in the competency section comments. There is now only one comments box to capture performance expectations and progress versus a comments box for each competency.

Helpful hints:

• Managers have unlimited access to update and edit content on evaluations in myPerformance until the employee self-evaluation step begins Jan. 1, 2027.
• Be sure to save and submit anytime you update or make changes to an evaluation. You still have access to make changes after you save and submit.
• Employees don’t have access to their 2026-27 myPerformance evaluation until the employee self-evaluation step, which is why it’s important to review and provide a copy of their evaluation for reference throughout the year.
• To find in-progress or past evaluations in myPerformance, check the small box “Show completed and expired tasks.”

For more information (including myPerformance training, quick reference guides and other resources) go to the myPerformance webpage.

The 2026 Retirement Planning Seminar is March 27. The seminar agenda, videos and information can be found on the HR Total Rewards website.

While most of the topics are aimed at employees who are 55 or older and close to retirement, the “Basics of Estate Planning” presentation is open to all employees who are interested. Presented by the EAP provider, ComPsych, the webinar will be at 11 a.m.. Registration is required. You will need to enter your State of Kansas ID and date of birth to register, and you will be sent a confirmation email with the meeting link.

Annual non-teaching employee performance evaluations for 2025-26 will be available for manager signatures beginning March 8 provided that their employee has submitted their employee signature in myPerformance.

Managers should log into myPerformance then electronically sign and submit their employee’s 2025-26 evaluation by 11:59 p.m. Saturday, March 14.

Helpful hints:

• Progress through each page of the evaluation to review all comments and ratings.
• Enter your name in the signature field, click “Sign,” and then click “Submit” on the approval signature page and the submit review pop-up window.
• Check the box that says “Show completed and expired tasks” if you think an evaluation has disappeared from your scheduled tasks.
• Don’t forget that the first step of the 2026-27 myPerformance evaluation cycle, “Planning,” is due on March 31.

Note: The first step of the evaluation cycle, “Planning,” for 2026-27 evaluations is accessible to managers in myPerformance. The planning step is for setting expectations and goals for the new review period which runs March 1, 2026 through Feb. 28, 2027. If you have not already done so, you should enter and submit this information in myPerformance, and then meet with your employees by March 31. Your employees will not have access to their 2026-27 evaluation until Jan. 1, 2027, so it is important to provide them with a copy to use as a reference throughout the year.

A change was made for the 2026-27 evaluation form based on university feedback to simplify and reduce redundancy in the competency section comments. There is now only one comments box to capture performance expectations and progress versus a comments box for each competency.

For more information (including myPerformance training, quick reference guides and other resources) go to the myPerformance webpage (wichita.edu/myPerformance).

The annual WSU Retirement Planning Seminar is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 27. This is an all-virtual event designed to offer information to employees who are beginning to plan for this transition.

Vendors will present on a variety of topics including estate planning, Medicare and retirement plan specific information. There are also two on-demand videos available now from HR Total Rewards covering retiree health plan options and the WSU retirement process.

The seminar agenda, videos and information can be found on the Human Resources website.

The EAP presentation requires registration; all others can be joined at the time of the meeting. Content will continue to be updated and meeting links will be added as the event draws closer.