Volunteers

Volunteers perform service for the University without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation for services rendered.  The person offers service freely and without pressure or coercion; and is not otherwise employed by the University to perform the same type of services as those for which the individual proposes to volunteer. Volunteers do not qualify as affiliates.

Eligibility

When considering whether your department should utilize the support of volunteers, it is important to determine if the services provided are truly in a volunteer capacity or if they are considered employment. Generally, In the event that the volunteer is working alongside a KU employee, and they are performing the same work as a KU employee, then it is likely that the person should be classified as an employee, rather than a volunteer. 

Please refer to the Student Position Classification Worksheet to assist you in properly classifying student positions as employment, unpaid internship/volunteer and/or scholarship/fellowship. 

Required Information

To ensure volunteers are appropriately registered, campus departments must complete the Volunteer Registration Form (pdf) and submit it to HR by email to hrdept@ku.edu.

Criminal Background Checks

A volunteer may be subject to a criminal background check if they will be working with non-KU minors. Please contact HR by email at hrdept@ku.edu or by phone at 785-864-4946 for more information.

Additional Information

  • Registered volunteers do not have access to University services or benefits. In the event that a registered volunteer is injured as a result of their duties, there is no guarantee that the State of Kansas would award a workers' compensation claim if filed.
  • For more information about volunteers, please refer to the Affiliates and Volunteers Policy or contact HR by email at hrdept@ku.edu or by phone at 785-864-4946.

*An accessible version of the documents on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact our office at hrdept@ku.edu to request the document be made available in an accessible format.