Youth Services, Activities, and Camps

Jayhawk Hospitality serves as a resource and provides best practices and procedures for our university sponsors. We also facilitate third-party program provider requests to access university facilities and services.
Young campers walking and holding nets.
A group of children work together on a colorful painted project, guided by an older participant.

Youth Events

Please contact the individual camps for information. Departments that administer camps include:


Planning and Getting Started

Guidelines and Procedures

The following procedures are intended to provide a program sponsor and program director guidance on how to facilitate a youth program or camp at the University of Kansas.

When a KU school, department, or unit decides to sponsor a youth program providing an educational or instructional opportunity on campus, they must agree to provide resources (staff and financial) because youth programs need to be self-funded.

Program Director Responsibilities

Program Director Registration Requirements

  1. Youth Program/Camp Registration Form

    All programs require registration 60-days prior to the program start date. 

    The following two forms (items 2 and 3) are on the same Excel spreadsheet. Please send to youthprograms@ku.edu:

  2. Staff/Chaperone List Template (.xslx)

    Required 20 days in advance to conduct background checks - See Background Check section. This Excel template is provided to document all employees and volunteers involved with youth programs.

  3. Participant List Template (.xslx)

    This template is provided to document all participants of youth programs. Please remit the final participant list on the first day of the program.

  4. Program Itinerary Template (.xslx)

    Please include meeting location for lost camper or emergencies.

  5. Other information:

    Printed brochure, marketing information, or link to website

Registration Exclusions

The individual responsible for the operation of a program in which minors are expected to participate (the “Program Director”) shall register the program at least sixty (60) days prior to the scheduled start date with the Office of University Events and Protocol (youthprograms@ku.edu).

Subject to the following exclusions, registration is required for all programs in which minors are expected to participate, regardless of the duration and/or nature of the event:

  • Youth visitors, individually or in groups for single-day activities not initiated or supervised by KU Program Staff, e.g. field trips supervised by a minor participant’s school or organization. Contractually arranged third-party youth programs are not intended to be exempted by this scenario.
  • Office of Admissions or other departmental recruiting programs which involve youth visiting campus with their parents, legal guardians, or any other adult acting as guardian for the event.
  • Incidental visits by individual youth interacting with KU faculty or staff, but not as part of a coordinated program offering, e.g., tours of facilities, visiting a family member at work. This exclusion does not pertain to scheduled or ongoing visits, such as individual lessons (music) or tutoring/mentoring, volunteering with a job shadowing a KU employee, or individualized experiential learning / enrichment.
  • KU credit-bearing academic courses with students under the age of 18 enrolled, including on-campus, distance education, and/or independent study experiences.
  • Performance or events open to the general public.
  • Minors coming to campus for one-time or intermittent appointments for health care and/or medical treatment.

 

The Program Director, or individual with authority to enter into such a contract on behalf of the organization operating the program, shall enter into a written agreement with the university regarding operation of the program, and abide by all terms therein. University sponsored programs shall agree to complete all necessary forms and agreements. In addition, all programs that house participants overnight in KU Student Housing facilities shall enter into a written agreement with KU Student Housing for the use of such facilities.

Youth programs/camps should be self-supporting activities. Guidelines are established by the KU Comptrollers Office for university sponsored programs. The program/camp rate structure needs to be formally approved by the Service Center Rate Reviewer coordinated by Financial Reporting Services. Questions can be directed to Sarah Carver at sarahkcarver@ku.edu.

The Schools/Departments hosting youth programs/camps should have a unique cost center within Fund 700 for each program/camp.

Registration fees should be made payable to the “University of Kansas”. If the schools/departments want the ability to accept credit card payments, the unit must work with and obtain approval from the eCommerce Committee. Questions can be directed to ecommerce_dl@ku.edu.

Food expenses submitted for payment will need a completed Food & Beverage Form, along with supporting invoices.

Other considerations when developing your budget may include:

Meeting Rooms/Labs/Auditoriums Reservations:

Costs for the usage of university facilities and resources:

 

Program Directors are responsible for developing program content, daily itinerary, as well as, an implementation / action plan for the program.

  1. To the best of their ability, Program Directors should assess and mitigate possible risk to youth and adult staff. A review might include:
    • Age of participants
    • Age appropriate activity/activities
    • Schedules/Itinerary
    • Locations
    • ADA Compliance
    • Identify "What if" Scenarios and Actions

  2. Program / Camp policies and procedures should be outlined and made available to program staff along with training.
    • Check-in/out (Arriving/Departing Program)
    • Evening Room Checks (if applicable)
    • Missing Youth/Camper Plan
    • Emergency & Evacuation Procedures
    • Security (Personal equipment - instruments, computers, etc.)
    • Transportation (parking/rules for leaving campus)
    • Medication dispersing & storage

  3. Conduct requirements should be made available to parent/guardians, program participants and adult staff/chaperones.
    • Possession/Use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs
    • Weapons
    • Bullying/Hazing
    • Dress code
    • Inappropriate use of imaging devices
    • Appeals procedure

  4. For program itineraries all information may not be included, but below are ideas to keep in mind for planning. We would like to receive itineraries and/or any support information so that we can share it with KU Public Safety for emergency purposes. A sample itinerary (.xlsx) may be used/edited; but if you have a preferred itinerary style, please continue to use it.
    • Parking (including drop-off and/or pick-up for day programs)
      1. Parents/Guardians (drop off for registration and/or pick-up)
      2. Parents/Guardians (drop-off / pick-up)
      3. Participants (if age appropriate)
    • Educational activity locations (on campus); orientation, lectures, workshops, labs, studios, etc.
    • Recreation time locations; challenge courses, team building activities, free time, etc.
    • Meal locations
    • Off-campus activity location
    • Include time to travel between buildings / sessions
    • Emergency meeting locations (daytime and nighttime as appropriate)
    • Secure drop off and/or storage locations for instruments, personal items if different from housing and/or registration area

 

Program Directors are responsible for developing and providing materials for participants

The Program Director shall maintain basic information about all Program participants, including, at a minimum, the participant’s name and emergency contact information for the participant’s parent, guardian or responsible adult. The Program Director shall maintain a participant roster (including participant name and emergency contact information) and provide that document to the University by the first day of the camp.

The parent or guardian shall receive, review and sign the following before their minor child can participate in the program:

PLEASE NOTE: All forms required by this section must be maintained by the Program Director for a period of five (5) years following the conclusion of the Program and made available to the University upon request. All health forms should be returned to the parent/guardian at the conclusion of the program/camp. And if the remaining health forms are returned to the parent/guardian, there would be nothing for the Program Director to retain for five years, as would otherwise be required under KU policy.

SAMPLE Documents That Can Be Adapted

Youth Program/Camp Guidelines and Expectations for Participants (.docx)


Youth Services FAQ

KU has established a Minors on Campus Policy to provide guidance to those faculty and staff involved with coordinating and/or sponsoring programs for minor child participants under the age of eighteen (18).

The Planning/Getting Started section has information on how to start a youth program for your department.

Yes, any staff or camp counselors working with minors on campus (whether employed or volunteers) must have a sex-offender background check before beginning to work with minors. Background checks require extra time to process, therefore the names must be submitted 20 days prior to beginning employment. Those failing the background check will not be employed to work with minors.

The Staff/Volunteers page has more information on these background checks.

A listing of programs can be found on the Events section. The list will be updated all year as programs are registered. We strive to have summer youth programs listed by March 1.

The Office of Event Management and Protocol serves as the registrar for youth programs at KU. All programs are required to register 60 days prior to the start date. Please review “Complete Youth Programs/Campus Registration Requirements” on the Planning and Getting Started section.

Five pieces of information are required for registration:

  1. Complete registration form
  2. Staff/Chaperone List
  3. Participant List
  4. Program Itinerary
  5. Other Info: brochures, link to website, and marketing information

The Planning and Getting Started page has more information on requirements for registration.

The University of Kansas recommends following the American Camp Association adult/child supervision ratios:

  • 4 to 5 year-old day participants 1:6 for overnight participants 1:5
  • 6 to 8 year-old day participants 1:8 for overnight participants 1:6
  • 9 to 14 year-old day participants 1:10 for overnight participants 1:8
  • 15 to 17 year-old day participants 1:12 for overnight participants 1:10

There should always be two staff members with a group of program participants unless they are in an area near the main program where other groups are around and have easy accessibility to get help in the event of an emergency.

This recommendation is NOT intended to hinder youth program events on campus, but as best practices to protect the University, the sponsor of the program and ultimately the youth participants.

The university will continually update training procedures for youth programs as they become available. Each Program Director should develop their own training / requirements specific to their youth program. The current requirements may be found under the “training” section on the Staff/Volunteers page.

The Program Director should develop and distribute an Emergency Action Plan to adult staff / chaperones. KU Lawrence Campus Alerts is an excellent resource for planning. Please also review the “Emergency Action Plan” and “Missing Youth/Camper” Plan sections on the Health/Safety page.

The Program Director should review the Social Media Guidelines (.docx) with adult staff / chaperones and youth participants.

Requests by an individual, organization or entity that is external to the University of Kansas may be accommodated on the Lawrence and/or Edwards Campuses.

The University leases facilities and may offer other services for a fee, but is not involved in the program operations, participant supervision, or management unless contractually obligated.

Requests should be directed to:

The University of Kansas - Edwards Campus

Conference Center & Event Spaces

12600 Quivira Rd.

Overland Park, KS 66213

Laurie Brown, Administrative and Conference Events Manager (lauriebrown@ku.edu)

The University of Kansas – Lawrence Campus

Office of Event Management & Protocol

Strong Hall Rm 230

1450 Jayhawk Blvd

Lawrence, KS 66045

785-864-7100

youthprograms@ku.edu

Third-Party Requests

Requests by an individual, organization, or entity that is external to the University of Kansas may be accommodated on the Lawrence and/or Edwards campuses.

The university leases facilities and may offer other services for a fee, but is not involved in the program operations, participant supervision, or management unless contractually obligated.

Requests should be directed to:

The University of Kansas
Jayhawk Hospitality
1502 Iowa St.
Lawrence, KS 66045

785-864-0175
conferences@ku.edu


KU has established a Minors on Campus Policy to guide faculty and staff involved with coordinating and/or sponsoring programs for minor child participants under the age of eighteen (18).

Questions about specific youth programs/camps must be directed to the individual program/camp director. As departments/entities register their programs with this office, a list will be provided via the "Events List" link above.