University holiday schedule announced
The state of Kansas has released the schedule of state-designated holidays for calendar years 2025 and 2026. The following information includes details about reduced university activity during the December 2025 and January 2026 holiday season.
Calendar year 2025 state holidays
- Veterans Day: Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, not a university holiday
- Thanksgiving: Thursday, Nov. 27, and Friday, Nov. 28, 2025
- Christmas: Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025
- Discretionary Day: May be used Dec. 22, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2025
Calendar year 2026 state holidays
- New Year’s Day: Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, Jan. 19, 2026
- Memorial Day: Monday, May 25, 2026
- Juneteenth National Independence Day: Friday, June 19, 2026
- Independence Day: Friday, July 3, 2026
- Labor Day: Monday, Sept. 7, 2026
- Veterans Day: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026 — not a university holiday
- Thanksgiving: Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27, 2026
- Christmas Eve: Thursday, Dec. 24, 2026
- Christmas: Friday, Dec. 25, 2026
- Discretionary Day: May be used Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2026
Employees must be in a benefits-eligible position and employed by the state of Kansas for at least six months to be eligible for a discretionary day. The discretionary day must be taken with prior approval from the employee's supervisor or department head.
Veterans Day
Kansas State University will remain open, and classes will be in session on Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Only those employees required to conduct necessary business should be requested to work. Nonexempt employees who work will be compensated at one and one-half times their rate, either through compensatory time or pay, based on the overtime/compensatory time election in HRIS Employee Self Service. Exempt staff who work will receive equivalent time off later through holiday compensatory time.
Reduced university activity period: Dec. 25, 2025-Jan. 1, 2026
The university will reduce activity Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, through Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, and will reopen for normal operations on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. Normal workdays affected will be Dec. 26, 29, 30 and 31. The university will close during this period.
Benefit-eligible exempt and nonexempt employees will receive Dec. 26-31 off with pay and will not need to use leave during these days. Nine-month employees are excluded, as they are already paid during this time.
If eligible employees are unable to take off Dec. 26-31 because of work duties, they may take off, with pay, the equivalent days between Dec. 7-24 with supervisor approval.
Time and leave and payroll processing deadlines
The Payroll Office will be closed during the holiday break and will observe the following deadlines:
Dec. 18: Last day to enter payroll funding for the pay period Dec. 7-20.
Dec. 21:
- Employees should approve timecards and time off requests by the end of their final shift before the holiday break but no later than 8 a.m.
- Supervisors must approve timecards and time off requests no later than noon.
- Timekeepers and HR liaisons must finalize timecards for their departments or units by 3 p.m.
The university will return to regular time and leave and payroll timelines for the pay period Dec. 21-Jan. 3.
Jan. 5:
- Employees should approve timecards by the end of their final shift, but no later than 10 a.m.
- Supervisors must approve timecards no later than 1 p.m.
- Timekeepers and HR liaisons must have department data ready for processing by 4 p.m.
Additional details regarding university services, office closures and related information may be found in the full memo.
Questions about employee leave should be directed to Human Resources at 785-532-6277 or hr@k-state.edu.