Your daily dose of news, notes and links from around Kansas University.

• KU’s strategic planning process is still chugging along, and I’ve been spotting some trends to watch as this process moves forward.

KU officials are still tweaking these ideas, and the whole thing is still a long way away from being finalized, but here are a few items I’ve noticed in documents on the provost’s website.

It looks like some KU classes may become more “hybrids,” blending online components with live discussions and lectures. Look for more of a focus on goals and “learning outcomes” that students can take with them as a result of taking the class.

Also, here’s some statistics related to KU’s general education requirements that I found tucked away in the report. At KU, 18 percent of seniors who thought they were ready to graduate had to spend an extra semester completing general education requirements.

Transfer students took 12-15 more hours than regular students because they couldn’t match their general education credits with KU’s overly structured requirements. And, as noted in several other places, KU’s 72-hour general education requirement is much larger than most other schools’ requirements.

Though I don’t have access to the discussion boards that go along with this process, I understand they’re producing some meaningful discussion.

And also, that people are allowed to remain anonymous. As LJWorld.com readers know, that can certainly have the making for interesting discussions.

This will really start to get interesting to me when we start firming up specific recommendations, but I hope to be picking up some more information on these efforts in the coming weeks.

• Another thing I picked up while perusing the provost’s website was the announcement that Provost Jeff Vitter intends to elevate the associate vice provost for diversity and equity to a full vice provost role.

Applications for the position are due April 25, and Mary Ellen Kondrat, dean of the School of Social Welfare, is chairwoman of the search. Fred Rodriguez is currently serving as the interim associate vice provost for diversity and equity.

Though it’s somewhat hard to keep up with reorganizations like this, I believe this will be KU’s fifth vice provost position. That’s not counting Steve Warren, whose title used to be vice provost. He became a vice chancellor for research and graduate studies this academic year.

• KU has announced the time of the public forum for the third candidate for the dean of the School of Business. Students, staff, faculty and the public, really, can hear Dennis Cradit, dean of the College of Business at Southern Illinois University, give a presentation at 4 p.m. Thursday in 427 Summerfield Hall.

If perusing CVs is your thing, then get your fix at the provost’s website (I just wanted to work that in three times today), where you can look at information on all three finalists for the position.

• Got a great tip yesterday morning that led to a fun story on Easter eggs and happiness. Nothing will make you happier than submitting a tip for Heard on the Hill. Believe me. All you need to do is send me an email at ahyland@ljworld.com.