SEARCH AND SELECTION PROCEDURES
for
Administrator, Faculty, and Professional Exempt
INTRODUCTION
These procedures are intended to provide assistance in the hiring of administrators, faculty, and unclassified staff. In general, the steps are in chronological order. However, in some searches, several steps may occur concurrently or some later steps may occur before some earlier steps. These are intended to be guidelines rather than inflexible, lockstep orders.
At all times, the Compliance Officer is available as a resource and encourages users to call or consult at any time during the search process. The Compliance Officer is available to meet with hiring authorities, search chairs, and search committees as often as they wish and will gladly review criteria and questions with search committees.
PROCEDURES (Step by Step)
1. Hiring authority secures approval to open search. (For faculty positions, the hiring authority is the dean. For professional exempt positions, the hiring authority is the appropriate vice chancellor.)
2. Hiring authority completes Faculty/Professional Exempt Authorization Form.
3. Hiring authority appoints chair of search committee and search committee members. All search committees must include one woman and one minority, who may not be the same person.
4. The hiring authority approves job description and job announcement:
a. Hiring authority may prepare job description and announcement for use by the search committee, or
b. Hiring authority may prepare a draft job description and announcement for review and revision by the search committee, or
c. Hiring authority may delegate full responsibility for developing the job description and announcement to the search committee.
5. The job description and announcement are forwarded along with the completed Recruitment Plan Form to the Compliance Officer for approval.
6. Hiring authority convenes meeting of search committee with the Compliance Officer, who orients the committee about its responsibilities to the hiring authority and for the search.
7. The approved job announcement is published in appropriate journals, newspapers, and/or other publications.
a. For local postings, the minimum application period is 10 days: from the date posted. For national postings, the minimum application period must be at least 21 days from the date the announcement appears in the publication.
b. National searches require publication of the announcement in at least one national publication.
c. It is campus policy not to state an application "deadline," but instead to state that "applications will be reviewed beginning (date) and the search will continue until the position is filled."
d. When requested, the Compliance Officer can send copies of announcement to appropriate institutions, organizations and individuals which can aid in reaching women and minority applicants.
8. Search committee develops applicant pool by distributing copies of the job announcement to colleagues, appropriate individuals and offices at other institutions of higher education, to appropriate community and/or professional organizations, and to individuals and organizations who can help distribute the announcement to members of protected classes.
9. Search committee develops formal and consistent criteria for reviewing and evaluating applications in relation to the specific qualifications and job responsibilities included in the job announcement.
10. Search committee chair or clerical support staff creates a file on each applicant.
a. Search committee chair or clerical support staff acknowledges in writing receipt of each application and asks each applicant to go to the Voluntary Equal Employment Opportunity Information link on the home page of the affirmative action website:
http://www.uccs.edu/~hr/web/forms_procedures/eeoc_voluntary_information.html
There the applicant will fill out a confidential questionnaire which will e-mail the EEO information to Compliance Office where the information will be input into a database and a printed copy filed in the search file.
b. Only complete applications from applicants who meet the minimum qualifications may be considered by the search committee. An application is considered complete when it contains all items requested in the ad: letter of application, curriculum vitae, references, etc. Those with incomplete applications or those who fail to meet the minimum qualifications should be sent letters which state: "after preliminary screening, your candidacy is no longer being actively considered."
c. Search committee chair or clerical support staff compiles a list of all candidates in the applicant pool.
d. The Compliance Officer will provide the search committee with information about the diversity of the total applicant pool and about the diversity of each subsequent reduction of the pool of candidates.
11. There is no requirement for an applicant pool to be a certain size. One applicant is sufficient if that applicant is qualified and acceptable to the hiring authority. However, if the applicant pool is not as large as desired by the hiring authority, the search may be extended by republishing the job announcement with a new review date.
12. Search committee develops questions to be asked of references and questions to be asked of candidates interviewed.
13. Search committee reviews applications and selects individuals to be invited to campus for interviews. Review and selection process may include telephone interviews and/or interviews at professional meetings, or airport/off-site interviews.
14. Search committee develops form for campus community to provide feedback to the committee on candidates invited to campus.
15. Hiring authority approves extension of invitations to designated candidates to visit campus. Hiring authority may review files of the current pool and request consideration of additional applicants.
16. Search committee chair extends invitations and makes arrangements for campus visits.
17. Search committee checks references.
18. Search committee hosts candidates for campus visits.
19. Search committee makes recommendations to hiring authority and prepares Affirmative Action Compliance Form and Applicant Flow Summary. Recommendations of candidates should be unranked and a summary given of each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
20. Hiring authority selects successful candidate to be appointed and ascertains successful candidate’s interest in receiving an offer for the position and successful candidate’s requirements, if any, for such an offer.
21. Hiring authority completes and signs Affirmative Action Compliance Form, completes Candidate Selection Report and prepares letter of offer and other documentation, attaches copy of resume of successful candidate, and submits to the Office of Academic Affairs/Faculty Records.
22. The Office of Academic Affairs routes documents to appropriate offices for review and approval.
23. Hiring authority sends letter of offer to successful candidate.
24. Successful candidate accepts offer.
25. Letters are sent to other candidates informing them of decision.
26. If the successful candidate declines the offer, a copy of the rejection of the position is sent to the Compliance Officer.
27. In case of rejection of an offer by a successful candidate, the hiring authority decides whether to
(1) make an offer to another of the finalist candidates, or
(2) reopen the search and republish the announcement with a new closing date, or
(3) cancel the search
29. Search file is closed. Files of all applicants are stored in a well-labeled box for a period of three years.
