Division of Student Life
Search and Screen Processes
Guiding Principles for Division of Student Life Search & Screen
Processes
The search and screen process (S&S) is often an applicant and future
employee’s first exposure to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the
Division of Student Life. Contact with the S&S committee chairs and
members helps to inform the applicant’s first impressions of both the
University and the Division. For this reason, S&S committee chairs and
members are encouraged to maintain an awareness of their ambassadorship
on behalf of the University, the Division, and the departments they
represent.
I. Division of Student Life Best Practices
Developing a Search & Screen Committee
There are two generally accepted models for search and screen committees
(S&S). The difference in the two options is the role that the hiring authority
plays with the S&S. Either approach is acceptable. Other models are
possible and should be discussed with an Associate Dean before establishing
the committee.
Model #1
 The hiring authority serves as chair of the S&S committee and selects
the other members of the committee.
Model #2
 The hiring authority is not a member of the S&S committee. He/she
selects members of the committee and appoints a chair.
Responsibilities of a S&S Committee Chair

The chair typically manages the process of organizing the committee
meetings; developing forms, agendas, leading conversations and
managing the hiring process.
Responsibilities of a Hiring Authority
 The hiring authority is always expected to provide the S&S committee
a charge. It is preferred that this is done at the first committee
meeting and in person if possible. The charge:
a. Outlines the committee’s responsibilities
b. Provides information on what qualities, experiences, skills, etc.
to look for in applicants
c. Guidelines such as : a target number of finalists to bring to
campus, specifications on who or what groups of people a finalist
should meet while on campus
d. A clear understanding of when the hiring authority wants to be
included in the process
e. The format in which the finalists are presented to the hiring
authority (i.e. ranking or unranked)
 Making the final decision to extend a job offer to a candidate.
 Provide a budget for the search and screen process.
Search & Screen Chair Checklist
There are many details that an S&S chair, whether the hiring authority or
an appointed individual, needs to keep in mind regarding organizing the
committee. While not an exhaustive list, some of those include:
1. Review the WISELI, APO and ODOS Tool Kit resources
2. Meet with the ODOS Central Administration Human Resources (HR)
staff member to:
a. Determine levels of interest letters (as detailed in the Tool
Kit)
b. Prepare for feedback to rejected candidates
c. Review screening policies/expectations and develop
understanding of the HR staff member’s responsibilities in the
screening process
d. Reaffirm confidentiality standards, particularly for internal
candidates
3. Check any budget limitations for candidates coming to campus***
4. Determine if the position be recruited for at a conference? If yes,
what is the plan to integrate that into the process?
5. Arrange for hiring authority to discuss search process expectations
and give the charge to the committee
6. Identify critical stakeholders to possibly serve on the
committee.***
7. Facilitate communication amongst the committee members***
8. Develop the agenda for committee meetings. The agenda for the
first meeting should include:
a. Introductions
b. Committee charge
c. Timeline
d. Review process
e. Meeting schedule
f. Forecasting topics covered in future meetings
i. Interview Question development
1. For Paper (resume/cover letter review)
2. For telephone interviews
3. For campus interview
ii. Schedule for Interview days
iii. Hosting the candidate
*** To be completed in consultation with the hiring authority.
Shared Governance and Students on Search & Screen Committees
Students are at the center of what the Division of Student Life does. For
that reason, it is desirable that students be active participants in Search &
Screen processes. Utilizing the ASM Shared Governance appointment
process is one way to achieve this goal. You may have specific students in
mind because they are familiar with the Department and the duties of the
specific position. If you invite a student to participate outside of the ASM
appointment process, it is recommended, but not required, that you submit
names of students you contact to the ASM Shared Governance committee so
they can be officially appointed.

Please refer to the Division of Student Life policy on appointing
students to Search Committees on the Division’s intranet.
Advertising and Recruitment
Because both the University and the Division of Student Life are committed
to having a vibrant, diverse workforce, it is desirable to achieve as diverse a
pool of qualified applicants as possible. As the S&S chair, one of the most
important steps to consider is advertising and recruitment of applicants. The
Division’s HR staff person will assist with some advertising (typically the
Chronicle of Higher Education) but it is incumbent upon the S&S committee
to identify other venues which may attract a diverse pool. The WISELI
manual can be helpful in this regard, but it may also be beneficial to work
with other Directors in the Division of Student Life, who might be able to
assist in promoting a position through their field’s websites and list serves.
Communication With Applicants
ODOS has set the following standards for communication with candidates:
1) Applicants
All applications from candidates are acknowledged in writing by the
Division’s HR staff person. A template/sample of that letter is in the
toolbox. Additional information can be included in this letter at the
chair’s discretion. The chair should speak to the HR staff person to
coordinate the acknowledgement letter content.
2) Candidates not advanced to telephone or on-site interviews
If a candidate is not short-listed for either a telephone or, later on, for
an on-site interview, the applicant will be sent a letter by the Division’s
HR staff person communicating where they are in the process. The
letter may convey either that the applicant is no longer under
consideration or that they remain under consideration but are not
currently being advanced to an interview. Templates/samples of those
letters are in the toolbox, and again, can be altered to fit the search
committee’s needs by working with the Division’s HR staff person.
3) Candidates not selected after telephone interview.
It is the responsibility of the S&S committee to find out the applicant’s
preferred method of being contacted (phone or e-mail) for follow-up
after a telephone interview. If a candidate is offered a telephone
interview and is not advanced to the next round, the applicant should
be notified by the S&S committee chair based on their preference. An
official follow-up letter will be sent by the HR staff person once the
S&S committee chair has indicated they’ve made initial contact.
4) Candidates not selected after an on-site interview.
If a candidate is brought in for an on-site interview and is not offered
the position, the candidate should be notified, as indicated by
preference of the applicant, by the hiring authority. The HR staff
person will follow-up with an official non-select letter once the hiring
authority has indicated they’ve made initial contact.
5) Candidate feed back
Candidates not advanced or offered a position may seek feedback; or
have questions about their progress through the search and screen
process. In this event they should be directed to the S&S Chair. The
Chair should first consult with the Division’s HR staff person and hiring
authority before having this conversation.
Hiring Process
1. Once a successful candidate has been identified through the S&S
process the hiring authority will make an official job offer to the
candidate pending a successful criminal background check. The first
stage of the offer is typically done via a phone call.
2. If the candidate verbally accepts the position, then the HR staff person
will contact the candidate in order to run a criminal background check.
Per system policy, all hiring is contingent upon successful completion
of this background check.
3. Assuming the background check is successful, the candidate will be
sent a letter officially offering the position. The candidate must accept
reply back with their written acceptance.
Moving Expenses
Moving expenses can be offered or requested by a person when a hiring
offer is being extended. The provision of moving expense and the amount is
at the discretion of the hiring authority. The decision is dependent upon
available funds, the type of position, and the nature of the candidate’s
moving expenses. The division has not set any standards for moving
expenses however, there are state and UW system guidelines that must be
followed (see appendix).
New Employee Orientation
Orientation of a new employee is critical to their success and is the
responsibility of their immediate supervisor. The S&S toolkit contains a new
employee checklist which outlines topics that should be addressed with all
new divisional staff. Departments can add to this list as needed.
In addition to departmental orientation the following interactions occur at
the divisional level:
 Once a hire is official the hiring authority should contact the HR staff
person.
 The HR staff person will relay the information about the new hire to
the Special Assistant to the Dean and to the Dean.
 All new employees will receive an official welcome letter from the Dean
prior to their start date.
 Shortly after their first day of work a new employee should contact the
Executive Assistant to the Dean in order to set up a welcome with the
Dean and their respective Associate Dean. At those meetings they will
receive an overview on the division.
The Role of the Division of Student Life HR Staff Person
The Division of Student Life HR staff person plays an important role in
keeping S&S processes moving forward, maintaining consistency, and
adherence to campus, system and state procedures. Often there are multiple
searches occurring across the division at the same time. It is highly
recommended that the hiring authority and the S&S chair meet with the HR
staff person prior to beginning a search in order to discuss the timeline and
process. The major responsibilities of the HR staff person in regards to S&S
processes include:
 Submit an approved (by Dean or Associate Dean) position description
for posting the position.
 Work with hiring authority on application deadline dates, begin dates,
posted salary, etc.
 Send acknowledgement and non-select letters to applicants during the
S & S process.
 Send a Criminal Background Check to the selected candidate.
 Meet individually with all new-hires for HR and benefits introduction.
II. Campus Resources
There are useful resources which should be reviewed by both the hiring
authority and the S&S chair prior to beginning a process; in addition, much
of the information contained in these resources can and should be shared
with S&S committee during the first committee meeting. Note that both the
WISELI manual and the OHR website (both discussed below) offer guidelines
on questions that cannot be asked:
1) Office of Human Resources Academic Personnel Office Search
Handbook
http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/polproced/srchbk/sbkmain.html
a. The University of Wisconsin’s Office of Human Resources (OHR)
Academic Personnel Office (APO) Search Handbook provides an
excellent overview of the entire S&S process. APO Search
Handbook has two basic sections; the first section provides
advice and guidelines for the search process, from definitions
that the entire S&S committee should know to how the hiring
supervisor should craft the S&S committee charge, to
suggestions on how to run the process, hold interviews, and
make recommendations to the hiring supervisor. The first section
ends with guidelines for the supervising on how to make an
offer, and thoughts on retaining women and minority faculty and
staff.
b. The second half of the APO handbook is a series of appendices
which includes supplemental information on everything from
policies to sample documents, to the “dos and don’ts” of
interview questions. Some information in the appendices is
useful only to the hiring supervisor and the ODOS HR staff, while
others can and should be used as a resource for committee
members.
2) Women In Science & Engineering Leadership Institute
(WISELI)
http://wiseli.engr.wisc.edu/initiatives/hiring/SearchBook.pdf
a. The Women In Science & Engineering Leadership Institute at the
University of Wisconsin has developed an excellent resource for
establishing and managing a Search & Screen committee based
on a commitment to excellence and diversity in the entire S&S
process, from a diverse committee membership to recruiting a
diverse and talented pool of applicants to the screening process.
As is made clear in the introduction, the WISELI handbook is
meant not to replace the APO Search Handbook, but to
supplement it. It begins with a section providing advice to both
the hiring supervisor and the S&S chair on how to create and run
an effective and efficient committee and continues with a section
on how to actively recruit a diverse applicant pool. One of the
most helpful sections in the WISELI handbook also offers the
most challenge and opportunity, because the S&S committee
itself must become, to some extent, a learning community, given
to examining unconscious influences and biases that may be
held by members of the search committee, in order to ensure a
fair and thorough review of candidates. Finally, the WISELI
handbook ends with the interview process and advice on how to
evaluate finalists in a fair and unbiased manner.
b. The WISELI handbook is long, detailed and filled with many
supplemental resources; while it’s unlikely that the hiring
supervisor and the S&S committee chair can actually use the
handbook for an extensive training program prior to the work of
the S&S committee, it can and should be referred to, referenced
and shared extensively with committee members.
c. Finally, while the WISELI handbook offers sample documents
and supplemental resources, additional sample documents,
timelines, evaluation tools and rubrics, etc., developed by
various ODOS units can be found in the Tool Kit.
3) Disability Resources
a. Resources to help employers be more effective at recruiting
individuals with disabilities are available in many places. More
information on recruitment of individuals with disabilities can be
found at:
http://www.diversityworld.com/Disability/recruit.htm
b. UW-Madison is committed to providing reasonable
accommodations to permit employees access to employment,
programs, activities and facilities as required by the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA). More information from the Office for
Equity and Diversity can be found at:
http://www.oed.wisc.edu/disability/
c. Neither the APO nor the WISELI handbooks (discussed later in
this document) offer detailed advice on recruiting and working
with applicants with disabilities. The APO handbook has two
appendices on “Employment Provisions of the ADA” and “UWMadison Disability Accommodation Flowchart”. The flowchart
uses the term “employee/applicant” but the approach offered is
more one of addressing the topic from a perspective of legal
liability, rather than an openness to diversity in the Search &
Screen process. The Office for Equity and Diversity website
listed above offers some information.
4) US Department of Education
a. http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/products/employmen
tguide/disabilityemployment101.pdf
5) UW System Relocation Expenses
a. http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/acct/trreloc.html
III. Tool Kit
Sample documents developed through past Division of Student Life search
and screens are included in this toolkit; additional sample documents can be
found in the WISELI manual, the Division’s HR staff person, and from
directors of the various departments.
1) Templates of Divisional HR letters
a. First Acknowledgement
b. Holding Pool
c. Non-Select
2) Timetables of searches
a. Local
b. Regional/National
3) Sample Questions (can be obtained from the Division’s HR staff
person).
a. Phone Interviews
b. On-site Interviews
c. Reference Checks
4) Interview Day – Sample Agendas
a.
Sample of interview day agenda
5) New Employee Checklist: The following checklist is a sample that can
be used for newly-hired employees as a guide during their first days
on campus.
a.
New Employee Checklist (Divisional)
b.
New Employee Checklist (OHRD)
Policies and Procedures 3.01