Five Basic Principles for All Unclassified Searches
1. The appointed search committee acts as an agent of University of Wisconsin-Stout in
its search and screen capacity and, thus, is obligated to follow the policies and laws
surrounding the hiring function of the university. Committee composition must be
diverse in its make up and each hire must meet university as well as departmental
requirements. All selection tools used in the recruitment process are part of the search
and screen procedure and must be turned in to the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative
Action Office (EO/AA Office) at the appropriate times.
2. The deans/directors, the affirmative action officer and the division administrators shall
review the search committee's recommendations to ensure quality of personnel and that
university policies and procedures are carried out in the search process.
3. Hiring authority rests solely with the Chancellor or designee; therefore, offers of hire
can only be made after the ES4 form is signed by the Chancellor. The offer is tentative
and conditional until a letter of appointment is received. To avoid misrepresentation and
to be thoughtful of candidates, all recommending levels (personnel committees,
department chairs, deans/directors) need to communicate clearly that offers are final only
upon the receipt of a letter of appointment.
4. Each position announcement is a public representation of the university to the
profession. Position announcements must be characterized by precision, clarity and
completeness, as they reflect on the reputation of the university and must provide
sufficient notice of actual job requirements.
5. The search and screen process has legal consequences; therefore, the principles of fair
process apply:

The position announcement factually represents the actual requirements of a
particular position and not simply the traditional requirements. Announcements
should be circulated long enough and in sufficient and appropriate locations to
meet the requirements for equal opportunity in an open search:


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for faculty, and for executive and upper-level academic staff searches, ads
and announcements must be nationally posted at least four weeks prior to
the screen date.
for all other unclassified searches, ads must be posted in the 5 state region
for at least three weeks prior to the screen date.
Criteria to assess applicants and candidates must be job-related and in writing,
and be established in the position announcement. Selection tools, including core
questions to be put to all interviewees, are developed on the basis of these criteria.

Committees must be able to defend their decisions and actions. Documentation is
retained to show that the committee followed the established criteria in resume
assessment and in interviews for the basis of its recommendations.

Recommendations to the chair/supervisor, dean/director, division administrator
and chancellor are made by the committee as a whole, not by individuals.

All search documentation including email must be retained a minimum of 6 years
plus current year. Incomplete applicant files must also be retained because they
are a part of the search history, even though the applicants were not actually
candidates for the position. Documentation for searches at the Dean level and
above is sent to university archives after 6 years.

Letters of notification during the hiring process are not an affirmative action
issue, but in the interest of equitable treatment of all candidates, the same letter
for the same purpose is advisable. Beyond the concerns of equal treatment,
standard letters for key stages of the hiring process are good personnel
procedures.

All applicants who are invited for campus interviews must be informed of the
university's policy to provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and
employees with disabilities. They must be informed that they can request
accommodation for interviews, and how to make that request. The following
paragraph must be added if a letter is used as part of the interview scheduling
process:
"It is the policy of University of Wisconsin-Stout to provide reasonable accommodations for
qualified persons with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment. If you
need assistance or accommodations to interview because of a disability (physical or mental
impairment), please contact the Office of Human Resources (715/232-2149) or the Equal
Opportunity Specialist in Human Resources (715/232-1999). Employment opportunities will
not be denied to anyone because of the need to make reasonable accommodations to a
person's disability."
A qualified person with a disability is defined as an individual whose experience, education
and/or training enables them, with reasonable accommodation(s), to perform the essential
functions of the position.