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Pre-Advertisement Steps
1) Prior to starting a search, department chairs must discuss the position with their dean. This discussion should include any proposed redirection of the position or its funding within or across departments and the position qualifications.
2) If the position opening is the result of a retirement or resignation, a formal letter of retirement or resignation from the faculty member must be submitted to the Vice
President for Academic Affairs with copies to the Dean prior to starting the search process.
3) All searches and the wording of advertisements must be approved by the Dean of the
College and by the Office of Academic Affairs prior to being published in any form
(conferences, journals, internet, etc.). In order to be approved by the Dean of the

College, the ad must clearly state that, in addition to the material normally submitted, all applications must include three, recent letters of reference.
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In addition, the advertisement must be accompanied by a diversity plan. This plan should identify the approach the department will take to insure that the position is proactively brought to the attention of underrepresented groups. Proposed advertisements must be submitted to the
Office of Academic Affairs for publication in the Chronicle of Higher Education using the format illustrated in Attachment 1 .
Advertising the Position
1) Upon approval (see Attachment 2 ), the Office of Academic Affairs will place the advertisement in the Chronicle , typically for one weekly issue. In addition, all advertisements will be posted on the Academic Affairs website. Chairs should then adapt the advertisement for publication in at least one appropriate professional venue and on their department’s website. All supplemental advertisements must be consistent with the content of the ad approved for publication in the Chronicle . Copies of these supplemental ads must be sent to the Office of Academic Affairs to complete the file on the search process.
2) The Office of Academic Affairs will inform the University System of Georgia
Applicant Clearinghouse of the position opening using the form the Clearinghouse provides (see Attachment 3) . The chair of the search committee must complete the form, as required, at the end of the search.
3) A list of any qualified candidates taken from a directory of minority and women doctoral students will be sent to each search chair. Search chairs must send a copy of the position advertisement and a letter inviting these students to apply.
4) The search chair must send a copy of the announcement to all those listed on the
Minority Mailing List for Academic Positions for the academic areas related to the advertised position.
5) The search chair must send a copy of the announcement to the Cobb County NAACP,
Job Advocacy Program, P.O. Box 598, Marietta, GA 30061, the Atlanta and national offices of the NAACP, and the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education
( http://www.aahhe.org
).
6) In addition to using formal announcements, search chairs and departmental faculty should use informal networks to increase the pool of applicants. This can be particularly effective in recruiting minority and women candidates. Search chairs should also actively seek recruitment assistance from KSU minority faculty and staff by sending them a cover letter and copy of the advertisement. A list of minority faculty and staff will be sent to each search chair by the Office of Academic Affairs. A sample cover
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letter is included (see Attachment 5 ). A copy of the ad is also sent to the Office of
Minority Affairs/Affirmative Action – Equal Employment Opportunity.
7) For searches in 2006 and 2007, all advertisements must include a statement indicating that electronic applications are accepted.
Conducting the Search
Effective searches resulting in good decisions for the department and the institution depend on the processes followed by the search committee. Furthermore, search committees should be sensitive to the fact that they represent the institution to an external audience. Conducting the search in a timely and professional manner reflects well on the department and the institution and avoids the possibility of later difficulties.
Confidentiality should be preserved as much as possible although Georgia’s open records law precludes absolute confidentiality.
Usually the search committee for a tenure-track faculty position is identified prior to placing the initial advertisement in the Chronicle and is often appointed by the department chair. The size and make up of the committee will depend on the approved governance plan of the department. Under normal circumstances, neither the department chair nor academic administrators (even if still members of the department) should be a member of the search committee. Search committees for high ranking administrative positions (e.g., department chair, dean) are usually appointed by the Vice President for
Academic Affairs and have representation from various constituencies.
The search committee performs a critical function in reviewing the applications, screening the candidates, and selecting the final group of candidates invited to the campus for an interview. When the process is completed, the search committee’s recommendations and its rationale should be brought before the entire department for discussion and approval. Discussion may lead to a reordering of the list. The final recommendation of the department will be definitive. The Dean’s office will review the recommendation for compliance with College and University procedures and discuss salary with the department chair. The final decision concerning the appointment of a department chair or dean will be made by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, in consultation with the dean or the President, respectively.
The primary functions of a search committee are outlined below.
1) Upon receipt of an application, the search committee chair must immediately send a confirmation letter to the candidate (see Attachment 6 for a recommended format). In particular, this letter should note any application materials or information that was omitted and is necessary to complete the file. In some cases, a potential candidate may be nominated by someone else. The nominator should be sent a letter recognizing his/her nomination, and the nominated candidate should be contacted concerning his/her interest in applying for the position. The following items must be included with the confirmation letter sent to all applicants.
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a) Additional materials that describe the university and college. Refer candidates to appropriate websites for detailed information about KSU, the town of
Kennesaw, and the Atlanta metro area. b) Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Data Request Cards must be included with the letter to applicants acknowledging receipt of applications. Additionally, mention the Applicant Clearinghouse website address http://asg.citp.uga.edu/ach/ in the letter.
SPECIAL NOTE: Before mailing the Affirmative Action cards, enter the advertised rank, position name, and department (see Attachment 7 ). Frequently, the university is unable to use this information because applicants fail to identify the position sought.
2) There should be an initial screening process of applicants’credentials as applications are received. The search committee chair or a subgroup of the committee should complete this screening. Typically, a large number of candidates can be eliminated early in the process because they lack the basic qualifications specified in the advertisement
(e.g., they do not hold the required degree, have insufficient experience, etc.). Following the initial screening, a consent list of rejected candidates should be circulated among the search committee prior to sending letters to these candidates (see Attachment 8 for a recommended format). Letters to the rejected candidates should be mailed promptly.
3) Shortly after the application deadline, the committee must conduct an in-depth, intense screening of all remaining applicants in order to select a short list of top candidates for consideration for an on-campus interview. If a candidate is currently under contract at another University System of Georgia Institution, the search committee chair must inform the VPAA and request that he contact the Vice President of that institution in writing to request permission to consider the applicant for the position
4) The search committee must conduct a conference call interview with all candidates on the short list of those under consideration for an on-campus interview. All telephone interviews must include (but are not limited to) a common set of questions. Notes must be taken by the interviewers and included with the applicants’ material. During the interview, the candidates must be asked for their permission for the search committee to contact individuals in addition to the listed references and, for the candidates who make the finalist list, the candidates’ immediate supervisor (if the immediate supervisor is not already on the list of references). The search committee must call the immediate supervisor of the candidates on the finalist list, i.e., those candidates the committee plans to invite for an on-campus interview.
5) Courtesy interviews with currently employed temporary faculty or other candidates are inappropriate and should not be scheduled unless they are on the list of finalists based on the criteria applied to the general pool of applicants.
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6) The final pool of applicants to be invited for an on-campus interview must be reviewed by the department chair. No formal approval from the dean’s office is required. The
Vice President expects to interview candidates for chair and dean positions, but is typically not involved in the interviews for teaching faculty positions. Committees must invite at least two candidates to campus. If there is only one viable candidate, that person, with appropriate justification provided by the department, may be invited for an on-campus interview.
7) On-campus interviews should be scheduled for at least one and one-half days, usually with a candidate arriving around noon the first day and leaving late on the second day.
The Foundation provides limited funds, which vary with the position being filled, to support meals with the candidate and members of the search committee. Either the department chair or the search committee chair should clarify this at the beginning of the search. All other expenses incurred by the candidate must be covered by the department budget and handled through routine processes for reimbursement. At a minimum, the candidate’s interview schedule should include the search committee members, the department chair, the dean or an associate dean, and office visits with individual or small groups of faculty (including related interdisciplinary programs and other departments, if appropriate). The interview must also include a teaching opportunity in an appropriate class and a research oriented presentation to faculty and students. Finally, picking up and delivering a candidate to the airport should be the responsibility of a faculty member and considered an additional opportunity to interview the candidate. Those involved in transporting candidates to and from the airport will be reimbursed for mileage.
8) An on-campus itinerary for each candidate must be sent to the Office of Minority
Affairs/Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity.
9) Search committees should make provisions to solicit input from all constituencies involved in the on-campus interviews. Upon completion of the on-campus interviews, the search committee should summarize the input received from the interview, its evaluation, and the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate; and submit the summary to the department chair and the entire departmental faculty for discussion and approval—in accordance with a democratic procedure developed by the department.
10) The department chairs must inform the dean’s office in writing, and in a timely manner, of the department’s decision and include an explanation of their own positions in regard to the department’s decision.
Making an Offer
1) The department chair or dean must negotiate employment terms with the selected candidate. The candidate should be asked to make his/her decision in a timely manner
(usually two weeks).
2) The dean has the ultimate responsibility for making the final offer.
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3) Upon acceptance of a verbal offer, the department chair and dean submit the following items to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. (A separate appointment letter from the department chair or dean is unnecessary.) a) The Request for VPAA's Formal Offer Letter summarizing the candidate information necessary to obtain final approval by the Regents (see Attachment
9 ). Any missing information may delay final approval. b) Official graduate transcripts. c) The candidate’s curriculum vita.
4) The Vice President for Academic Affairs will send an official offer letter of employment to the candidate. Acceptance of the offer is followed by approval of the
Board of Regents and issuance of a formal employment contract signed by the President of the University.
Completing/Closing the Search
After the candidate has accepted the verbal offer, the following procedures must be followed to complete the process and close the search.
1) The department chair or search committee chair promptly should write all remaining applicants notifying them that the position has been filled (see Attachment 8 for a recommended format). In addition to a formal letter, the department chair or dean should personally call the candidates invited for on-campus interviews.
2) The search chair must complete the information at the bottom of the Applicant
Clearinghouse form (see Attachment 3 ) and return all but the pink copy to the Faculty
Ads Coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs.
3) The search chair must complete the Affirmative Action Checklist (see Attachment 10 ) and the Affirmative Action Recruitment Effort Report (see Attachment 11 ). Return both forms to the Faculty Ads Coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs and keep copies for department records. Specific information relevant to some of the items on the checklist may not be available and search chairs should complete it to the best of their knowledge.
4) Return any unused Affirmative Action cards to the Faculty Ads Coordinator in the
Office of Academic Affairs.
5) The department chair is responsible for arranging to store search materials and candidate applications for a period of five years.
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All of the above materials are necessary to close a search and must be submitted to the
Faculty Ads Coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs no later than one month after an offer has been officially accepted by a candidate.
Procedure for Hiring Temporary, Full-time Faculty Members and Lecturers
When circumstances require departments to fill permanent faculty positions on short notice or for only a brief (typically one academic year) period of time (e.g., new position acquired late in a fiscal year, unexpected vacancy), it is not necessary to advertise the position locally or nationally. Departments may elect to advertise the position locally or nationally. The proposed advertisement must be submitted to the Vice-President for
Academic Affairs for approval of its wording. Attachment 12 of this document contains a sample advertisement for temporary faculty positions. When advertising for temporary appointments or lecturers, all affirmative action procedures for advertising, searching, and filling a permanent, tenure-track position must be followed. Departments are encouraged to examine their pool of part-time faculty for potential candidates to fill temporary positions. If qualified candidates are available in this pool, interviews with the chair and College dean can be conducted and a recommendation for an offer submitted by the department chair to the College dean and then the Vice President for Academic
Affairs. Please be sure to attach the Request for VPAA's Formal Offer Letter
( Attachment 9 ).
Departments must be careful to communicate to potential candidates for temporary positions that the position is only for a designated period of time, usually one semester or one academic year (9-month appointment). Temporary faculty must not be led to believe that they are guaranteed employment beyond the designated time period. Also, it is important to be clear that temporary appointments revert to part-time status, including compensation, for any summer teaching following a temporary appointment. Upon receipt of an appointment request, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will send an official letter of appointment to the candidate.
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Note: this document closely parallels the University search procedures, q. v., http://www.kennesaw.edu/academicaffairs/doc/GuidelinesPartI.doc
.
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Having recent letters of reference should alleviate the need for the search committee to call references. However, if a departmental search committee thinks it useful to call references, then references may be called. Search committees must be consistent and either make no calls to references or call references for all candidates (either on the short list or on the final list of those invited for on-campus interviews).
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