Council of Chairs Administrative Manual: Personnel
Conducting Faculty Searches
Human Resources is an invaluable resource for those conducting faculty searches. A
packet is available from them that gives a general sense of the process and procedures,
including templates for form letters that must be sent out to applicants at various points in
the search. For those undertaking leadership in a search for the first time, inviting a
representative from HR to your first meeting—prior to finalizing advertising—can be a
great help. The following steps are provided merely to give a sense of the intricacy of a
search. N.B.: procedures and required approvals change! Make sure that you check with
HR to confirm your sense of the policies and procedures in operation prior to beginning
your search.
Sample Outline of Procedures from a recent faculty search (* denotes
approval(s) required by Human Resources and/or Dean prior to advancing to the
next stage):
1)
Fill out Request to Search & Hire (APP-1) form after notification of faculty line is
approved. (HR & Dean’s approval needed)*
2)
Advertising approval, including constitution of Search Committee. (HR &
Dean) * The Search Committee should also consider recruiting strategies: HR
automatically places the approved ad in the print version of The Chronicle of
Higher Ed., its online version, and on the College’s website. Ads in journals or
elsewhere are paid for by departments. Affirmative Action recruiting strategies
will eventually need to be summarized (see Search Step #15, below), so outreach
to under-represented groups should be part of planning throughout the process.
It is worth noting that much of the most time-consuming activity of the Search
Committee falls on the Chair of the Search; in the Division of Science and Social
Science, it has been generally the case that the Chair of a Department should
serve on the Search Committee, but is not required to also Chair the Search itself.
(Please note “Critical Issue” #1, below.)
3)
Creation of a Criteria “Grid” (Master Criteria List) – The development of this grid
is constrained by the approved advertising language regarding required and
preferred experience, etc. * (HR approval only)
A copy of a version of the Master Criteria List can be viewed by clicking this
link. Each member of the
Search Committee should fill one out prior to meeting for
evaluations of candidates. HR’s packet contains another version.
4)
Applicants’ submissions must be date stamped and filed at the Department (if this
is the print office of record) within 48 hours of receipt; tabular data on
submissions (name, address, recruiting source, transcripts received, highest earned
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degree, references etc.) must be sent to HR so that they can correspond with
applicants. The data that will be kept in the Department is also crucial for the
letters that must be sent out at various points in the search.
5)
Pick a date on which the first Search Committee will meet (usually after
applications trickle down to less than one per week). HR provides a packet on
interviewing techniques and inappropriate areas of investigation; this should be
shared with the Search Committee at this point (if not earlier).
If your print advertising specifies a deadline for applications, your first meeting
should not occur until after that deadline has passed. If the yield on ads with
deadlines is low, you can request from HR an Extension of Deadline.
6)
Search Chair collates committee members’ grids after group evaluation is
completed, creating a Master Criteria List (Grid) for ultimate submission to HR.
7)
Search Chair fills out Master Criteria List, listing as “Pursue” those candidates
whom the Department wishes to phone interview. A memo to Dean & HR with a
“request to phone interview” needs to accompany the Grid. Some Search
Committees conduct their “phone interviews” at conferences; approvals are the
same if this is the case in your department. (HR and Dean)*
It is generally the case that HR will require the submission of all applicants’ files
at this point. Many departments/search committees choose to submit a list of
“alternate candidates” in the “request to phone interview” memo to allow the
Search Committee to move beyond its short list of approved interviewees. (See
“Critical Issue” #2, below.)
This is a crucial step. If the applicant yield has been sufficient, providing a
reasonable number of desirable and alternate candidates for phone interviewing,
the Chair may choose to “close” the search at this point. HR and the Dean need to
approve this decision. * If this is the case and approvals are received, the first of
the sequence of letters departments need to send out should be finalized and
mailed—this one to candidates no longer under consideration. (Templates for this
and other letters are available in the HR packet on conducting a faculty search).
N.B.: once the Search is officially closed, late applications are to be sent to HR
for processing and contact. A “closed search” means that you can only evaluate
(or re-evaluate) the applicants on the Master Criteria List.
8)
Phone interview questions developed by the Search Committee/departments, to be
approved by HR. *
9)
After HR & Dean’s approvals to proceed on the selected & alternate candidates,
conduct phone or conference interviews. The possible problems associated with
interviewing are too numerous to list here. Your best option is to speak with
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recent Search Committee Chairs in your own Department and HR. (See “Critical
Issue” #3, below.)
10)
Search Committee selects up to three candidates for campus visits. Search Chair
crafts a “strengths & weaknesses” memo for submission to Dean and HR. *
Those candidates who are eliminated after phone interviewing should receive a
letter from the Department informing them that they are no longer under
consideration. However, some Chairs choose to wait until the campus visits are
conducted before eliminating even these candidates because they might be viable
alternates.
It is typical to submit a list of alternates in this same memo, in case the primary
list yields an insufficient list of on campus-interview candidates. (For example,
some candidates may decline to interview.)
11)
After campus-visit candidates are approved, contact candidates to schedule visits
and plan itineraries. Check with Connie Cox in the Provost’s office for all
expenses related to candidates’ visits (airfare, lodging, etc.).
12)
HR requires submission and approval of a list of questions specific to candidates’
campus visits. *
13)
On-campus candidates’ activities vary according to departmental precedent.
Check with your faculty for procedures/expectations specific to your area.
14)
After campus visits, faculty vote (in some departments, at least). Departmental
activities vary on this issue, so check with your faculty for precedent and
procedures specific to your area. Search Chair drafts a “strengths &
weaknesses” memo—often reiterating information from Step 10. This is, in effect,
the Department’s “intent to offer” letter, prioritizing or eliminating candidates.
Submission to Dean and HR is required. * N.B. Deans make job offers. (See
Critical Issues #3, below.) References should be checked by no later than this
point, and certainly prior to submitting your letter/memo to Dean/HR.
15)
When notified by your Dean, complete Request to Search & Hire form (see Step
#1) and Affirmative Action (goldenrod) form (see Step #2). These forms will be
returned to you for completion after an offer has been accepted. Follow routing
procedures in each case. Final letters to candidates who have been interviewed
(by phone or in person) need to be sent out.
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Critical Issues:
1)
Since the Search is controlled through all its steps by the language
chosen/approved in its print advertisements, great care must be taken to specify
requirements, preferences, deadlines (if desired), etc. For flexibility, many
departments word the ad so that it includes a statement such as “review of
applications will begin on January 15,” giving applicants a sense of the timeline
without committing the Search Committee to a firm deadline.
2)
The Master Criteria List (the Grid) should be carefully completed so that
departments can return to the search pool if additional candidates are needed after
either phone or on-campus interviews. In essence, hyper-specificity can work
against you.
HR’s job is to protect the Search and its members from EEOE auditing; thus, it is
often the case that Search Chairs must explain the selection or non-selection of
applicants in ways that highlight discipline-specific information.
3)
All candidates must receive equivalent/similar treatment—including phone
contact, e-mail correspondence, interviewing, on-campus activities & interactions,
etc. In essence, there are no “informal” conversations, and what is said to one
must be said to all. Since Deans make the offers (see Step 14), discussion of
salary is officially out of bounds. Candidates who ask about salary can be referred
to the SUNY website or HR for generic salary information.