Chapter 7: Faculty Hiring Procedures for Chairs

Hiring Requests for New Full-Time, Term Positions or Tenure-Track Replacements Positions

Requests for 1) new tenure track or term hires or 2) replacement positions for a tenured faculty member who retires, resigns, is put on permanent disability, etc. must be submitted to the division head and associate provost/academic dean by June 1 for the following academic year in which the search is intended to take place. Chairs must make the case for a tenure track position based on analysis of pertinent data, such as the department's number of major/minor affiliates, number of graduates, curricular pressures on enrollment. Departments should also consider factors such as changes in the workload of existing faculty, the curricular directions suggested by the strategic priorities of the colleges.

Authorization to Hire

The division head, associate provost/academic dean and the associate dean will discuss the staffing requests in light of the information submitted by the chairs. New positions, especially new tenure-track positions, are rare. The provost will authorize a position only when adequate funds are available for the position and when the position is consistent with larger institutional needs and priorities. Once a hire has been approved, the Chair can begin the requisite paperwork involved in the recruitment process.

Elements of the Recruitment Process

Chair Checklist

The Human Resource website includes a chair recruitment checklist which should be used for every search.

CSB vs SJU Contract

The decision of whether a contract will be a CSB contract or an SJU contract is made by the associate provost/academic dean in consultation with the assistant dean. The decision will be based on maintaining a CSB/SJU faculty balance within each department.

Position Description and Recruitment Authorization

The position description, which will be used as the basis of the position ad, is initiated by the Chair and is forwarded to the division head and associate provost/academic dean with a completed Faculty Recruitment Authorization Form. The Human Resources office is available for assistance with the Form and for sample ads. The division head and associate provost/academic dean, with the assistance of the Human Resources office, will review the description for accuracy, consistency with CSB/SJU goals, appropriateness of language, and related issues. When the associate provost/academic dean believes the position description is ready, it is forwarded to the provost's office for review and final approval.

Position Ad

Position ads will be created by the chair, in consultation with other members of that department or others as appropriate, and reviewed by the associate provost/academic dean and the Human Resource Office before being submitted for publication. Every effort will be made to place the ad in media the department deems appropriate, but budget considerations may limit the number of journals used or the number of times an ad appears. The ad will request a letter of application, a statement of teaching philosophy, three letters of recommendation, CV and official transcripts and other materials as applicable.

A Note on Diversity

It is imperative that departments make a good faith effort to diversify the candidate pool, and it will be the dean's responsibility to certify that effort. Please note that if a pool of candidates does not display adequate diversity, the appropriate action by the asssociate provost/academic dean may be to continue soliciting applications until diversity is achieved.

Handling the Candidate Pool

The Human Resources Office is responsible for the processing of candidate information and credentials. As applications are received, the Human Resource Office will acknowledge receipt by letter to the candidates. Candidates will be sent a voluntary Affirmative Action Data Reporting Form as part of our Affirmative Action Reporting/Data Collection process. Applications and credentials will be logged and available for review by the search committee. The search committee should periodically obtain application materials from the Human Resources Office while the search is open.

After application materials are in the possession of the search committee, the Search Chair is responsible for the care and security of the documents until they are no longer needed and are returned to the Human Resources Office.

Telephone Interviews

After a review of applicant files the department conducts phone interviews of the top five candidates. Telephone interviews are required; however, the telephone interview can be replaced with an interview at a conference, i.e. MLA.  Guidelines for telephone (or conference) interviewing include the following:

• write down questions in advance;
• ask questions that will reveal the teaching expertise of the candidate;
• use the same questions for each candidate;
• ask "leading" questions that will draw out a candidate rather than "yes and no" questions;
• remind committee members to introduce themselves to the candidate to personalize the search process.

The top five candidates are ranked in order of candidate preference after the telephone interviews.

Reference Calls

Reference calls must be conducted for the top two candidates of the five. It is a good idea to verify the existence/position of the reference, for example by checking the web site of the college/university of the reference and calling a general phone number of the institution to request to speak to the reference, rather than using the phone number provided in the reference letter.

Generally, references should be asked questions like the following: What is your position? In what capacity and how long have you known the candidate? At CSB/SJU, faculty are evaluated in several areas (teaching effectiveness, scholarship and creative work, service to the institution, community, etc.) Please provide your assessment of the candidate's strengths or professional development needs in each of these areas. Can you give me some examples of how you form your assessment of this person's potential as a teacher/scholar?

If the outcome of a reference call is unsatisfactory, the ranking of the top five should be adjusted, and reference calls will be completed for the top two candidates.

At this point, departments should forward files of the top five candidates, which includes notes from phone interviews/conference interviews and notes from the reference calls to the associate provost/academic dean.

The chair should inform the Human Resources office of candidates who are no longer under consideration. They will send a letter to inform them of their status.

Departments should follow the same procedures described above for internal candidates.

Campus Interviews

Ordinarily, two candidates are brought to campus to interview for a position. All tenure-track positions must be interviewed by the division head and associate provost/academic dean. Candidates selected for campus interviews will be required to complete an employment application form.

The chair or department secretary should schedule interviews and help make appropriate transportation arrangements. 

There are established procedures for interviews, meals, lodging, and airfare, and these should be followed in all searches.

Procedures are as follows:

Airfare
Advanced planning can save a great deal of money on air fares. When making airline reservations, check dates for a savings in the air fare and check an assortment of flight times and options. Airfares of over $400 must be approved by the divisional dean. Also, it may be less expensive for candidates to fly into St. Cloud than use Executive Express to travel here from the Twin Cities.

Housing
When available, on-campus housing should be reserved for candidates. At SJU, candidates may stay at the Abbey Guesthouse. At CSB, there is a guest appartment available as well as a monastery guesthouse. If on-campus housing is not available, candidates should stay at a moderately priced local motel.

Meals
When possible, meals should be eaten on campus. Meal tickets can be obtained from the associate provost/academic dean's office. Departments may also reserve a meeting room and order a meal from dining service. When off campus meals are necessary, only moderately priced meals should be considered ($18 for dinner, $11 for lunch, $7 for breakfast) to include only 1-2 departmental faculty. Requests for reimbursement should include a completed check request form, itemized receipts and the names of people attending the meal. Reimbursements in excess of these guidelines will not be honored. Check request forms should be submitted to the associate provost/academic dean's office.

Last Steps
In preparation for the on campus interviews, the chair may secure Candidate Evaluation Forms from the Human Resources Office or use one prepared by the committee for its written review. These forms must be returned to the Human Resources Office for the recruitment file.

After the on-campus interview process, the department makes its recommendation for hire to the divisional dean. The recommendation is made in writing with an explanation of the reasons for the decision. In the case that the two top candidates are essentially equivalent, the more diverse candidate for the department is expected to be recommended.

The on-campus interview should include a candidate presentation. Departments can require the candidate to present on a particular topic or may leave the topic to the candidate's discretion. Students should be part of the audience for the presentation; their feedback should be obtained after the presentation. In addition, the department faculty, division head, and faculty from other departments as applicable should be invited to the presentation.

Job Offer
When the divisional dean has a departmental recommendation for the tenure-track position, the associate provost/academic dean will discuss the search with the provost, who approves the hire. Prior to an offer being extended, the associate provost/academic dean will consult with the Human Resources Office regardng the offer. The offer of a position and all negotiation is done by the associate provost/academic dean. Once the department has recommended a candidate, the department must separate themselves from the process and wait until the negotiations are completed. When a candidate accepts a position, the associate provost/academic dean will inform the chair. The associate provost/academic dean's office will prepare the necessary Pre-Contract Data Form which is sent to the Human Resources Office for issuance of the contract.

Post-hire
The chair returns all application materials and evaluation forms (including those for the individual hired) to the Human Resources Office so that files may be closed and all materials placed in storage. Once the Human Resources Office has received the candidate's complete file including official transcripts (not copies) they will send a contract to the candidate with information confirming benefits and a link to the faculty handbook. The Chair should notify other finalists that the position has been filled or request that the Human Resources Office does so.