Division of Diversity, Access and Equity

             

Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty Search Guidelines

 

A.  FACULTY POSITIONS:  REQUESTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Deans will establish and manage a recruitment budget for their respective School in order to achieve objectives of recruitment plans.

Deans will prepare a prioritized list for positions they want to fill and provide a copy to the Provost. Once the Provost authorizes a position, the Deans will delegate the recruitment process for all approved positions to the appropriate department chairs. Department chairs will delegate the recruitment process for all approved positions to the appropriate search committee members. 

Deans and Department Chairs are responsible for monitoring actions of search committees in their schools to ensure that faculty follow established guidelines:

B.  FACULTY RECRUITMENT PROCESS   

It is a University goal to identify, recruit and retain highly qualified, talented, and diverse faculty, for positions in all academic fields.  The Division of Diversity, Access, and Equity’s Affirmative Action Office functions as the EEO Office responsible for monitoring and coordinating the faculty recruitment process to ensure compliance with search procedures, university policies, and legal and regulatory requirements. 

Deans, department chairs, and search committees are responsible for ensuring that equal opportunity is afforded to all candidates to further the University’s goal, of identifying and recruiting diverse, qualified and talented faculty. Actions must be in accordance with the recruitment plan developed by search committees and approved by the Affirmative Action Office (AAO).

In order to present a diverse applicant pool to the AAO for approval, search committees are responsible for actively engaging in efforts that include:

• Proactively communicating the availability of positions to a broad and diverse range of qualified candidates.
• Developing strategies to attract available members from underrepresented groups.
• Making personal contact with potential candidates who are from underrepresented groups to encourage them to apply for the position.

C.  SEARCH PROCESS

 

C (1)   Participants in the Search Process

 

Search Committees

• Deans appoint diverse faculty search committees based upon recommendations submitted by the department chair.
• Department chairs or the search committee will select a member to act as chair of the search committee.
• Search committee members will be Tenured or Tenure-Track faculty, unless otherwise determined by the Dean.
• Search members may include faculty or subject matter experts from other departments or institutions if approved by the Dean.  Once approved, all members must attend recruitment training.

 Equal Opportunity Advocates

• Deans appoint an Equal Opportunity Advocate (Advocate) from a list of active and trained advocates provided by AAO. 
• The Advocate should be a faculty member from a different department from within the school unless otherwise determined by the Provost or Dean. 
• It is preferred that Advocates be tenured faculty.

 Deans / Department Chairs / AAO

• Deans and Department Chairs are responsible for ensuring that search committee members and Advocates receive training. 
• The AAO will make every effort to train Deans, department chairs, search committees, advocates, and departmental administrative support staff.
• Faculty recruitment training will focus on appropriate procedures in the search process and acceptable guidelines for screening and recommending applicants. 

  

C (2)    Contact with Potential Candidates at Conferences

Preliminary contact with potential candidates may occur through recruitment efforts at academic and professional conferences.  The purpose of meeting with candidates is to determine their credentials and talk about their research and teaching experience as well as to tell them about the University and the relevant department.  Guidelines for meeting with candidates at conferences are as follows:

• Contact should be limited to faculty members who have received prior training by the AAO. 
• Sessions with candidates may be prearranged through the association that is hosting the conference. 
• Use consistency with respect to questions asked of all candidates by developing some core questions.  Questions asked of candidates at a conference should also be asked of candidates who were not screened at a conference and who are subsequently identified on the short list.
• Candidates who are screened at conferences must submit an application as well as provide all other documentation required of candidates who did not attend a conference.   
• If a candidate who was screened at a conference is deemed qualified to be included on the short list by the search committee, and the Dean approves the short list, the candidate must be brought to campus for the interview process, as described in the guidelines.
• If during the screening process there is a qualified candidate who the faculty members consider exceptional, and there is a risk of losing the candidate to another university if an offer is not made immediately, a request to make an immediate offer may be made through the Dean to the Provost.
• Do not schedule an on-campus interview with a candidate until after the short list has been approved by the Dean, as outlined in this manual.

  

C (3)    Recruitment Plan

The recruitment plan, which is attached to the advertisement, is prepared by the search committee and outlines the strategy for recruitment efforts and where the position will be advertised.  The objective of the recruitment plan is to identify recruiting efforts to obtain a broad and diverse pool of candidates.  Upon request, the AAO will provide names of organizations and publications that target women and minorities. 

C (4) Advertisements

 

Advertisements for positions must be written by search committees, reviewed and approved by Deans and department chairs, and submitted to the AAO for review prior to publication. The AAO will ensure the position described in the advertisement meets compliance and University standards.  Positions must be identified according to school, title of the position, qualification requirements and duties.

 

The position advertisement will contain the following required elements:

• The name of the position/rank.
• The deadlines or closing dates, if applicable for the position.
• The “Required Qualifications” and/or “Preferred Qualifications” with descriptions of the knowledge, skills, and abilities for the position.  (A generalized comment is preferable to citing a specific number of years.)
• A detailed description of information candidates must submit.
• Advertisements of more than one rank or position require one stand-alone paragraph for each rank
• Advertisements for “open rank” must describe criteria for applying for each professorial rank
• A statement on how ABD’s (all but dissertation) are to be handled and the required date of the doctorate, if ABD’s will be included.

 

The following statements must be included in the ad:

 

• “The University of Missouri-Kansas City recognizes that a diverse faculty, staff and student body enriches the educational experiences of the entire campus and greater community.  To this end, UMKC is committed to recruiting and retaining faculty, students and staff who will further enrich our campus diversity and making every attempt to support their academic, professional and personal success.”
• “Applicants who are not U.S. citizens must state their current visa and residency status.
•  “UMKC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer.  Women,  minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.”

  

Upon final approval by the AAO, the advertisement will be assigned a job number and the request will be returned to the search committee to proceed with publication.  Positions must be filled as advertised; therefore, be flexible with arbitrary measures such as years of service.

NOTE:  It is important that you retain the original advertisement from A PROFESSIONAL NATIONAL JOURNAL in the event the hire is a foreign national. The advertisement must include the name and date of publication, and must state the job title, duties and requirements.  This is required as part of the documentation for permanent residency filings.  if you have any questions regarding special handling procedures, contact the Vice Provost.

 

D.  APPLICANT POOL PROCEDURES  (Either the Search Committee or the administrative staff of the academic departments may handle the following administrative requirements)

1. Each application must be date-stamped on the date it is received.
2. Applicants must be notified in writing of receipt of their application and support materials.  The Department will also e-mail an Applicant Confidential Data Form to the applicant upon receipt of their application.  If the applicant does not provide an e-mail address, contact the AAO for a mail-back copy of the data form. The Applicant Confidential Data Form should be returned via e-mail to the AAO.  Applicants should be encouraged to complete and return the forms for data analysis and statistical reporting. 
3. Applicants who do not provide all required documentation must be contacted as soon as possible to request the missing documentation.  Application packets may not be reviewed by the search committee until the applicant submits all required documentation specified in the advertisement. All contacts with the applicant must be documented.  Dated e-mails are acceptable.
4. All applicants whose files are complete must receive full and consistent consideration by the search committee.  If a position has a rolling deadline, you must continue to review all complete applications until the position is filled; even after providing the short list to the Dean.
5. The Faculty Applicant Pool form must be completed (listing the names of all applicants who have applied by that date).   The form is signed by the search chair or an appointed representative and the Dean who then submits it to the AAO for certification.  Candidates must be placed in the pool(s) for which they have specifically applied. The search committee may contact the candidate to determine an interest for consideration for other positions for which they qualify.  Documentation of this contact is required.  The Committee may begin reviewing applicant files, as they are complete.  The committee does not have to wait for the AAO to certify the applicant pool.
6. The AAO will enter ethnicity and gender data on the Faculty Applicant Pool form from information provided by applicants on Confidential Data Forms and a review of the Applicant Pool form.  The AAO will use national availability data to determine whether to certify the pool. After the AAO reviews the Faculty Applicant Pool form it will be returned to the search committee.  In certain instances the pool may be certified with the recommendation that more outreach be done to diversify the pool. The AAO will send an e-mail to the search chair with copies to the department chair and dean with this request. Upon the AAO’s receipt of written documentation from the search chair regarding results based on the AAO’s recommendations, the AAO will make a determination regarding certifying the pool.
7. When all documentation required in the advertisement has been received from applicants who initially submitted incomplete files, an applicant can be added to the pool by routing an amended Faculty Applicant Pool through the Department Chair and the Dean.  As a general guideline, amended pools should not be submitted to the AAO until there are ten or more names or two weeks after submission of the previous pool.  Disciplines that expect to receive fewer applications may wish to submit more often.  Amended pools should be dated.  All pools must be certified prior to submitting names for the short list.
8. All committee deliberations are confidential and discussions about applicant qualifications should not be discussed with individuals who are not members of the search committee.  Failure to maintain confidentiality could result in the closure of a search.  After deliberations, the search committee may summarize qualifications to the general faculty in the department.   

E.  SHORT LIST

1. Search committees will use checklists and make written assessments of candidates.  Screening and advancing candidates will be based on job-related criteria without regard to subjective judgments or impressions.  Discussion during the process is critical to ensure that no single person can eliminate a candidate based on a non-job-related bias. 
2. Search committees will develop a short list of the best-qualified applicants and make recommendations by memorandum for the Dean’s approval, through the Department Chair, listing strengths and weaknesses, vitas and credential files.  (It is preferred that candidates are not ranked.)  The department chair will forward to the Dean with a supporting memorandum.  The Dean will then approve the recommendations of the committee or determine which candidates will be brought in for interviews and return it to the search committee so they may proceed with the interview process.  No interviews should be conducted prior to this approval.
3. The Dean is the final approval authority for the short list and determining interview selections.  (The Dean will provide a copy of the short list to the Provost.)
4. A minimum of two candidates must be included on the final short list recommended by Search Committees unless the Dean approves an exception.

F.  CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS

The purpose of the campus interview is to seek job-related information for a fair evaluation of all candidates.  Department chairs are responsible for ensuring notes of interviews and relevant documents are kept in the recruitment file.  Interviews of potential candidates at conventions or professional conferences are considered part of the screening process and subject to guidelines in this manual.

1. Interviews cannot begin until the short list has been approved.
2. Search committee members will develop questions and will receive a copy prior to the interviews.  Questions are to be asked in a consistent manner.  Participation of all committee members and the advocate is encouraged at each interview to enable a fair comparison and vote for all candidates interviewed.
3. All candidates should be offered the opportunity to meet with faculty members not on the search committee, students, and with women or members of underrepresented groups.
4. All candidates who are brought in for interview must be scheduled to meet with the Deputy Chancellor for Diversity, Access and Equity.
5. The department chair should discuss job requirements as well as criteria for promotion and tenure at UMKC with the candidates.
6. The interview process should provide information to all applicants. (Any approved expenses incurred for such purposes shall be reimbursed as part of the costs of the search, given budget constraints.)
7. Telephone interviews may be conducted with prior approval of department chairs.  The search committee must ask the same questions of each candidate interviewed by telephone as those posed to candidates during the on-campus interviews.

G.  OFFERS

1. Offers will be made by the Dean to the best-qualified candidate and must include information, such as start-up funds, teaching responsibilities, moving expenses, etc.  The Provost must approve all preliminary letters of offer.  The Dean retains a copy of offer letters with account numbers for all expenditures to ensure expenses do not exceed amount allocated for recruitment.
2. In the recruitment of faculty who are not U.S. citizens, the School should contact the Provost’s office prior to preparing the job offer to obtain guidance regarding procedures for hiring international candidates. 
3. Departments are encouraged to assist in locating employment for spouses by providing information about positions at UMKC and in the community.
4. Salaries should be commensurate with qualifications and experience.
5. The Provost must approve all final offers for tenure/tenure track faculty positions.
6. The Provost and the AAO must be notified when a search is terminated and provided with a brief explanation for this action.
7. Before converting non-tenure track faculty to tenure track faculty, a memo must be sent to the Provost listing the justification, salary and source of funds.  Materials for the recruitment package are the same as for new tenure track faculty, except for the prior correspondence and applicant pool.

• The Provost has set an internal deadline of one year from the start of the search for all offers to be finalized and signed by the candidates.

H.  FILE RETENTION

The Department and Dean should keep the entire search file for a minimum of five (5) years.  In the event that a selection is challenged, the department, Dean and Provost offices will be notified and advised to retain the files a longer period of time.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Faculty Search Flow Chart

Questions you should and should not ask during the interview

Office of Provost

FORMS

Applicant Data Form

Applicant Pool Form