Regular Faculty Hiring Process: Step 3
Regular Faculty: Making an Offer
For all regular faculty searches, including ones with preferred candidates.
Please note: All offers must be coordinated in advance with the divisional Dean (who will coordinate the necessary step of ensuring the Dean approves all final terms). No offers can be made until the Dean has officially approved the terms. Once this occurs, the Dean's Office will provide department chairs with a preliminary offer letter (which will be sent to the department chair by Kellye Mitros) outlining the approved terms that can be shared with the candidate. Once the candidate accepts the preliminary offer terms, the department will initiate the appropriate hiring checklist in OnBase and assemble and submit the final hiring packet to the Dean's Office for approval, including a draft of the formal contract (which Kellye Mitros will provide). Once the packet routes from the Dean's office to the Provost Office and is approved by the Provost Office (or President's Office), the Sr. Coordinator in the Dean's Office will send the final, official approved contract to the candidate for signature/acceptance.
The process for making offers with tenure differs from offers without tenure (whether TPAC or TT assistant professor).
Cases without tenure
Following the campus visits, the department's Committee on Appointments (CA) should hold a meeting to discuss the candidates and vote on whether to make an offer (or multiple offers, if appropriate).
Following a positive CA vote, a department will typically choose to make a "pre-offer" so that the full hiring packet will only have to be completed and advanced to the Provost's Office if the candidate agrees to the terms of the pre-offer. This also expedites the overall process since the official offer from the Provost's office can take time. The department Chairperson should discuss the case with the divisional Dean or the Dean to make a pre-offer. If necessary, the Dean will consult with the Provost to assess whether there are potential hurdles to the appointment. The process for generating the pre-offer letter is described in the next section.
Cases with tenure
Following the campus visits, the department's Committee on Appointments (CA) should hold a meeting to discuss the candidates and vote on whether to make an offer (or multiple offers, if appropriate). Often, the candidate is already tenured at the same rank for which they are currently being considered. Moreover, in many cases, the candidate will also be from a higher-ranked department or have a sufficiently strong record, so offering tenure at the proposed rank is uncontroversial. In these cases, the extra work of preparing research, teaching, service reports, and getting external letters would be inefficient. Following a successful CA vote, the department chair should consult with the divisional Associate Dean and/or the Dean about making the offer and what additional information would be needed for the tenure case. The Dean will likewise consult with the Provost about making the offer and what additional information will be required for the tenure case. To facilitate those consultations, the department should forward the candidate's CV to the divisional Associate Dean and the Dean, any other information that was part of the application, such as teaching evaluations, and the result of the CA vote.
Suppose the Provost determines that no additional materials will be needed to grant tenure at the proposed rank. In that case, the department can proceed with a pre-offer, as explained below. Suppose instead; that the Provost determines that additional materials will be needed for the tenure case. In that case, the Provost will communicate what will be required (and whether, in the meantime, the department can proceed with a pre-offer). If the pre-offer is made and accepted, the department will obtain any necessary additional materials; the CRPT will vote on the tenure case, considering the information in the additional materials.
A note about reporting of votes. The Academic Articles are silent on CA voting procedures, but the University's RPT guidelines state the following about CRPT voting:
"A Department's Organization Plan will typically describe the CRPT voting procedures to be followed, including whether there is anonymous or non-anonymous voting at the CRPT level. For both options, the identity of the vote is to be provided at the chair level and above –the only difference between the two procedures is whether anonymity is preserved at the CRPT level."
The College will follow a similar policy for CA votes—the identity of the vote is to be provided at the chair level and above.
Apply the final disposition code in Interfolio to those not selected for hire.
All applications need a disposition code assigned in Interfolio.
The search committee chair or department administrator closes the position in Interfolio.
- The search committee chair or position administrator applies a disposition code to those not selected for hire.
- Candidates who were offered a position but rejected the offer should have their applicant status and disposition code changed to 'Offer Not 'Accepted.'
- If an offer is accepted, the applicant status and disposition code should be set to 'Hired.'
- Once all applicants have their final applicant status and disposition code applied, change the position status to 'Position Complete – Ready for Provost Office Close.'
Non-Regular Faculty: Review and Approval of Hire
The review and approval process follows the Academic Articles for non-T&TT Regular Faculty hires: Appointments of {non-T&TT Regular Faculty} are made by the Provost or the Provost's designee.
Once the packet is received in the Dean's Office, the Dean's Office asks for two business days to review the packet and do the required Dean's Office steps. If the packet has an error or requires additional information, the Dean's Office will need to return the packet to the department for these items.
The Provost's Office asks for seven business days to complete steps 3 and 4 below. Steps 7 and 8 do not apply to concurrent or term teaching appointments.