RECRUITMENT & HIRING

General Procedures

1. All requests to fill teaching faculty vacancies or to add new positions or to change a position from fixed-term to annual tenure status will be submitted to or initiated by the Provost who makes recommendations to the President.

2. Requests to fill vacancies or hire additional personnel which have been approved by the President will be forwarded to the Personnel Office for processing.

   NOTE: Decisions to fill a position will initiate the appropriate search procedures described below. Upon selection of a candidate to fill the position, the President's approval will be the official letter of offer from her/him as the appointing authority of the University.

3. The Personnel Office should be advised of all impending actions as soon as possible and will serve in a consultative capacity to all offices pertaining to Oregon Administrative Rules and internal policies/procedures.

4. Should a determination be made that it is in the best interests of the University to change the tenure status of a position from fixed-term to annual, it is a position and not a person for which tenure status is being changing and a full search will be conducted to fill the new annual tenure position.

5. It is important to bear in mind that a search is a recruitment process as well as a selection process. While Eastern is interested in selecting the strongest possible candidate, it is essential that the search be conducted in such a way that strong candidates are interested in joining Eastern. From the earliest stages, the search process must be conducted professionally and courteously.

6. Personnel Actions involving teaching faculty require approval of the President and the Provost.

Specific Procedures

The following procedures will generally apply once approval has been obtained to proceed with a search:

1. Instructional Faculty -- Full-Time

   1. The Dean of the School or the appropriate unit administrator shall initiate a search by:

      1. Appointing a search committee.

      2. Making sure that the chairperson has discussed means of assuring an effective search with the Affirmative Action Officer.

      3. In consultation with the Search Committee:
         • Preparing the position description in a form appropriate for distribution and advertisement.

         • Preparing evaluative criteria that follow from the position description and that will comprise the evaluation form to be used by members of the search committee in evaluating each file.

      4. Obtaining approval of the position description and evaluation criteria by sending, via e-mail, copies of the position description and the criteria to be used for evaluating files to the Provost's Office; that Office will send copies to the Affirmative Action Office and to Human Resources. The position description and evaluative criteria require the approval of the Provost and the Affirmative Action Officer; the copy sent to Human Resources will be filed by that Office for future inclusion in the personnel file of whomever is hired as a result of the search.

      5. Consulting with and obtaining advice from the Affirmative Action Officer as appropriate.

      6. Developing a file for each active candidate. The file shall contain:

         1. The candidate's letter of application.

         2. An academic application, resume, or biographical data sheet for the candidate which includes educational background, an up-to-date listing of all positions in chronological order, and other relevant experiences.

         3. At least three recent written recommendations and, when applicable, reports of telephone conversations, any correspondence with the candidate including copies of electronic mail, and other recommendations.

         4. An evaluation of the credentials and file by each faculty member from the same discipline and at least three from other areas (within or outside of the School). The evaluation must be based upon the previously established and approved evaluative criteria, and utilize the evaluation form prepared as part of the process to initiate a search.

   2. The Dean of the School or appropriate unit administrator, on the basis of the completed file and the approved evaluative criteria shall, in consultation with the search committee, identify a list of the final candidates.

      The Search Committee and the Dean (or appropriate unit administrator) are encouraged to conduct extensive interviews via telephone with the top candidates.

   3. The Dean of the School or appropriate unit administrator shall determine the acceptable candidates and, from among the pool of acceptable candidates, the strongest candidates who will then be invited to come to campus, preferably at different times, for an interview.

   4. The Dean of the School or appropriate unit administrator shall coordinate the campus interview.

      Salary calculations for candidates are provided only by the Provost's Office following procedures discussed in the Salary section. These calculations will be made for those being considered to be invited to campus upon request of the School Dean. A resume must be provided to the Provost to allow for the calculation. The specific salary that would be offered to a candidate must be discussed with any finalist as part of the process of determining the finalists continuing interest in the position and in accepting an invitation to visit.

      Upon completion of the interview, the Dean of the School or appropriate unit administrator shall solicit evaluations from those members of the campus community who participated in the interview and complete the check sheet provided by the Affirmative Action Officer. The Affirmative Action check sheet shall be forwarded by the Dean of the School to the Affirmative Action Officer for review and signature.

      A summary sheet of all candidates considered shall be compiled by age, sex and into the five designated ethnic categories required by HEW shall be maintained by the Affirmative Action Officer.

      The Dean of the School, on the basis of the evaluation, shall make a recommendation on the official form for appointment to the Provost and if the Provost and the President agree with the recommendation, a letter offering the position will be sent to the individual. Official transcripts will be required for the candidate selected.

      If the person(s) interviewed is/are not acceptable, then the pool of remaining acceptable candidates will be considered. If no remaining acceptable candidates exist, then a new search begins.

      In all cases where individuals are brought to campuses for interviews, prior permission to reimburse travel expenses must be secured from the Provost and/or the President.

      The Dean of the School or appropriate unit administrator is responsible for assuring that, upon completion of the search, all files are complete - including inclusion of the evaluations by committee members of each candidate - and that these files are delivered to the Provost's Office where they will be stored for the period of time required under Oregon law.

   5. Special care shall be exercised when selecting faculty with multiple assignments. For example, in case of selecting faculty for Physical Education, the Dean of the School shall coordinate with the Director of Athletics and Assembly Athletic Committee. Broad consultation and discussion on new positions shall be insured.

2. Instructional Faculty -- Part-Time and/or Short-Term

   1. The key element to apply is one of reasonableness and fairness to potential candidates.

   2. The full procedure, outlined above, need not necessarily apply. Consideration should be given to assignment (load and duration), to the likelihood of the position becoming full-time or on-going, to the make-up of a likely candidate pool, to time and financial constraints and to Affirmative Action.

   3. Any deviation from the full procedure should be discussed with the Affirmative Action Officer and the Provost or the President.

   4. The search file should contain a written statement of the steps followed and the rationale for not following the full procedure.

3. Regional Support Faculty

   1. A pool of potential support faculty will be maintained by the Extended Programs Office. Files with completed applications, past Eastern employment and student evaluation records will be held by that office.

   2. When a course need is identified in the region, the Extended Programs Office will send the file(s) of the prospective instructor(s) along with relevant course information to the appropriate School.

   3. The School, using appropriate internal procedure, will select the most appropriate candidate, if any, and approve the offering. The files will be returned to the Extended Programs Office. In the case of repeated employment, the academic School may delegate approval to the Dean of External Programs with a stipulation of a re-evaluation by the School after a time period not to exceed 3 years.

   4. The Extended Programs Office will negotiate the assignment with the selected faculty member and obtain necessary employment papers. The Office will issue a contract letter, to be countersigned by the employee.

   5. The file containing a copy of the employment application, other employment papers and the contract letter will be submitted to the Personnel Office.

   6. The Personnel Office will place the individual on payroll and maintain the master file.

   7. Extended Programs will retain a second file containing a copy of the application, resume, Eastern employment record and all student evaluations in the event the individual is hired.

4. Policy Regarding Affirmative Action

   In addition to procedures outlined above, the following must be adhered to:

   1. Notification of Affirmative Action Officer of search activity.

      1. Position to be filled

      2. Committee Chair

      3. Committee Members

   2. Meeting of committee chair with Affirmative Action Officer - Orientation about information required for Affirmative Action, forms to be submitted, etc.

   3. Meeting of Affirmative Action Officer with Committee - The Search Committee should include the Affirmative Action Officer in its first meeting so that the Affirmative Action Officer may review with the Committee their crucial role in assisting the institution in fulfilling its affirmative action commitments and may offer strategies for and assistance with fulfillment of these commitments.

   4. Position Description and Evaluative Criteria

      1. See Affirmative Action Officer about basic format for position description and evaluative criteria. The search committee must develop a list of criteria by which candidates are to be evaluated, that list logically following from -- indeed, evaluative criteria should be strictly derived from the language of -- the position description. To the extent possible, criteria should be objectively assessable.

      2. Final copy of position description must be approved by:

         1. Affirmative Action Officer

         2. President or Provost

         3. School Dean

      3. Copy of advertisement to be used must also be approved by the Affirmative Action Officer.

      4. List of periodicals, circulars, journals, etc., in which the position will be advertised.

      5. List of universities or other institutions to which the position description will be sent.

         NOTE: It is important to define the population to which you wish to present the position. Within that population advertising must be such that all eligible persons, especially targeted groups such as women and minorities, are reached.

      
      
      

   5. Once the final candidates for a campus visit are selected, it is important that the committee have a written plan for the visit on how the assessment is to be done. Each candidate's visit should be as identical as possible within reason. For example, the committee may wish to develop a set of questions they wish to ask each candidate.

   6. Notification of all candidates for the position is done after a selection is made and the person selected has accepted.

   7. All necessary forms and information must be put together for Affirmative Action and filing with the Affirmative Action Officer.

      NOTE: All candidates must be treated equally. Phone calls, electronic mail, or other contacts from candidates must be handled with discretion and an entry of the call and its context placed in the file. If a candidate visits the campus on his/her own initiative, the candidate must be told that the visit does not constitute an interview and information only can be provided. Use discretion.

      Non-discrimination Statement

      Eastern Oregon University, in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, or age in any of its policies, procedures, or practices, nor does the University discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The non-discriminatory policy covers admission and access to, and treatment and employment in, University programs and activities. Inquiries regarding the University's equal opportunity policies may be directed to the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration, in Susan Campbell Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, telephone (541) 346-5731. Inquiries regarding Title IX (sex discrimination) may be directed to the Compliance Officer, Chancellor's Office, Susan Campbell Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, telephone (541) 346-5767.

5. Policy for Disposition of Applicants' Pre-Employment Files

   The following policy outlines the procedure for disposition of pre-employment files accumulated in the search for new employees.

   1. At the conclusion of a search process for a new or replacement position at Eastern Oregon University, the complete file of the successful candidate will be forwarded with appropriate personnel papers to the Personnel Office for the establishment of a permanent faculty record.

   2. The Personnel Office shall solicit clearance for all confidential material and dispose of other material prior to the establishment of the permanent faculty record. The permanent faculty record is open to the new faculty employee.

   3. A listing of all candidates considered will be compiled by age, sex and coded into the five categories required by HEW. This listing will also be forwarded to the Affirmative Action Officer and identified by the position being filled.
      
      
      

   4. The completed files of all applicants, identifying acceptable candidates for the position, will be bundled and forwarded to the Affirmative Action Officer and will be held for three years. After three years, these files will be destroyed.

   5. The Affirmative Action Officer shall retain, for each position, the Affirmative Action Check List with the Affirmative Action Officer's signature affixed plus the listing of all candidates for the position.