Faculty Recruitment and Hiring
Search Documentation & Approvals
Information current as of date indicated. Please refer questions to the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty or CLA Human Resources, at 612-624-9839.
During 2008/09 the college will fully utilize the functionality offered by the University’s online employment system. Position descriptions and corresponding employment requisitions must be created and approved within the online system.
Search Files
The hiring unit must maintain a complete record of each search. Materials which must be retained include the requisition, copies of electronic and print ads, application materials, search committee records, minutes, reports, pool approvals, etc. The recommended retention for search files is seven years, provided no litigation or complaint is pending.
Requisition
Requisitions shall be prepared within the University's online employment system for all faculty and academic professional and administrative positions authorized for search. The online requsition constitutes the official announcement of the position and contains all relevant information about the position and search, including a description of the position, required and preferred qualifications, duties and responsibilities, application instructions, recruitment strategies, and search committee membership. The requisition must be approved by the college before the position can be announced or advertised.
Applications
Applicants for faculty and academic professional and administrative positions in the College of Liberal Arts must submit a letter of application and curricula vitae through the online employment system. Applicants who submit these materials outside the online system will not be considered until either they apply online themselves or arrangements have been made with Human Resources to upload their materials to the appropriate requisition.
Applicants may be directed to submit additional materials, e.g., letters of recommendation and publications, directly to the department, either at the time of initial application or as requested later, depending on department practice and disciplinary norms.
Pool Approvals
To streamline internal processes and improve response time for pool approvals and requests for hire, the college will review candidate application materials online and will utilize applicant and EOAA reports generated by the online system. Candidate demographic infomation will be collected and pool summary data will be tracked within the online employment system.
Search reports, reasons of non-selection, requests for hire, hiring authorization forms, and draft offer letters should be sent electronically to clahr@umn.edu.
Interim/Preliminary Pool Approval
Search committees wishing to have informal conversations or interviews with applicants before deciding on a pool of candidates for campus interviews must obtain an interim (or preliminary) pool approval.
Required Documentation
- Summary of the search process to date, describing recruitment efforts and committee and screening protocols, and identifying candidates for the preliminary pool;
- Reasons of non-selection for all applicants not included in the preliminary pool must be provided and may be included within the body of the email or attached as a Word document or Excel spreadsheet.
- Letters of application and curricula vitae are required for all candidates moving forward in the search (will be reviewed online).
Final Pool Approval—Referral for Campus Visit
Finalists may not be invited for campus visits until the pool has been approved by CLA.
Required Documentation
- Summary of search process to date, identifying finalists being referred for campus visits, and providing the search committee's rationale for the candidates referred;
- Three letters of recommendation and a sample scholarly or creative work must be submitted for each candidate referred for campus visit. May be submitted electronically, if not included as part of the online application;
- Sample of scholarly or creative work for each candidate referred. May be submitted electronically, if not included a part of online application.
- Substantive reasons of non-selection must be provided for all candidates in the preliminary pool not being referred for campus visit. These may be included within the body of the email or attached as a Word document or Excel spreadsheet.
Meeting with CLA Administration
All finalists for tenure-track and tenured faculty positions must meet with the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research during their campus visit. After the pool is approved, please contact the CLA Faculty Office to coordinate scheduling.
Authorization to Hire & Extend Offer
Approval to Extend Offer
CLA must approve the finalist selected and the terms of the offer before a letter of offer, or promise of offer, can be extended. Units should send by email to clahr@umn.edu:
- Letter from the unit head or hiring authority providing an assessment of the candidates interviewed and a rationale for the selection of the finalist;
- Draft offer letter;
- CLA Academic Hiring Authorization form.
Offer Letter
For faculty positons, maximum base salaries and maximum set-up funds available are stipulated in search authorization letters. Template offer letters are updated annually and are available from the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research. Offers letters must be approved by CLA before being extended.
Elements of Faculty Offer Letters
- Rank and title, classification number, start date of appointment.
- Type of appointment: indicate whether appointment is regular (tenure-track/probationary or tenured), visiting, term/contract, or temporary.
- Indicate percent-time of appointment, appointment term (B, A, etc.), salary, specific dates of appointment or dates of initial appointment period.
- For all regular tenure-track and tenured appointments, identify tenure home. If appointment is shared by more than one unit, specify arrangements, including those regarding merit evaluations, and promotion and tenure procedures.
- For tenure-track appointments, define maximum period of probationary service and identify decision year. Indicate whether maximum period of probationary service at Minnesota is reduced by prior academic service.
- Specify terms of summer research appointment.
- Indicate prior service credited toward sabbatical leave eligibility at Minnesota, if any.
- Specify teaching and advising responsibilities and identify course releases, if any.
- Identify potential sources of future research support, e.g., the Office of the Vice President for Research for Summer Fellowships and concurrent McKnight Summer Fellowships; Single Semester Leaves, etc.
- Specify collegiate and departmental funds provided for research support and identify appropriate use for funds.
- Identify office/lab/studio space to be provided, as well as computer, printer, and other items related to technology needs.
- Identify equipment to be provided, or funds for equipment purchase; and funds to remodel or otherwise prepare office/lab/studio space, if any.
- Provide information on benefits, including eligibility, effective dates, and web-sites for further information.
- Provide information on moving expenses and relocation assistance, including maximum allowable reimbursement. Provide web-sites for further information.
- Indicate that offer is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States at the University of Minnesota by the start date of the appointment.
Acceptance
Copies of the offer letter sent to the candidate AND the signed, accepted, offer letter must be provided to CLA Human Resources.
Anti-Raiding Deadline
The College of Liberal Arts complies with standards jointly adopted by the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (November 1992) and the American Association of University Professors (June 1993) which provide that “an offer of appointment to a faculty member serving at another institution should be made no later than May 1, consistent with the faculty member’s obligation to resign, in order to accept other employment no later than May 15.” The standards recognize that “in special cases, it might be appropriate to make an offer after May 1, but in such cases there should be an agreement by all concerned parties.”
Please contact the CLA Faculty Office well in advance if you anticipate the need to extend an offer after the May 1 anti-raiding deadline.
Completing the Search
The requisition remains open until the final hire is made or until the application deadline indicated in the requisition. Academic searches may conclude with hire, with multiple hires, or without hire.
- Searches With Hire. After the finalist returns the unit’s offer letter with signature indicating acceptance, please provide a copy of the accepted offer letter to CLA Human Resources. CLA Human Resources will indicate that the position is filled and the close the requisition. The posting will then be removed from the University’s employment website.
- Multiple Hire Searches. Searches approved for multiple hires will remain open until all positions are filled or the search concludes without hire (failed search).
- Failed Searches. Searches that conclude without hire may be re-authorized for the following academic year as part of annual budget planning process.
- Open Until Filled. Requisitions posted as open until filled are not open indefinitely. All requisitions are closed at the end of the fiscal year.
Next section: Tenured Hires