Policy and Procedure

Subject Area:	Personnel Recruitment
Policy Title:	Recruitment of Full-Time Tenure-Track Faculty and Administrative Personnel (Grade 15 and Above)
Policy / Procedure No:	AAD001
Purpose:	To define affirmative action guidelines governing the recruitment of full-time, tenure-track faculty and administrative personnel (grade 15 and above).
Who Performs:	Hiring department.
Documents Needed:	Affirmative Action forms (for full-time tenure-track faculty and administrative personnel grade 15 above) at www.neu.edu/aa/forms.htm.
Special Instructions:	No offer of employment should be made until the hiring packet is approved by the Dean/Vice President, Affirmative Action and Diversity and Budget Office/Division of Sponsored Projects Administration (DSPA).
Contact Person:	Affirmative Action and Diversity Office, x2133.

PURPOSE: To define affirmative action guidelines governing the recruitment of full-time tenure-track faculty and administrative personnel (grade 15 and above). For additional information, visit our website at http://www.neu.edu/aa.

SCOPE: All University employees.

POLICY:
Northeastern University is committed to promoting diversity of personnel throughout the University and particularly in key positions of responsibility. We enlist a spirit of understanding between the Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity and the full University, along with the established affirmative action procedures, to accomplish our goals.

PROCEDURE:
Pre-Posting
All academic and administrative departments may develop a standard recruitment plan for their unit. The plan will be approved by the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity and kept on file for future searches.
A meeting will be held to review the recruitment plan if one is requested by either the dean or chair, or the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity.

Job Postings
Administrative Positions
At the time a position is approved for posting, the search chair will notify the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity of the unit's intent to:
Use the pre-approved recruitment process.
Submit a modified recruitment plan for approval by the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity prior to external advertisement or processing of applicants.
If a modified recruitment plan is to be used, this will be reviewed and acted on by the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity within five business days of receipt of the request.

In cases where an internal-only search is proposed to fill a position, the provost/senior vice president will ask the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity to evaluate the internal availability of underrepresented minorities and women candidates before such a search is initiated. Should a diverse pool of candidates not be available, the Dean/Director will have the authority to require an external search.
Each position vacancy shall be posted internally for 10 calendar days to solicit applications from internal candidates only. During this period, only full- or part-time benefits-eligible employees may formally apply for the posted position. If a qualified candidate is hired at the end of this 10-day period, no further posting or outreach is required.

If an internal candidate is not hired at the end of the 10-day internal posting period, the position shall be posted for a minimum of an additional 20 days and a simultaneous external search conducted in accordance with affirmative action guidelines.
If the requirements of a position suggest the need for an immediate external search, a waiver of the internal posting period may be sought through the Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity.

Affirmative Action staff reviews requests for waivers on a case-by-case basis. Approval is closely monitored to encourage recruitment of a diverse pool of qualified applicants for every open position at the University.

Full-Time Tenure Track Faculty
At the time a position is approved for posting, the search chair will notify the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity of the unit's intent to:
Use the pre-approved recruitment process.

Submit a modified recruitment plan for approval by the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity prior to external advertisement or processing of applicants.
If a modified recruitment plan is to be used, this will be reviewed and acted on by the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity within five business days of receipt of the request.

The position shall be posted for a minimum of 30 calendar days, during which time an external search shall be conducted.

Interview Selection of Applicants As a part of acknowledging receipts of the application/curriculum vitae, the applicant will be directed to the Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity's website www.aa.neu.edu to fill out and submit a "Confidential voluntary Applicant Data Information" form located under the link "Resources for Hiring Managers". This data will be submitted to the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity and will only be used for applicant flow and recruitment reviews.

The search chair will submit to the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity the completed Affirmative Action Interview Approval Form and candidates' curricula vitae/resumes.

The Dean/Director will determine if the approved recruitment plan was implemented and if an appropriately diverse pool for the discipline has been attained. Diversity will apply to the under-represented minorities and women for a particular field or discipline.2
When diverse pools have been attained, the Dean/Director will approve initiation of the interview process and sign the Affirmative Action Approval Form.

Where a diverse pool has not been attained, the Dean/Director may require extension of recruitment efforts before approving initiation of the interview process.
Action by the Dean/Director will be completed within three business days of the receipt of materials listed above.

Should the search committee choose to add additional candidates to the interview pool following approval of the interview list, the names and curricula vitae/resumes should be submitted to the Dean/Director on a rolling basis. These additional candidates will be automatically added to the approved pool unless a concern is expressed, in writing, by the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity. Should the Dean/Director have a concern regarding the evolving pool of candidates for a posted position, he/she will notify the search chair within three business days of receipt of additional names.
Should the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity develop concerns that changes in the interview pool are unacceptably eroding the diversity of the pool, he/she has the authority to reassess the interview pool and recruitment process with the search chair and to require the identification of additional candidates for interviews in order to achieve appropriate diversity in the interview pool.

In the event the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity and the search chair cannot agree about the appropriateness of initiating the interview process (as provided for under section C) or extending the search for candidates for interviews (as provided for under section E) the matter will be referred to the provost/senior vice president. The provost/senior vice president will issue a decision on whether the current pool satisfies diversity criteria and therefore does not need to be expanded, within three business days of receiving notification of the request.

Offer of Employment
Prior to an offer of employment, the chair of the search committee will submit the names of all interviewed candidates and brief rationale for the action on each (Affirmative Action Offer of Employment Form) to the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity.

The Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity will approve or disapprove the selection of a candidate within no more than 72 hours of the receipt of the Affirmative Action Offer of Employment Form.

Should the Dean/Director of Affirmative Action and Diversity not agree with said rationale, he/she will discuss the rationale with the search chair to try to reach a consensus. In the event agreement is not attained, either the Dean/Director or Search Chair may refer the matter to the provost/senior vice president for a final review and resolution. The recommendation will be issued within three business days of receiving notification of the disagreement.

Hiring department staff prepares a hiring packet and sends the packet to the dean/vice president.

Dean/vice president reviews salary recommendations, signs employee's information form, and verifies the inclusion of Affirmative Action Offer of Employment form and forwards packet to Budget Office/DSPA.

Budget Office/DSPA staff reviews Employee Information Form to ensure funding availability then routes packet to dean/vice president.

Provost/Senior Vice President signs letter of appointment (original and one copy) and sends them to the selected candidate with personal data card, copy of Job Opportunities Job Posting Summary and Affirmative Action Self-Identification Form.
Candidate accepts the formal offer of employment, signs letter of appointment and returns one copy with the filled-in personal data card to the dean/vice president.
Search chair notifies candidates not selected at this time. Waiver of Position Postings
All requests for a reduction of the posting period or a waiver of the posting requirements must be reviewed by the Provost/Senior Vice President and the Dean/Director Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity and a recommendation will be made to the President or designee. Final approval rests with the President and must be obtained before further action is undertaken.

1. Search chair is used throughout the document to identify the person responsible for the process of screening, interviewing, and selecting candidates. This may be the vice president, dean, chairperson, or chair of the search committee.

2. Criteria for determining the appropriately diverse pool will be established based on the demographic data available for particular disciplines or occupations will include under-represented minorities and women and/or on diversity goals established by a unit and approved by the senior vice president for that unit.