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Handbook of Operating Procedures
Chapter 2 - Faculty and Academics
Previous Publication Date: August 19, 2021
Publication Date: December 7, 2023
Policy Reviewed Date: December 7, 2023
Policy Owner: VP for Academic Affairs s


2.04 Faculty Recruitment


I. POLICY STATEMENT


The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is committed to building a highly qualified faculty in support of academic excellence. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines as well as university processes and procedures must be followed during all faculty searches. This policy sets out those processes and procedures for Tenured/Tenure Track faculty searches.

To identify, recruit, and retain highly qualified, talented faculty for all academic fields is a primary university goal. The faculty recruitment process is designed as a collaborative process with the result being general concurrence regarding the best-qualified candidate for a position. Faculty, Department Chairs, and Deans actively collaborate toward that end.


II. RATIONALE


The Faculty Recruitment Manual provides guidance to ensure that the faculty recruitment effort is a fair and effective process that provides equal opportunity to all candidates for a faculty position at UTSA. Adhering to the recruitment guidelines outlined in the Manual will also provide Search Committee members with a standardized process to evaluate all candidates.


III. SCOPE


The faculty recruitment process outlined in this policy is to be followed during all faculty searches for Tenured/Tenure Track positions conducted by UTSA


Special Opportunity Hires do not follow the procedures outlined in this policy. The procedures for Special Opportunity Hires are on the Provost’s web page.

IV. WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY


http://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter2/2.04.html


V. RELATED STATUTES, POLICIES, REQUIREMENTS OR STANDARDS


  1. University of Texas System Policies or the Board of Regents' Rules & Regulation
    1. UT System Board of Regents’ Rule 10701, Policy Against Discrimination
  2. Other Policies and Standards
    1. UTSA Handbook for Operating Procedures:  http://www.utsa.edu/hop/
    2. UTSA Strategic Plan – A Vision for UTSA: http://www.utsa.edu/strategicplan/
    3. UTSA Equal Employment Opportunity Guidelines:  http://www.utsa.edu/eos/policy.html
    4. UTSA Faculty Recruitment Manual Guideline

VI. CONTACTS


If you have any questions about this HOP 2.04, Faculty Recruitment, contact the following office(s):

  1. Faculty Success
    210-452-2994
    vpaa.facrec@utsa.edu

VII. DEFINITIONS


  1. Equal Employment Opportunity/Non-Discrimination – Federal and state law and UTSA and U.T. System policy forbid discrimination in all areas of the employment relationship (from advertisement for new employees through termination, resignation or retirement), on the basis of age, disability, equal pay/compensation, genetic information, national origin, pregnancy, race/color, sex, sexual orientation and retaliation.

VIII. RESPONSIBILITIES


  1. Deans
    1. Have ultimate responsibility for recruiting high quality faculty to work at UTSA.
    2. Establish and manage the recruitment budget for his/her respective college in order to achieve faculty recruitment objectives.
    3. Stay informed about faculty hiring needs in the college through continuous consultation with the Department Chairs and through other means, such as recommendations from outside program reviewers and benchmarking with other institutions.
    4. Maintain a prioritized list of faculty hiring needs in the college.
    5. Upon receiving approval from the Provost, provide Department Chairs authorization to initiate searches. Authorization should be made as early as possible in the discipline’s hiring cycle so that the department may be fully competitive.
    6. Review recommendations from the Department Chair for Search Committee members and appoints Committee.
    7. Review and approve Recruitment Plan and Advertisement before submission to Academic Affairs.
    8. Receive and consider hiring recommendations from the Department Chair throughout the search and recruitment process leading to the hiring of a candidate.
    9. Authorized to close a search at any point if the search process has not produced a pool of candidates of sufficient quality, or if the search process has not fully complied with the requirements of this policy.
  2. Department Chair
    1. In consultation with department faculty, maintains an up-to-date list of prioritized faculty hiring needs.
    2. Chairs are encouraged to maintain draft recruitment plans and advertisements for needed positions ready for final development and implementation.
    3. Upon receiving approval from the Dean, initiates the search process by submitting recommendations of Search Committee members to the Dean.
    4. Appoints Search Committee Chair.
    5. Receives and reviews the recommendations submitted by the Search Committee regarding most suitable candidates.
    6. Elicits input from all faculty members in the department regarding most suitable candidates.
    7. Forwards or communicates recommendations to the Dean, and ensures that candidates forwarded to the Dean reflect the university’s goal for faculty appointments.
    8. Submits Recruitment/Hiring Package to the Dean.
    9. Retains file for each search process in department office, in accordance with (F) in “Procedures” below.
  3. Search Committee
    1. Develops Recruitment Plan and Advertisement for vacant position.
    2. Reviews application packets for each candidate.
    3. Develops and submits Short List of candidates to Department Chair.
    4. Interviews candidates on Short List.
    5. Submits review of candidates and hiring recommendations to Department Chair.
  4. Academic Affairs (AA)
    1. Develops and oversees the faculty recruitment process.

IX. PROCEDURES


  1. Establishment of the Search Committee
    1. Deans will appoint faculty Search Committee members based upon recommendations submitted by the Department Chair. Guidelines for appointing the Committee Chair are located in the Faculty Recruitment Training Manual.
    2. Search Committee members for a tenured or tenure track (T/TT) faculty position should be comprised of T/TT faculty. Exceptions are subject to approval by the Dean.
    3. Search Committees may include faculty or subject matter experts from other institutions if approved by the Dean.
    4. Department Chairs should appoint the chair of the Search Committee in consultation with the Committee.
    5. Once approved, each Committee member must attend Faculty Recruitment Training (FRT) if first-time appointees or if they have not attended training within the previous two (2) years. Faculty Success will maintain records of participation in FRT.
    6. Search Committees are responsible for developing the Recruitment Plan and advertisement for the search.
  2. Recruitment Plan
    1. The Search Committee develops a Recruitment Plan that is reviewed and approved by the Department Chair, Dean, and Academic Affairs.
      1. The objective of the recruitment plan is to identify the Search Committee’s administrative process for conducting the search and the recruiting efforts the Committee will employ to obtain a broad pool of candidates.
      2. The Recruitment Plan must be reviewed and approved by the Dean before it is submitted to Academic Affairs for review prior to publication of the advertisement.
      3. Academic Affairs may provide a template of a recruiting plan that can be used by all colleges and departments. Academic Affairs may also assist the Search Committee by providing names of organizations and publications that are specifically focused on reaching women and members of underrepresented groups.
    2. The Recruitment Plan must include the following:
      1. A position Advertisement that is reviewed and approved as part of the Recruitment Plan.
      2. Applicant Pool Procedures that include a process for tracking administration of the search process.
      3. Procedures for conducting Initial Screening and for developing a Short List of Candidates.
      4. Procedures for on-campus Candidate Interviews of candidates on the Short List approved by the Dean.
      5. Procedures for making Final Recommendations to the Department Chair and Dean. Upon consultation with the Department and Search Committee Chairs, the Dean may indicate that none of the candidates is acceptable if, in his/her judgment, the leading candidates do not adequately meet UTSA’s goal of employing a highly qualified faculty. If no candidates are acceptable, the Dean shall determine whether to extend or close the search.
      6. A Search Process Timeline that adheres to Academic Affairs recommendations in the Faculty Recruitment Training Manual.
  3. Short List
    1. The Search Committee screens applicants, identifies leading candidates, places those leading candidates on the Short List, and advises the Department Chair and the Dean concerning Short List candidate qualifications and suitability for the position.
    2. If the Short List of Candidates does not reflect UTSA's goal to employ highly qualified faculty, the Department Chair, upon consultation with the Chair of the Search Committee, can return the Short List to the Search Committee for modification. The Dean may also return the list for modification to ensure quality after consultation with the chairs of the Department and the Search Committee.
  4. Extending Offers
    1. The Dean or his/her designee should contact the best qualified candidate, confirm the candidate is still receptive to an offer and discuss key issues, including salary, start-up funds, teaching responsibilities, moving expenses, etc.
    2. The Search Committee does not extend offers to candidates, approve selections, or negotiate terms of hire.
    3. Preliminary Offer Letters are approved by Academic Affairs. Other significant issues include careful documentation of expenses and commitments, hiring of faculty who are not U.S. citizens, hiring of ABDs (students who have completed all but their dissertation.)
  5. Closed Searches
    1. If the department’s faculty search is not successful and does not lead to the department hiring a candidate or if the search process has not fully complied with the requirements of this policy and the Dean ends the search, the search is considered Closed. Closed Searches are to be reported to Academic Affairs by the Dean.
  6. Recruitment/Hiring Package
    1. Upon written acceptance of the offer letter by the selected candidate, a Recruitment/Hiring Package of original documents is prepared for submission by the department. The package is submitted through the Dean to Academic Affairs for review prior to the creation of the Explanation of Pay template. Forms required for this package can be found at http://provost.utsa.edu/VPAFS/forms/recruitment/index.asp.
  7. File Retention
    1. The department must keep the entire search file for a minimum of three (3) years.

X. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION


This policy applies to all UTSA faculty. The criteria established for the various titles apply only to positions created after the policy’s effective date.


XI. FORMS AND TOOLS/ONLINE PROCESSES


None


XII. APPENDIX


None

XIII. Dates Approved/Amended


12-7-2023 (SB17)
08-19-2021
08-08-2011

08-20-1998