Faculty Hiring Process for Department Chairs

Refer to the following guidelines which should be helpful through the hiring process. Please note individual departments/colleges may have additional guidelines. Further, each faculty and/or staff search committee should have completed the Faculty Search Orientation. Please reach out to Faculty Success (facultysuccess@shsu.edu) if you have any questions or comments about this orientation.

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Availability of New Positions

  1. New positions are not always available
  2. If the Dean has requests from multiple departments, only the top priorities will be added to the budget requests from the college
  3. Based on program and department needs, determine the type of position (lecturer, professor of practice, tenure track, clinical)
  4. Based on budget and needs, determine the rank options for the position (assistant, associate, full)
  5. Justification is critical in all instances

Justifying a New Position

  1. The search process to select faculty begins with a strategic needs analysis or a work force analysis and budgetary support to fill a position
  2. Including data to show the student and program demands is helpful
  3. Connecting the request to the strategic plan is required
  4. Recommendations are made to the Dean who then recommends as part of the strategic plan to the Provost
    • The specific steps are outlined in SHSU Academic Policy Statement 800114 (SHSU AP 800114)

Search Committee Selection

  1. Determine makeup and number of the group from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives
  2. Members may complete training online:
    • Unconscious and Everyday Bias
    • Best Practices for Hiring and Recruitment
  3. Members complete faculty search orientation

Job Classification

  1. Determine rank (assistant, associate, full, combination)
  2. Write the job description (research and teaching focus, administrative responsibilities, etc.)
  3. Be clear on 'required' and 'recommended' items
    • 'Required' limit who you can interview
  4. Identify what items each candidate must submit and use each of those in your evaluation and rubric
    • CV, letter of intent, research statement, etc..
  5. Request HR and Academic Affairs approval for the job description
  6. Request a posting of the position
  7. Determine outlets for the advertisement

Advertising the Job

  1. All faculty and staff positions are posted on the SHSU PeopleAdmin website, with the Texas Workforce Commission, Inside HigherEd and the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
    • In addition, faculty and executive staff positions are posted with the Chronicle of Higher Education
  2. Other outlets are available subject to funding by the department or college
  3. Faculty often have access to outlets through their professional organizations (many are free)
  4. Faculty can also send out the job announcement to their network of mentors and peers
  5. Make candidates aware of the range of areas in which they can live (optional)
  6. Add specific required language

Specific Language for Advertisements

  1. Instructions on where to apply
  2. Our EEO/AAP Statement: “Sam Houston State University is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and Smoke/Drug-Free Workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, ancestry, marital status, citizenship, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or gender identity or expression. Sam Houston State University is an “at will” employer. Employees with a contract will have additional terms and conditions. Security sensitive positions at SHSU require background checks in accordance with Education Code § 51.215.”

Screen Applicants

  1. Search committee screens applicants based on agreed upon criteria
  2. Best practices:
    • Avoid scoring applicants without reviewing all the materials
    • Determine the relative weights of publication, service, and teaching in candidate backgrounds
    • Determine the degree of importance of variance with regard to professional backgrounds, research areas, and sociological background
  3. Request HR approval for interviewing the preliminary list of candidates.
    • When interviewing seven or more candidates in the first round, be aware that the state requires a least one veteran to be interviewed if there is a veteran among the applicants

Best Practices

  1. Cast a wide net in recruitment efforts
  2. Emphasize being impartial
    • Sticking with the plan
    • Being fair
    • Expecting the unexpected
    • Maintaining objectivity
    • Creating a climate of trust and mutual respect

Conduct First-Round Interviews

  1. Conduct interviews via Zoom (or F2F if required)
  2. Develop a set of questions based on inputs from the Search Committee
  3. Ensure that the same questions are being posed to each applicant
  4. Ensure that each applicant is allocated the same amount of time for the interview

Identify Finalists and Conduct Job Talks

  1. Obtain a list of finalists from the Search Committee.
    • Request permission from HR before moving forward
    • You may also need to get permission from Dean and/or Chair to move forward
  2. It is recommended that the search committee bring in at least two candidates
  3. Schedule Job Talks (campus visits)
  4. Ensure that the same meetings are being held and the same questions are asked of each applicant
  5. Ensure that the applicants understand the requirements of the role (including teaching, publication, and service requirement), the tenure process, etc

Convene Search Committee for Deliberations

  1. Determine the individual to be hired
  2. Determine the specifics of the offer to be extended (salary, moving costs, release time, years towards tenure, rank, research needs etc.)
  3. Request permission from HR before moving forward
  4. You may also need to get permission from Dean and/or Chair to move forward

Potential Candidates

  1. Ask candidates to submit an informal transcript (this facilitates the credential review performed by the Provost’s office).
    • Chair completes credential review form and English proficiency statement
  2. Ensure that candidates submit letters of recommendation as early as possible

Extending an Offer

  1. Offers can only be extended after Human Resources and Academic Affairs has given approval (templates are uploaded on teams)
  2. Use the provided templates from AA to draft your offer letter
  3. All offers are contingent on a background-check – be sure to emphasize this if you have not yet received clearance
  4. Provide the candidate with one-two weeks to respond to the offer
    • Provide a date in the offer letter so it is clear
  5. Upon acceptance of the offer, discuss and come to agreement on start date for candidate
    • This date can be any date that the candidate, Academic Affairs, HR, and the hiring department agree upon

Back Office Processes Post Offer

  1. Background Check (HR)
  2. Hiring Paperwork (HR)
  3. EPAF
  4. SHSU Online can create 'sandbox' courses if they want to start building their classes
  5. IT Setup
  6. Office Key

Additional Resources

  1. New Faculty Checklist: https://www.shsu.edu/dept/hr/employment/gettingstarted.html
  2. New Employee Checklist: https://www.shsu.edu/intranet/policies/forms/documents/New%20Employee%20Checklist%20%E2%80%93%20Faculty%20Employees.pdf
  3. Moving Reimbursement: https://www.shsu.edu/intranet/policies/forms/documents/Moving%20Reimbursement%20Pre-Approval%20Request.pdf