Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to establish a standardized set of parameters and processes for College hiring and employment policies and practices.
Definitions
Equal Employment Opportunity refers to federal and state mandates that employment activities, beginning with the hiring process, be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner. These regulations require colleges, universities, and the system office to analyze their workforce regarding the race, sex, disability status, and veteran status of its employees.
Protected classes in employment, including the search process, include: race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, familial status, and local human rights commission activity.
Affirmative action describes specific actions that eliminate barriers that create inequities such as unfairness, favoritism, and biases. Affirmative Action is one aspect of the federal government’s efforts to ensure equal employment opportunity. It was developed because of the need to take proactive steps to begin to reverse historic patterns of employment discrimination against minorities and women. Protected classes include: Veteran Status, Gender, Minorities, Disabilities.
Responsibility
St. Cloud Technical & Community College’s hiring and appointment practices shall be consistent with applicable Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board policies, Minnesota Management and Budget policies, Minnesota State Statutes and Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity policies in effect at the time the search or appointment process begins. St. Cloud Technical & Community College will continue to actively promote a program of affirmative action, wherever females, racial/ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in the workplace, and work to retain all qualified, talented employees, including protected group employees. Hiring procedures are considered thru the shared governance and meet and confer processes. Final decisions about hiring and hiring procedures are made by the President or the President’s designee. To facilitate hiring high quality, well-qualified applicants, college employees shall be involved in the screening process, whenever practicable.
S4.4.1 Hiring Procedure
The effective recruitment and selection of faculty and staff is one of the most important functions in the success of any college. It requires a broad range of expertise, and the appointment procedure should provide for effective participation on the part of those having such expertise. To accomplish this task, the college will follow the procedures outlined below.
Approval of Positions
All requests for new positions or changes to existing positions, including temporary or emergency staff hires, require discussion with the appropriate supervisor and submission of the college’s Position Request form to the Human Resources office. The form requires approval of the supervisor, the Vice President of Administration, Human Resources Officer, and the division Vice President prior to beginning the process.
Upon completion of the Position Request form, the Human Resources office will review the request, including consideration of the college’s diverse workforce goal, affirmative action goals and relevant language from collective bargaining agreements and plans.
- An appropriate employment condition/status is determined, i.e., full-time, part-time, seasonal, or temporary; classified or unclassified; exempt or non-exempt.
- Job competencies are identified from the draft position description and used to establish the appropriate classification. If the classification request is higher than the authority delegated to the Vice President of Human Resources, the classification request is forwarded to the Minnesota State System office for approval.
Once these steps are completed, the Human Resources Office will coordinate the process for posting the position as directed by the President or designee (e.g., posting internally, advertising, etc.).
Screening and Interviewing Committees
The college commits to a collaborative and inclusive process to develop committee membership for search and hiring activities, according to the following process requirements:
- Chairperson – The President or designee will identify a chairperson for each search committee. In most cases, but not always, the chairperson will typically be the administrator or direct supervisor of the vacant/open position. The chairperson may be an additional member of the search committee, or the chair role may be considered to fill one of the required committee slots as described below. Human Resources staff will also meet with the chairperson prior to any meetings with the screening and interviewing committee to review the search and hiring policy in order to ensure that the committee’s work adheres to the policy. In addition, Human Resources staff will remain available to the Chair if there are any questions in the process.
- Committee Membership – Committee membership will be driven primarily by consideration of: diversity, equity and inclusion factors guided by Affirmative Action; expertise and experience of committee members relevant to the vacant position; and a desire to provide opportunities for committee service to as many members of the college community as possible.
For each category of position involved in a search process, committee membership shall be comprised of at a minimum set below. Temporary part-time positions and/or emergency appointments are not subject to this screening procedure:
- Faculty Appointments: One (1) faculty, one (1) staff, and one (1) administrator.
- Staff Appointments: One (1) faculty and three (3) staff and/or administrators.
- Administrative Appointments: One (1) faculty, two (2) staff and two (2) administrators.
In order to provide the best possible representation on each screening and interviewing committee, the President or designee may also appoint additional committee members in any combination of faculty, staff and administrators or other key stakeholders with consideration of the initial pool of committee candidates to serve as subject matter experts (SME) on committees. If efforts have been exhausted to seek representation as noted above, it may be determined to move forward with a search process without noted representation.
Committee Member Selection Process
Each staff bargaining unit (AFSCME, MAPE, MSCF, and MMA) will be asked to present a pool of up to three (3) individuals from their respective bargaining unit for service on the search committee. The President or designee will work with Plan staff to identify a candidate for service on the committee. If the administrator is also the Chair, the administrator may be counted for the seat requirement.
Search Committee Members Responsibilities
All members of the Search Committee must agree to be available during all aspects of the hiring process, or they should not serve. Any Search Committee member who may have a conflict of interest during the search process must disclose the conflict with the Chair and may be asked to resign as a committee member. All members shall also attend an orientation session facilitated by a HR staff member or a representative of Affirmative Action and when possible, the Executive Diversity Officer, before the process begins. Additionally, each Search Committee member is required to sign a confidentiality agreement and complete a two-part course annually to facilitate an equitable and inclusive search process, prior to receiving applications and resumes. The committee members must agree to maintain confidentiality about the entire search process and participate in all aspects of the search. Any notes compiled during the search process shall be remitted to Human Resources at the conclusion of the search process.
Posting and Advertising
The posting requirements differ by bargaining unit, but generally require a two-week posting period on a Minnesota State or state website. Positions will be posted in accordance with the collective bargaining agreements and applicable state laws. In addition, there are online resources and targeted diversity resources used in the recruitment process. The Chair will work with a HR staff member to establish the recruitment plan.
Applicant Pool Certification
The Affirmative Action Officer will review the Equal Employment Opportunity information related to the applicant pool and will be in contact with the Chair and/or the appropriate supervisor, Vice President, or the President if there is a concern regarding the diversity of the applicant pool. The search process continues when the pool of applicants has been certified by the Affirmative Action Officer or designee.
Screening
Volunteers who agree to serve on the screening and interviewing committee will be required to read, review and screen applications, as well as attend all committee meetings and interviews. In order to ensure the fairness and integrity of the process for all candidates, volunteers must take part in the entire process. Failure to take part in the entire process will be cause for removal from the committee. In order to ensure a timely process, committee members must recognize that this is voluntary work and circumstances may dictate that meetings or interviews take place outside of regularly scheduled hours.
Prior to review of any applicants or application materials, the Human Resources office will provide committee members with a set of standard interview questions. The committee members will have the option to modify the questions or add new questions to best fit the vacant position. A final review and revision of the interview questions will be conducted by the supervisor of the vacant position – which in most cases will be the committee chairperson. Any revisions to the interview questions will be discussed with the search committee members and the final version will be submitted to the Human Resources office for review to ensure that the process is consistent and fair for all candidates.
Following the establishment of interview questions, the committee will review all applications to determine which candidates meet minimum qualifications as identified on the vacancy notice. The committee will then identify which of those candidates will be invited for an interview. Interviews will be arranged by Human Resources and conducted by the committee. As part of the interview process applicants may be asked to perform a teaching demonstration or presentation as part of the interview process; if there is reason to record these activities, Human Resources must have each candidate sign a consent form in advance.
Background Review and Verification
A reference release form shall be signed by each finalist prior to conducting reference checks. It shall be the responsibility of Human Resources staff to conduct a thorough review and investigation of the employment history of all acceptable candidates whose names are forwarded to the President or designee.
Recommending Candidates
When interview(s) have been completed, the committee will recommend candidates to the President or designee to be considered for appointment. The recommendations shall include the committee’s comprehensive evaluation of the relative strengths and opportunities of the recommended candidate(s). The determination should be based on the following factors:
- The candidate’s credentials and experience;
- The interview results;
- The work sample, test result or the results of other evaluative assessment, if provided; and
- Any feedback of the campus constituent groups as a result of open forums, teaching demonstrations, or public presentations.
While the committees are encouraged to produce three (3) acceptable candidates, they are not required to do so. If there are fewer than three (3) acceptable candidates forwarded to the President or designee, or if the President determines that none of the candidates are acceptable, the President or designee may choose to fail the search.
Appointing
The President or designee will review recommendations and have the right to interview and/or conduct background reviews or site visits as appropriate. Following that review, the President or designee will select a candidate to hire from the list of acceptable candidates or determine if the search is failed or reopened. The President or designee may choose to fill the position on a temporary basis until a permanent appointment is made and will forward information and rationale to the committee. Once a candidate is appointed, the President or designee will notify and/or meet with the committee members with a brief understanding for the decision.
Failed Search
In the event there are no qualified applicants for the position, the Chair may recommend that the president or the designee declare a failed search. The President or designee may fail the search following the interview process if all candidates are unsuccessful. It is the President or designee’s decision to declare a failed search. The President or designee will meet with the screening and interviewing committee to review the process.
Final Selection/Reports Required
Following the receipt of a signed acceptance letter, Human Resources will inform the committee members that the offer was accepted by the selected candidate. Human Resources will ensure that all interviewed candidates, and everyone else in the applicant pool, are informed that the position has been filled. If requested by the committee, the President or designee will meet with the screening and interviewing committee to review the appointment process. Any member of the committee can request a review of the appointment process by contacting Human Resources. The hiring supervisor for the position will also email all faculty and staff announcing the hire. The Affirmative Action Officer/Human Resources office will complete the required hiring reports for affirmative action purposes.
Confidentiality
It is essential that all screening and interviewing committee members maintain confidentiality of any and all information about applicants and committee discussions throughout the screening and interviewing process and beyond. Failure to maintain confidentiality of committee activities or applicant information during and after the search process may result in disciplinary action.
Americans with Disabilities Act
Applicants with disabilities have the right to request reasonable accommodations to assist them through the application and interview process. The Human Resources office shall consult with the college's ADA Coordinator in determining appropriate accommodations.
Data Practices Act
Application materials are considered private under the Minnesota Data Practices Act. All employees participating in the selection process are responsible for safeguarding applicant information. The names of finalists are public.
Recognition of Bias and Violations
Ensuring the integrity of our hiring processes may require the removal of a member from an assigned committee. Concerns should be brought to the attention of a Human Resources representative as soon as aware. Human Resources will conduct periodic check ins to ensure that there is a fair and consistent process for hiring.