3.2.9 Faculty/Staff Appointment

The institution defines and publishes policies regarding appointment and employment of faculty and staff.

  Compliance           ___  Partial Compliance          ___  Non-Compliance

Narrative:

South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) follows Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors (LCTCS) policies and guidelines regarding appointment and employment of faculty and staff: 

LCTCS Policy #6.032 (1)

Purpose: The intent of this policy is to establish minimum guidelines for all LCTCS institutions for search committee usage in the hiring process. All unclassified hiring decisions are subject to the approval of LCTCS.

Committee Requirement Based on Position Level
• A search committee is required for all full time faculty positions
• A search committee is required for all administrative positions at
  Director level or above
• A search committee is encouraged to be used for part time and adjunct positions
• A search committee is encouraged to be used for all other positions

External vs. Internal Posting
• Chancellor positions require posting in a minimum of one newspaper, The Community College Week, Black Issues in Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Community College Times.
•  All positions at levels that require a search committee are required to be posted externally and/or internally, as determined by the Chancellor. At minimum, the position must be posted on the institution’s website for no less than 10 working days.
•  All positions at levels for which a search committee is encouraged are required to be posted internally, as defined by the institution. At minimum, a bulletin board posting is required, for no less than 10 working days. It is encouraged that all positions are posted on the institution’s intranet and website for no less than 10  working days.
•  Internal transfer and promotional opportunities must be approved by the Chancellor with concurrence of the LCTCS President.

Composition of the Committee
• The committee will be comprised of no less than three members
• The committee will reflect the diversity of the community and the student population.
• Subject matter experts and those with knowledge of the discipline are to be represented on the committee.

Duties of the Committee
• The search committee is a recommending body to the hiring authority.
• It is the responsibility of the institution’s Human Resources department, alone or in conjunction with technical/academic experts, to receive and screen application materials to ensure that candidates meet minimum qualifications and credentials.
• The hiring department may then further screen the applicant pool that meets minimum qualifications to obtain a pool of highly-qualified applicants meeting preferred qualifications.
• The pool of screened applicant candidate materials will be forwarded to the search committee for their determination of candidates to be interviewed.
• The hiring department and/or committee will develop standard questions that will be asked of all candidates interviewed.
• The committee is encouraged to recommend for further consideration no less than three unranked candidates to the hiring authority.

Duties of the Institution
• The institution must determine the designated “authorized salary offerer” (such as human resources), who must approve all offers before they are made on behalf of the institution.
• The institution must determine the officer who reviews and approves the diversity of the search committee.

Emergency / Interim Appointments
• All emergency/ interim appointments require the approval of the Chancellor.
• All emergency/ interim appointments must have an identified beginning and ending day for the appointment.
• The length of time of an emergency/ interim appointment shall not exceed one year, unless otherwise approved by the LCTCS President.
• Movement from an emergency/interim appointment to a regular appointment is not guaranteed. A regular appointment is subject to the posting and search committee guidelines as outlined in this policy.

SLCC demonstrates implementation of the policy by the Hiring Compliance Matrix (2).

This matrix reflects the steps in the hiring process and notes completion and compliance with the hiring guidelines. The completed matrix is based on Human Resources (HR) file documentation obtained from applicant/appointment/employment files for each search in the fiscal year.  In instances where searches began in one fiscal year and completed in another fiscal year, the hiring date determines which fiscal year the documentation is placed. 

Completion of the Matrix is an ongoing HR procedure and position tracking tool.  The Matrix is provided to the Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance for informational sharing with the Chancellor’s Cabinet.  

Each new hire receives a Faculty Handbook (3), which contains a page that must be returned to the HR Office with his/her signature stating s/he understands the policies provided.

Documentation: