ACAF 1.00 Recruitment of Academic Personnel

ACAF 1.01 Search Procedures for Academic Administrative Positions

ACAF 1.03 Appointment of Unclassified Academic Personnel

ACAF 1.07 Appointment of Faculty with Terminal Degree

ACAF 1.09 Award of Tenure and/or Senior Faculty at Time of Appointment

ACAF 1.12 Administrative Personnel with Faculty Titles

ACAF 1.18 Promotion from Instructor to Assistant Professor

ACAF 1.24 Selection of Department Chairs

RCAM 1.03 Regional Campuses -- Academic Employment

The purpose of this policy is to outline procedures used on the USC Sumter campus for the selection of full-time faculty members consistent with USC Policy. The Dean of the University may authorize exceptions to this document as circumstances warrant.

1. The Division Chair will request through the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (ADAA) approval for filling a vacant or newly authorized position.
2. The ADAA will consult with the Dean of the University. If the Dean approves filling the position, in consultation with the ADAA and the Division Chair, he/she will establish a salary range and effective employment date for the position, a general description of the position, and determine office location and equipment needs.
3. The Dean will seek approval from Columbia on form RC-1.
4. After all appropriate clearances have been obtained, the Dean will notify the Associate Dean, Division Chair, and USC Sumter Affirmative Action Coordinator.
5. The ADAA in consultation with the Division Chair will establish a projected timeline for the search.
6. In consultation with the Division and the ADAA, the Division Chair will write a job description for the position, including a listing of the courses the faculty member will be expected to teach and explicit expectations in the other areas of responsibility.
7. The Division Chair will provide the Affirmative Action Coordinator, through the ADAA, with an appropriate advertisement and job announcement for the vacant position, with dates for publicizing, at least ten (10) working days in advance of any publication deadlines. The Affirmative Action Coordinator will return the approved ad copy to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for placement in the following publications:
   1. The Chronicle of Higher Education
   2. Specialization Journals or Newsletters designated by the Division Chair
   3. All USC Campuses Human Resources Officers
   4. Black Issues in Higher Education

   The advertisement should make clear the following materials must be submitted:

   A letter of application

   A current curriculum vitae

   3 current letters of recommendation

   Copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts

   A statement of teaching philosophy (which may be included in the letter)

8. The Division Chair also will advertise the position by:
   1. a flier to all South Carolina colleges and universities;
   2. a flier to all other regional or national colleges and universities with appropriate graduate programs, depending on the scope of the search;
   3. publishing the vacancy notice (and attending/interviewing if possible) at appropriate professional meetings;
   4. personal contact with appropriate candidates listed in "minority" publications (CIC Directory, etc.);
   5. a flier to all individuals who, during the past three years, applied or inquired about similar positions at USC Sumter;
   6. a notice on appropriate electronic bulletin boards as available
   7. a notice to all USC Sumter employees via e-mail.
9. The ADAA in consultation with the Division Chair will appoint a search committee and chair. At a minimum, the Search Committee will include:
   1. Two faculty members from the division;
   2. One faculty member from another academic division;
   3. One faculty member from the appropriate department on the Columbia campus;
   4. The USC Sumter Affirmative Action Coordinator;
   5. Both tenured and nontenured faculty members;
   6. If possible, women and minority faculty members.

   All committee members have equal rights, responsibilities, and privileges.

10. Other division members will be invited to review the applications and make recommendations to the committee. They will be permitted to observe telephone interviews with candidates and to speak with candidates when they come to campus.
11. Everyone involved in the search process is reminded that the University of South Carolina provides equal opportunity and affirmative action in education and employment for all qualified persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.
12. Since "In the performance of their official duties, search committees and hiring officials may be race, sex, or ethnic conscious if there is . . . current underutilization of minorities or women in that department or college," the committee will be made conscious of the underutilization of African-Americans and women in the division. If underutilization exists, the Affirmative Action Coordinator will review the EEO Forms and report to the committee.
13. The Division Secretary will create a file on each applicant and send an acknowledgment and EEO Data Reporting form (with stamped, return-addressed envelope). The EEO forms will be obtained from, and when completed mailed to, the USC Sumter Affirmative Action Coordinator. The Affirmative Action Coordinator will report on AA/EEO data as required.
14. The Search Committee will meet to develop a list of criteria to use in reviewing files. The list must be approved by the ADAA.
15. Immediately after the application deadline, the assistant to the Division Chair will review the files for completeness, and secure remaining materials needed from applicants. Only applicants who have made a formal written inquiry postmarked by the deadline will be eligible candidates.
16. The committee may use its own judgment as to the best procedure to review the files. However, the established criteria will be used and any committee member may review any application file if he/she chooses to do so.
17. The committee will reduce the candidate list to a preliminary short list. In most searches, 10 to 15 names will be on this preliminary short list. The Division Chair will call the candidates on this list to further explain the position, identify the salary range (if this has not been done already) and determine their continued interest. If there is continued interest, a telephone conference interview will be arranged between as many members of the committee as practicable and the candidates on this preliminary short list.
18. In a subsequent letter from the Division Chair expressing interest in the candidate's application, applicants will be invited to voluntarily include samples of scholarly or creative work and teaching evaluations.
19. The committee will then recommend through the Division Chair the top two to five candidates to the Associate Dean, alphabetically and unranked. Files on the other remaining candidates on the preliminary short list will also be forwarded to the Associate Dean.
20. The Associate Dean and Dean will review the files (consulting with the Division Chair as appropriate), and with the approval of the Dean, the Committee Chair will invite the top candidate(s) to visit and interview. At this time, each finalist will be provided with a detailed packet of information about the campus, the community, and the University system, to include the salary range for the position. This packet of information will be sent by the Dean of the University.
21. Travel and accommodations for candidates invited to the campus will be funded by USC Sumter. Candidates will be responsible for making their own travel arrangements, subject to approval by the ADAA. The Division Chair will be responsible for making hotel and meal arrangements. These arrangements must be coordinated through the assistant to the Assistant Dean for Administrative and Financial Services. If the candidate prefers, after identifying an appropriate flight, the Division Chair will book the flight, with the ticket going directly to the candidate and the bill coming to the USC Sumter Business Office.
22. The on-campus interview will include the following:
    1. A public presentation (preferably to a class) which allows the candidate to display his/her teaching ability;
    2. Opportunity to meet with division faculty;
    3. Private meeting with the search committee;
    4. Orientation to benefits and promotion and tenure policies;
    5. Community orientation;
    6. A private meeting with the Division Chair;
    7. Meeting with ADAA and the Dean.
23. The Search Committee will recommend action based on the results of the interviews to the ADAA through the Division Chair.
24. Based on the interview(s), the Dean, in consultation with the Associate Dean and Division Chair, will determine to whom an offer should be made. The Dean will secure approval from Columbia to extend an offer on form RC-2.
25. The Division Chair will inform all remaining candidates when the position has been filled. A copy of the letter should be sent to the Affirmative Action Coordinator.
26. If for any reason the position is not filled, the Dean in consultation with the ADAA and the Division Chair will determine whether the search should be reopened.
27. After each search the USC Sumter Human Resources Office will maintain applicant files for a period of three years, at which time they will be destroyed.
28. During the three-year period, notices of new positions in appropriate disciplines will be sent by the Division Chair to applicants whose files are archived in the Human Resources Office.

Faculty Recruitment Checklist

Division ________________________

Position ________________________

Academic Year __________________