HIRING PROCEDURES FOR FULL-TIME FACULTY I. HIRING PRIORITIES: Hiring priorities for full-time faculty begin with full-time faculty. Establishing and maintaining a richly diverse workforce is an on-going process that requires continued institutionalized efforts. Mt. San Jacinto College believes that a diverse faculty strengthens and enriches the education of its students and the community as a whole. The College follows both the spirit and practice of the current laws and regulations that aim to enhance the opportunities for all applicants, including monitored groups. The College will continue to demonstrate and expect meaningful and effective efforts to maximize diversity and identify/eliminate barriers to employment opportunities. A. INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES AND STUDENT SERVICES FACULTY At the beginning of each academic year, the office of the Superintendent/President provides a number of new faculty to be hired based on the Joint Hiring Committee (JHC) recommendations and the fiscal capabilities inherent in hiring new full-time faculty. Priorities begin at the Division level with a review of all full-time faculty positions in each division being completed by the Area Deans who will develop recommendations for new positions within the respective divisions. The Area Deans shall convey these division recommendations at a meeting of the Area Deans and the Vice Presidents, at which time the recommended district priorities shall be determined. The Vice Presidents shall convey these recommendations to the district-wide JHC meeting. (See section (B) below.) B. JOINT HIRING MEETING TO DETERMINE COLLEGE PRIORITIES Each year the college-wide JHC sets a master calendar that includes important deadlines as faculty positions progress through the process. In addition the JHC maintains faculty hiring priorities for successive years and makes recommendations to the Superintendent/President on how many faculty to hire based on the statewide averages, the college s Faculty Obligation Number (FON), and any other pertinent information. The JHC maintains positions from the previous year s listings along with newly recommended positions and shall be in ranked order. The JHC consists of members of the Executive Senate of the Academic Senate (6), the Vice Presidents of Instruction and Student Services, and Area Deans (4). The Academic Senate President and Vice President of Instruction shall co-chair the meeting to reach consensus upon a college-wide list of recommended positions. The President of the Academic Senate and the Vice Presidents of Instruction and Student Services will convey these recommendations in writing to the Superintendent/President. This document will bear the signatures of these individuals. C. FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS Final recommendations to the Board of Trustees will be made by the Superintendent/President after consulting with the President of the Academic Senate and the Vice Presidents of Page 1
Instruction and Student Services. The approved list of faculty positions to be recruited shall be submitted to HR by November 1 of each year. II. HUMAN RESOURCES SERVICES REQUESTS (HRSR S): It is the responsibility of the Vice President of Instruction, Vice President of Student Services, and/or their designees, to initiate HRSRs for known or anticipated vacancies. Upon approval from the Superintendent/President, the Vice President of Human Resources shall initiate appropriate recruitment activities for each vacancy. III. JOB DESCRIPTIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Vice President of Human Resources, in consultation with the appropriate Area Dean and Vice President, or designee, shall develop the job vacancy announcement conforming to established district equivalencies, discipline-specific requirements and in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. In addition to other descriptive material, the job announcement should include the following duties and responsibilities when appropriate to the position: provide class instruction in accordance with established MSJC-approved curriculum and course outlines; inform students about course requirements, evaluation procedures, and attendance requirements; maintain necessary attendance, scholastic and student records, and submit them according to published guidelines; participate in campus/college governance by serving on campus/college communities; participate in professional development, student, and other educational activities in accordance with college policy; effectively teach and communicate with students of diverse backgrounds; develop, maintain, and evaluate curriculum; develop and assess Student Learning Outcomes; maintain currency in the field; interact with faculty and staff in other areas of instruction and participate in the development of instructional methods, technology, and materials; advise students on academic matters; prepare and grade class assignments and evaluations; assist in outreach and articulation with district high schools, four-year colleges, and universities; post and maintain adequate and regular office hours in accordance with prevailing policy; work with peers in higher education, business, and industry to maintain currency of instructional programs; Page 2
demonstrate respect for the rights and needs of students; demonstrate respect for staff, colleagues, and the teaching profession; and actively contribute to the improvement of the non-instructional program(s) or service(s) which the position coordinates or provides. IV. DISTRIBUTION OF JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: The goal of this procedure is to hire the best qualified faculty available. To this end, recruitment plays the primary role in attracting and selecting well-qualified and diverse applicant pools. Therefore, in conjunction with appropriate faculty and administrators, the Human Resources Department will place the job announcements with the approved faculty recruitment sources and requested specialized websites, publications, list services, etc. for each recruitment. At a minimum, each faculty opening will be announced through the State Chancellors Office Registry service, the MSJC Employment Opportunities website, via email to all current Associate Faculty, and by emailing job announcements to all California community colleges. Additional efforts may be used to achieve better qualified and more diverse applicant pools based upon the information received from the respective departments. Closing dates for each recruitment are determined based upon the number of full-time faculty recruitments in the current recruitment cycle and the posting requirements of the faculty recruitment sources. V. FORMATION OF THE SELECTION COMMIITEE: The Vice President of Human Resources shall notify each appointing authority (as defined in section VI below) of the tentative screening and interview dates and times, and shall at that time solicit appointments from those constituencies by issuing a Full-Time Faculty Recruitment Committee Request form which is sent to the Academic Senate, the appropriate Vice President and the Classified Senate. Every effort shall be made to schedule selection committee responsibilities which ensure that faculty have the opportunity to clear their calendars of scheduling conflicts and secure district-approved and provided substitute coverage prior to service on said committees. The appointment secretary shall work closely with the faculty co-chair on faculty committee membership. Non-faculty employees who participate on selection committees must also secure written preapproval from their supervisor to be absent from their regularly-assigned duties during the screening and interviewing periods. VI. COMPOSITION OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE: A. The Vice President of Human Resources shall assemble a selection committee which is responsible for screening and interviewing applicants. The selection committee shall be comprised of the following voting members unless otherwise indicated, and shall, whenever possible, include diverse members by both gender and ethnicity: 1. The appropriate administrator, or his or her designee appointed by the appropriate Vice President who shall serve as co-chair; Page 3
2. Four (4) faculty members appointed by the Academic Senate, at least one of whom, if possible, shall be from the discipline in which the vacancy occurs. The committee may move forward with a minimum of two (2) faculty if scheduling conflicts arise. (One of the faculty members shall also be designated by the Academic Senate as co-chair); 3. One (1) additional administrative representative appointed by the appropriate Vice President; 4. One (1) classified employee appointed by the Classified Senate; 5. The Equal Employment Opportunities Representative or his or her designee (nonvoting); and 6. One (1) student representative appointed by the Student Government Association as requested. 7. At any time in the selection/interview process, an HR representative may attend as a non-voting observer and oversight to ensure compliance and/or guidance with regard to the recruitment process. Human Resources will provide each committee member with EEO/Diversity training (required every two years) that provides an overview of current State and Federal laws, Education Code and Title 5 requirements, diversity, selection committee member responsibilities; processes and procedural guidelines; and other legal considerations. VII. ROLE OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE: The selection process must guarantee access, equal opportunity, and fairness to all candidates. Therefore, the selection committee shall be involved in the following: A. SCREENING OF APPLICANTS FOR INTERVIEWS: The selection committee shall use the Desired Qualifications included in the job announcement to review all complete applications meeting the minimum qualifications, including those who have requested and been approved an equivalency, and shall determine which candidates are to be interviewed by the committee. T he committee shall then forward that list to the Human Resources Department. Individual members of the selection committee shall indicate on the screening form their job related reason(s) for nonselection. As a group, the committee shall indicate on the master screening form job related reason(s) for non-selection. B. INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM (QUESTIONS): The Human Resources Department shall provide samples, when available, of previously used interview questions, teaching demonstrations and other mechanisms which are discipline specific for the selection committee to assist them in generating appropriate interview questions for each recruitment. Page 4
During the initial committee meeting, the committee will generate and submit these interview questions, teaching demonstration (if required) and any other testing information to the Human Resources Department who shall then review the information to ensure that the interview information conforms to all applicable state and federal laws and guidelines. C. APPLICATION NOTIFICATIONS: When the Human Resources Department receives the committee s approved Interview Evaluation Form and the approved interview date(s), the applicants will be contacted and notified of the following: 1. Interview dates, times and location; 2. Teaching demonstrations (if required) & equipment availability information; 3. Any testing requirements established by the committee; 4. Length of anticipated interviews VIII. INITIAL SCREENING OF APPLICATIONS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH TITLE 5 REGULATIONS (Title 5, Section 53023 and 53024): All applicants shall be given the opportunity to voluntarily identify his or her gender, ethnic group identification and, if applicable, his or her disability by completing the Confidential Data form included in each application package. This information shall be kept confidential and shall be used only by the Human Resources Department in research, validation, monitoring, and evaluating the effectiveness of the district's equal employment opportunity program, or for any other reason specifically authorized by any applicable statute or regulation. After the application deadline has passed, and before the screening and selection process by the committee begins, the Vice President of Human Resources shall analyze the composition of the initial and qualified applicant pool to ensure that any failure to obtain projected representation for any monitored group is not due to discriminatory recruitment procedures. If necessary, the application deadline shall be extended and additional recruitment shall be conducted that eliminates discriminatory recruitment procedures and ensures that recruitment efforts provide a full and fair opportunity for participation to a wide diversity of potential applicants. If adverse impact is found to exist, the Chief Executive Officer or the Vice President of Human Resources shall take effective steps to address the adverse impact before the selection process continues. If monitoring of the selection process at this or any other time reveals that any selection technique or procedure has adversely impacted any monitored group, the Superintendent/President or the Vice President of Human Resources shall suspend the selection process, and timely and effective steps shall be taken to remedy the problem before the selection process resumes. Where necessary, the vacancy may be reopened at any time and a new selection process may be initiated in a way designed to avoid adverse impact. Page 5
IX. INITIAL SCREENING FOR ADHERENCE TO MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND LOCAL HIRING CRITERIA: Subsequent to the determination by the Vice President of Human Resources that there exists a sufficiently diverse pool of applicants, the Human Resources Department shall screen all complete applications, including those applicants who have formally petitioned for an equivalency review, for the purpose of determining which applicants meet all minimum qualifications, as set forth in the job announcement. Applicants with complete applications who are screened out for failure to meet the required minimum qualifications shall be notified that their applications will not move forward in the recruitment process. Applications for those applicants who request Equivalency shall be reviewed by the appropriate discipline experts in accordance with the Equivalency policy. If the Equivalency request is approved by the Equivalence Committee, the application will move forward in the recruitment process. Applicants with complete application packets who meet minimum qualifications shall have their application packets forwarded to the selection committee. X. ROLE OF THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES REPRESENTATIVE: Faculty may serve as the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Representative after receiving training (required every two years) which shall be provided by the Human Resources Department. The EEO Representative shall monitor the screening process for adherence to EEO/Diversity laws, regulations and policies on behalf of the District. If questions or concerns arise, the EEO Representative shall inform the Vice President of Human Resources or designee. XI. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FINAL INTERVIEWS WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT/PRESIDENT: Every voting member of the selection committee shall evaluate and score each applicant in a fair and consistent manner after the completion of each interview. Selection committee discussions about applicants are not permitted prior to the deliberation process commencing. The deliberation process will take place in which each committee member shall share their individual recommendations with the entire committee. After committee discussions, and when agreement by the majority of the committee is obtained, the Administrative co-chair will complete the Recommendation for Final Interview form indicating, in rank order, which applicants the committee is recommending for final interviews. In the event that the committee is unable to forward at least two (2) names per vacancy to the Superintendent/President, the committee co-chairs may present a written justification with fewer than two (2) finalists, or the committee may recommend reposting the position. If the committee cannot recommend any candidates for final consideration, the hiring process shall be reopened. Under no circumstances shall the Superintended/President interview or recommend an applicant for employment who has not been recommended as a finalist by the committee, except when a Page 6
"courtesy final interview" with the Superintendent/President is extended to a candidate pursuant to the following provision: In the event that the Superintendent/President elects to extend a "courtesy final interview" to an applicant whose return trip at a later date would cause undue financial hardship, or who must travel extensively for the final interview, that applicant shall be informed that such an interview does not indicate or in any manner imply that the candidate has been selected as a finalist by the committee. Applicants not selected for a final interview with the Superintendent/President will be notified in a timely manner by the Human Resources Department. XII. SELECTION OF THE FINAL CANDIDATE The Superintendent/President, in conference with the appropriate Vice President and the Vice President of Human Resources, shall review the selection committee's recommendation and shall interview the final applicants. The selection of the finalist to be recommended to the Board of Trustees shall be made by the college Superintendent/President; however, the Superintendent/President is not bound by the selection committee's rankings and reserves the right not to recommend any candidate to the Board. XIII. REFERENCE CHECKS The appropriate Vice President or designee, as directed by the Superintendent/President, shall conduct reference checks on the applicant chosen as the finalist. Reference checks may also be conducted by faculty using a standardized form. If discipline specific questions are anticipated, they must be finalized during the initial committee meeting. XIV. NOTIFICATION OF APPLICANTS: At the conclusion of the reference check process, the name of the applicant selected for hire will be provided to Human Resources who will prepare a salary placement in accordance with the current CTA bargaining unit agreement. Human Resources will contact the applicant, make the employment offer and, if accepted, determine an appropriate start date. When an offer of employment is accepted, Human Resources will prepare the appropriate documents to place the new hire s information on the next available Board Agenda for confirmation by the Board of Trustees. All applicants not selected to fill the position shall be notified in writing by the Human Resources Department. XV. EMERGENCY HIRING PROCEDURES FOR CONTRACT FACULTY When, in the judgment of the Superintendent/President, the employment of a full-time temporary faculty member is critical to the success of a program, two (2) or more qualified candidates shall be Page 7
interviewed by the committee that should include the appropriate administrator (Dean), and two faculty appointed by the Academic Senate, one (1) of whom shall be as closely related to the subject matter in which the vacancy occurs as possible. The committee shall forward the name of the finalist to the Superintendent/President, who shall make a final recommendation to the Board of Trustee for their approval. Appointments made under this emergency clause shall be limited to no more than two (2) semesters of service within a period of six (6) consecutive semesters. There are two (2) categories of full-time, non-tenure track contract faculty: Temporary Full-Time Faculty These positions fill non on-going positions, i.e., increased enrollment, unstaffed classes, etc. Interim Full-Time Faculty These positions fill on-going positions, i.e., replacing employees who take sabbatical or other leaves, new positions not yet filled, etc. Only Associate Faculty who have taught in the discipline or provided service in the area during the last three (3) semesters are contacted by the Dean. The announcement of the temporary or interim position requires submission of a letter of interest and resume to the requesting Dean for committee review. Human Resources provides the Academic Senate Appointment Secretary with an Interim/Temporary Committee Request form requesting approval of the required two (2) full-time faculty members to participate in the internal recruitment process. Once Human Resources receives the names of the approved committee members from the Academic Senate the names are provided to the requesting Dean. Human Resources advises the requesting Dean that all internal recruitment documents (notification letter, lists of contacted Associate Faculty, copies of interview schedule and questions used, etc.) shall be submitted to Human Resources after the process is complete. This interview committee works together to set timelines for the internal recruitment process and to screen applicants and schedule interviews. After the interviews are conducted, the requesting Dean advises their Vice President of the committee s hiring recommendation. If the Vice President accepts the hiring recommendation, he/she sends Human Resources a written authorization to hire. The employee serves in the temporary/interim assignment based upon the approved HRSR. An extension may be processed if the initial request was for a one (1) semester assignment. Temporary/Interim assignments may not exceed two (2) semesters for the same individual within six (6) consecutive semesters. If the internal recruitment process does not produce a viable candidate, the District may conduct an external recruitment. Page 8