Affirmative Action Policies and Procedures
Related to the Recruitment
of Instructional and Administrative Faculty
Old Dominion University is committed to a policy of positive affirmative action in the recruitment of women and minorities and of non-discrimination in employment practices. Equal opportunity for employment shall be provided to all applicants on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or veteran status. The attached university forms and procedural guidelines must be used by all deans, directors, and chairpersons in a conscientious manner. This will help assure the effective implementation of this policy. It will also assist the Director of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action, your Vice President, and the President, to evaluate and document campus affirmative action efforts and to provide documentation of those efforts.
Please use the current forms provided on the Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Web Site at http://www.odu.edu/eoaa. These forms supersede all previous faculty forms, which should be discarded. Additional copies may be requested from the Office of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EO/AA) or Academic Affairs as needed. These forms should be completed as FULLY AND ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE.
STEPS IN THE RECRUITMENT AND HIRING PROCESS:
Recruiting:
All instructional and administrative faculty positions should be approved by the appropriate vice president prior to recruiting using Form #1 for instructional faculty appointments or Form #1A for non-teaching appointments. (Please be sure to complete item #10 on Form #1A to avoid a delay in processing.)
Before any full-time position is filled, it must be advertised. This includes, temporary, permanent, tenure-track and nontenure-track positions. All advertising for instructional and administrative faculty positions is placed by the Academic Services Analyst in the Office of Academic Affairs. The guidelines for advertising are as follows:
After receipt of an approved position allocation form, forward Form 2, plus a copy of the advertisement to the Academic Services Analyst in the Office of Academic Affairs.
When drafting the advertisement, the application deadline must allow adequate time for applicants to respond. The application closing deadline must be at least two weeks after the publication date of the periodicals in which the advertisement appeared. All advertisements must include the following statement: Old Dominion University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and requires compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
The Academic Services Analyst will place all advertisements in the Chronicle of Higher Education as part of the commitment under the "Faculty Recruitment, Employment and Retention Plan" unless exemption has been approved by the Director of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action. Exemption may be requested by using Form #2 or by sending a memorandum to the Director of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action.
Advertisements may be placed in a maximum of two additional professional journals or publications. Indicating an address or phone number of the publication is helpful when forwarding advertising copy.
Advertisements are placed in a standard line format in only one issue of a publication. Additional insertions or display format must be specifically justified. Advertising costs vary depending on the publications used. The allocation for advertising charges is based on the number of lines or words in an advertisement. Please be as concise as possible when drafting advertisements.
If you have any questions concerning advertising, please contact the Academic Services Analyst at 757-683-4559. If you have questions about advertisement content, please contact the Director of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action at 757-683-3141.
In addition to advertising, other recruiting procedures such as letters to universities granting graduate degrees, notice of the position vacancy at professional meetings, and personal contact made to colleagues in the desired field are appropriate and should be used. All correspondence concerning available positions should explicitly state the interest of the university in locating minorities and women.
The department chair should appoint a search committee to review applications and to make recommendations for selection. This committee should include minorities and women whenever possible.
The individual(s) conducting the search will make arrangements for the Director of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action and the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs to meet with the search committee to discuss the position and to clarify appropriate recruiting procedures. The Director will lend assistance by suggesting additional resources, if appropriate, to affirmatively recruit women and minority applicants.
Notification to Applicants
Soon after applications arrive, letters should be sent to all applicants thanking them for their interest. When applications are acknowledged, the Data Gathering Letter, (Form #3) from the Director, and a postage paid envelope should accompany the acknowledgment. (NOTE: Form #3 is not on the diskette or website. Please contact the EO/AA Office to request Data Gathering Letters.)
Copies of the Data Gathering Letter and envelopes may be obtained from the EO/AA Office. It is important that the department sending the date gathering letter indicates the vacant position number and the department on the form side of the letter before mailing it.
Initial Screening of Applicants
Applications should be screened according to the qualifications listed in the advertisement. Screening must be based only on appropriate job-related qualifications.
Differential criteria of competence should not be applied to candidates based on protected factors. Although it is easy to discuss the principles of selecting the best qualified candidate, it is much more difficult to agree as to choosing that candidate.
Ultimately a decision must be made in favor of one person. Any affirmative action goals of the particular college, department, or division should be taken into consideration at this time since only qualified candidates are under consideration.
The credentials of those applicants in the final interview pool must be verified. This is accomplished by using the Verification of Credential Form (Form #4) and/or through direct communication with the institution listed as granting the terminal degree. This form remains a part of the applicant's file.
After agreement has been made on the applicants to be formally interviewed, the Interview Selection Form (Form #5) and the vitae of those to be interviewed should be submitted to the EO/AA Office via the dean or vice president at least five working days before invitations to interview are extended. Applicants to be interviewed should be listed, along with a brief summary of their qualifications. The Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Office staff reserves the right to request credentials of minority and women applicants.
The Director will contact the chair by phone and confirm the decision with copies of the Interview Selection Form to the dean, chair and academic affairs. Formal interviews should not be scheduled before the chair is contacted.
The reason(s) for non-selection of each identified minority and female applicant may be requested by the EO/AA Director. If applicable, complete the Non-Selection of Minority and Female Candidates (Form #6) and file with the EO/AA Office. The vitae of non-selected candidates(s) must accompany this form.
Selecting Nominees:
Once the interviews have been conducted and a candidate has been selected, information should be forwarded to the EO/AA Director by the dean or vice president. You need to provide the following: a completed Affirmative Action Selection Report (Form #9), a complete vitae, a Recommendation for Reduction in Probationary Period Form (Form #8) if applicable, and the Authorization for Securing New Faculty Request (Form #7) or the Authorization for Securing Non Academic Personnel (Form #7A). These materials will be forwarded by the EO/AA Office to the Academic Services Analyst. Please note that while informal discussions with the candidates may be appropriate regarding the rank and salary for the position, YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED to make an offer on behalf of the University. Such formal offers should come only in the form of a written contract from the office of the Provost.
The conditions of employment including salary and fringe benefits must be based on the position offered-not on the race, age, gender, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, political affiliation or veteran status of the incumbent. However, it should be noted that "supply and demand" can sometimes affect the salary paid in certain disciplines.
Once the Academic Services Analyst receives the signed Affirmative Action Final Selection (Form #9), and Forms #7/#7A and #8 from the EO/AA Office, a contract will be issued. Please note: if the person hired is a foreign national, information concerning appropriate visa status may be necessary. If you have questions about visa status, please contact Scott King, Director, International Student and Scholar Services.
In the event the candidate you would like to hire declines the position, the Notification of Position Decline (Form#10) should be completed and forwarded from the department chair via the dean to academic affairs. If the recommended action is to offer the position without further search (item B of Form #10), the contract request packet should accompany this form. The Academic Services Analyst will forward the information to the Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Office.
If assistance with moving and relocation expenses is to be offered to the candidate, the Request to Authorize Moving and Relocation Expenses (Form #11) must be completed. Due to budgetary constraints, the University is able to offer reimbursement of moving expenses to tenure track faculty and senior level faculty administrators only. Colleges and departments may supplement the assistance provided by the University Recruitment Budget from their own budgets. No commitments regarding moving and relocation expenses should be made until the Request to Authorize Moving and Relocation Expenses is approved. Please contact the Academic Services Analyst at 757-683-4559 for additional information regarding moving and relocation reimbursement.
NOTE: YOU MUST RETAIN ALL APPLICANT DATA FOR A THREE YEAR PERIOD.
If you have questions regarding this procedure please contact the Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Office at 757-683-3141.
