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HOME > College Administration > Policy and Procedures > Hiring Procedures

Hiring Procedures

Contents:

Administrative and Exempt Staff: Selection and Hiring Procedures

Purpose Statement:

Everett Community College is committed to responsible recruitment and selection procedures that:

  • provide accessible and non-discriminatory processes to applicants; and
  • provide the College with the best opportunity to assess and select candidates while honoring the tenets of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity.

The following procedures are intended to lend consistency to exempt and administrative searches, and assure that the Committee has adequate opportunity to review the candidates qualifications, and professional "fit" with the College.

Composition of Search Committees:

The direct supervisor of the position to be hired, or their designee, serves as the Search Committee Chair. Committees will consist of five or more members. The Classified Staff Union and the AFT will appoint a minimum of one staff and one faculty member to all administrative/exempt search committees. The balance of the Committee members should be representative of the position's constituency. As appropriate, names of students willing to serve on search committees can be obtained from the Student Government Office.

Confidentiality:

Discussions which take place between and among committee members and candidates may yield personal and/or confidential information. Committee members should not discuss sensitive information with anyone who is not directly involved in the selection process. If committee members are asked about the status of individuals, please limit your conversation to non-personal, non-confidential, job-related information.

Fairness in Identification:

Committee members should identify those applicants known to them, and should limit their comments to job-related matters.

Affirmative Action:

The Board of Trustees has committed the College to meeting or exceeding the College's stated Affirmative Action goals in hiring protected group members. These groups may include qualified persons age 40 and over, persons with disabilities, disabled veterans and Vietnam veterans. Search committee members are urged to keep the Board's commitment to Affirmative Action in mind during the selection process. In those job groups where under-utilization has been identified, committees will interview members of underrepresented groups as referred by the Office of Human Resources. If the recommendation of the screening committee is not to hire an underrepresented-group applicant who was interviewed, the committee will be asked to justify the rationale for their decision in writing.

The Search Committee Chair will guide Committee compliance and accountability with the principles of Affirmative Action. Information and training on this responsibility will be provided by the Office of Human Resources upon request.

Prior to Screening Resumes:

The Committee will meet to develop its own rating standards and formal interview questions (which are subject to review by the Office of Human Resources). Samples of interview questions used by other committees are available in the Office of Human Resources. Generally, an applicant can answer 15 questions in a 60 minute interview, including the standard affirmative action question(s). The weight of individual elements should also be established prior to reviewing candidate resumes. Committee discussion of the rating standards helps ensure that candidates are rated in a similar manner by all Committee members.

Screening the Resumes:

The Office of Human Resources will screen all applications/resumes for minimum qualifications, at the request of the Committee Chair. After the closing date the resumes (screened or unscreened) are forwarded to the Committee Chair. After all applications have been reviewed and rated by the Committee, the next step is to decide which candidates will be interviewed. Where demonstrated under-utilization exists, per the EvCC Affirmative Action Plan, the Office of Human Resources may refer qualified candidates from target groups to the Committee, with a specific request that they be included in the interview pool. The Committee Chair, or a designated Committee member will contact the applicants and schedule the interviews.

Interviewing:

The Committee will be responsible for establishing the interview format and timetable. The format must include at least one formal interview, but may also include informal interviews, open forums, presentations, luncheons, and/or campus tours. Care should be taken to select a format and a venue for the interviews that not only provides the Search Committee with adequate opportunity to learn about the candidate, but that also provides the candidate with adequate information and a good experience of the campus. During the formal interview each candidate will be asked the same questions, those being the questions previously established by the Search Committee. Follow-up questions may be asked during the interview, or a candidate may be asked to expand an answer for purposes of clarification, however, please remember that the only appropriate interview questions are job-related. Personal questions/topics, even when initiated by the candidate, are always inappropriate.

Committee Recommendations:

Upon completion of the interviews, the Committee will deliberate and rank the candidates as directed by the Committee Chair. The Chair, or designee, will check references on the Committee's top choice(s). Once a final recommendation has been formulated by the Committee, the Chair will send a written recommendation to the appropriate Dean/Vice President for final approval. The Dean/Vice President may choose to interview the candidates before approving the recommendation.

The Chair must verify the salary offer with the Office of Human Resources, before proceeding with the hire offer. If the candidate has employment related questions that the Chair cannot answer, please refer the candidate to either Human Resources or Payroll. Once the offer of employment has been made and accepted, the Chair will notify all other finalists by telephone, and return all search materials (notes, resumes, etc.) to the Office of Human Resources for archiving. Should the applicant's references not check out, or should the candidate decline the position, the Committee will determine whether to make an offer to another candidate, or re-open the search.

Classified Staff Selection and Hiring Procedures

The following procedures are applicable in all cases when the college seeks to fill a classified position.

  1. A Personnel Request Form (PRF), available from the Office of Human Resources, is completed by the department where a classified vacancy exists. The PRF is signed by the appropriate supervisor/administrator in the department/division, forwarded to other appropriate administrators for signature, and forwarded to the Office of Human Resources where a position announcement is generated, printed, and distributed.
  2. The interview committee is formed. The committee is composed of at least four (4) members: the supervisor as chair, one classified staff member, and two other members selected from classified staff, faculty, and exempt staff, with at least one committee member outside the area of the vacancy. The committee chair may ask the President of WSFE Local 1020-1 for a representative from classified staff to serve on the selection committee. The committee chair will send a list of the names to the Office of Human Resources for review as soon as the committee is formed.
  3. The committee chair arranges for the first meeting of the committee. An affirmative action monitor provides orientation to the committee about the purposes and requirements of affirmative action, explains her/his role, answers questions about the hiring process, and explains: (a) supplemental certification, if applicable, and (b) the role of the committee with respect to pre-employment inquiries. The affirmative action monitor is present during, but will not participate in, the screening/interviewing process.
  4. At the first meeting, the committee develops the interview questions.
  5. The applications are scored by the Office of Human Resources and the top seven finalist may be referred to the interview committee. More may be referred if supplemental certification is utilized. The committee will review the applications in the Office of Human Resources. The committee may make notes when they review the applications but will not write on/mark on any application. The notes that are made when reviewing the applications are kept by the committee member until all interviews have taken place and turned in to the Office of Human Resources.
  6. Should the committee wish to develop a rating guide to be used during the interview they may do so, however, it is not necessary. If there is a rating guide developed for use during the interviews, it must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Human Resources.
  7. The committee chair contacts the finalists to arrange for the interviews.
  8. The applicants are interviewed by the committee with the affirmative action monitor present and with the same questions asked each applicant. She/he may clarify an answer, but do not engage in a conversation with the applicant.
  9. Upon completion of the interviews, the committee ranks the applicants in the order of preference. The committee chair checks references on the top choice and shares the results with the committee and the Office of Human Resources.
  10. The committee chair forwards a written recommendation to the appropriate Dean/VP with rank order of finalists names. The Dean/VP has the option of interviewing the candidate(s). The committee chair must have approval from the vice president of the area to offer the finalist the position. Once approved, the committee chair makes the offer. After the Vice President has signed the recommendation, she/he forwards it to the Office of Human Resources. The committee chair informs the Office of Human Resources in writing when the offer of employment has been accepted and the start date of the position. A Personnel Action Form (PAF) is generated in the Office of Human Resources and sent to Payroll.
  11. After the offer of employment has been accepted by the finalist, the committee chair contacts all other finalists . (The Office of Human Resources also sends a letter to the applicants who interviewed and to all applicants who applied for the position.)
  12. The affirmative action monitor and the committee chair sign and send to Human Resource office a release statement indicating that the screening and interviewing processes have been implemented in accordance with college policies and procedures. The chair of the committee gathers and sends all the applications, notes, rating sheets, etc. to the Office of Human Resources immediately following the hiring decision.

Faculty: Procedures for Selection and Employment of Full-Time Faculty

These procedures are applicable in all cases where the College seeks to employ a faculty member on an appointment longer than a single quarter.

  1. The appropriate administrator completes the Personnel Request Form (PRF) and submits it to Human Resources. Human Resources then reviews the PRF for the following information: discipline in which the position will function, description of duties and responsibilities, the employment term and salary, the closing date of the position. (Allow for minimum of four weeks recruitment), and special advertising needs. The college shall advertise full-time vacancies as widely as necessary to obtain a diverse pool of candidates.
  2. Upon approval by the Vice President of Human Resources/Affirmative Action, the PRF is forwarded to the Vice President of Educational Services, the Vice President of Administrative Services and the President for their signatory approval.
  3. Upon final approval of the PRF, the Vice President of Human Resources/Affirmative Action assigns the Affirmative Action Monitor for the committee.
  4. The Dean reviews with the Office of Human Resources/Affirmative Action the proposed screening committee membership which shall be composed of at least five members: The appropriate administrator as chair, one full- time faculty member appointed by the department in which the vacancy exists, one additional faculty member from within the department/division, one other administrator, one additional member outside the division area selected from classified staff, faculty or students.
  5. The committee convenes, with the assigned Affirmative Action Monitor present, to prepare a recommendation to the Dean regarding job description and position qualifications (both minimum and desired) for the vacancy. The job description and qualifications are submitted to Human Resources for final approval.
  6. The Affirmative Action Monitor provides orientation regarding the purpose and requirements of Affirmative Action, explains his/her role, monitors the committee to insure committee actions do not violate the college's Anti-discrimination Policy or state and/or federal laws and regulations, answers questions regarding the hiring process and explains selective certification, if applicable and the role of committee in respects to pre-employment inquiries. The Affirmative Action Monitor will be present during, but will not participate in, the screening/interviewing process.
  7. Prior to the beginning of the screening/interviewing process, the screening committee shall determine its own interview questions and rating standards subject to the approval of the Affirmative Action Officer.
  8. The Human Resources Department screens applications for minimum qualifications and refers those that meet the minimums to the screening committee.
  9. The screening committee evaluates applications which meet minimum qualifications using established criteria and rating forms and determines the candidates to be interviewed. In accordance with the Affirmative Action Plan, supplemental certification may be used where demonstrated underutilization exists.
  10. The committee chair contacts candidates to arrange for interviews. The Human Resource office sends notices to all applicants not chosen for interview prior to the publication of the name of the successful applicant.
  11. Interviews are conducted as previously approved with the Affirmative Action Monitor present and with the same format for each candidate.
  12. The committee chair will conduct reference checks as appropriate after interviews.
  13. Candidates are evaluated by the committee, with the Affirmative Action Monitor present, to develop its recommendation to the Vice President for Instruction.
  14. The committee chair forwards credentials (inclusive of reference check information) and recommendation to the Vice President for review. The Vice President may choose to interview candidates.
  15. The Vice President, Committee Chair and Affirmative Action Officer may review the selection and credential process.
  16. The Affirmative Action Monitor and Committee Chair sign a release statement indicating that the screening and interviewing processes have been implemented in accordance with College policies and procedures.
  17. The Vice President makes the final hiring decision.
  18. All credentials, application materials and committee member notes are returned to the Office of Human Resources immediately following the hiring decision.

Faculty: Procedures for Selection and Employment of Part-Time Faculty

Part-time faculty are hired under procedures as found in the AFT Contract, Section 4.

Page Last Modified: 01/21/09 11:45