Southern Polytechnic State University Policy and Procedure Manual P&P Number: 802.0		Original Date: November 1988 Previous Revisions: April 1997 Approved: March 30, 2004
Procedure for Filling Vacant Positions in EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, and Other Exempt Professional Categories
Contents	This P&P includes the following main sections: q Background q SPSU policy q Procedure q Note q Attached document
Background	The purpose of this P&P is to ensure that there are clear guidelines for the hiring of SPSU employees in exempt professional categories.
SPSU Policy	Southern Polytechnic is committed to employing the best, qualified individuals possible. In an effort to identify the most qualified persons, the university normally makes use of applicant screening committees for advice concerning the filling of all faculty, administrative, managerial, and professional positions. Such committees shall be appointed by the supervisor seeking to fill the position in consultation with the president or his designee. It shall be the responsibility of the employing supervisor to ensure that all Regents and institutional policies and procedures are followed and that the affirmative action process (P&P No. 802.05) is adhered to.

Procedure	Step	Procedure
	1.	When a faculty, administrative, managerial, or professional position becomes vacant, the supervisor shall submit through appropriate administrative channels a request to authorize the search for a person to fill the position. (Faculty and administrative positions at the director or higher-level vacancies require the president’s approval; all others require vice president-level approval.) This request should include the following information: q Title and nature of the position q Improvements and changes to be made by the new appointee in this position q Place of the activity in the development of the institution q Procedure to be followed in identifying candidates q Professional qualifications and special competencies to be sought q Salary range anticipated q Justification for re-filling the position

2.	The vice president-level supervisor, or president if required, will review the request and advise the supervisor when he/she can proceed with the search process. If the position is either a major faculty or administrative position as described in Board of Regents policy #803.02, the president will notify the chancellor of the vacancy and after authorization from the chancellor advise the supervisor if he/she can proceed.
3.	The supervisor shall prepare a draft job description and advertisement for the position and present to his/her appropriate vice president level supervisor, who shall submit it, if it is a faculty or administrative position at the director or higher level, for approval to the president. The following items (not inclusive) must be included in the job description: q Title: a description of the responsibilities and duties of the position q Positions to be supervised by this person q Qualifications and competencies required and desired The anticipated salary should not be included in either the job description or the advertisement; however, it should be included in the request for authorization to search. Included along with the proposed job description shall be a recommended list of members of an applicant screening committee and the plan of action for advertising the position. If the position to be filled is in the area of academic administration, an equal number of faculty and administrators shall constitute the applicant screening committee. Note: The supervisor shall also be responsible for following the Affirmative Action procedures of the university as described in the Southern Polytechnic policy and procedure manual, section 802.05.
4.	All permanent classified exempt positions (not faculty) which are vacant will be posted on the Southern Polytechnic campus for five (5) working days. Posting is not required for temporary paid positions. The on-campus posting is not intended to imply an internal search first, but is instead an early notification to campus of vacancies.

5.	Following approval of the job description, advertisement, and applicant screening committee appointees, the supervisor shall place all appropriate advertisements and meet with the applicant screening committee to present his/her vacant position for their review. A copy of the job description, the advertisement, and a list of all places in which the position has been advertised should be made available to every committee member.
6.	The supervisor shall accumulate all applications submitted on or before the deadline established for applications. The profile of applicants (P & P 802.05) must be approved by the Affirmative Action officer before applicant files are referred to the applicant screening committee.
7.	Prior to reviewing any applications for the position, the applicant screening committee, in consultation with the supervisor, shall establish the evaluation forms (procedures) and rating scales to be used in reviewing the applicants for all the various cuts to be used in reaching a final conclusion on recommendations. Evaluation forms (procedures) and rating scales must relate to the prescribed duties, responsibilities, and qualifications as outlined in the official job description. Once all procedures are in place, the committee should proceed with screening all of the applicants.

8.

When the committee has concluded its deliberations, a list of three to five (more if requested) applicant's names, unranked and all acceptable to the committee, shall be submitted to the supervisor.

9.

The supervisor working with his/her appropriate vice president level supervisor will review the committee's recommendations and, in consultation with the chair of the applicant screening committee and the affirmative action officer, elect to: (a) Invite the candidates recommended by the committee to the campus for interviews (b) Request that additional information be obtained before a final decision is made to invite people for interviews (c) Invite ideally a minimum of three (3) of the candidates that meet or exceed the qualifications, satisfy the needs of the institution, and/or are deemed worthy of further consideration by all involved in the process to the campus for interviews. If all of the committee's recommendations are considered unacceptable for the position, the supervisor may elect to reject the recommendations and institute new search procedures. If a candidate is employed in the University System of Georgia, the SPSU president must obtain authorization from the applicant’s campus president before an interview can be scheduled. If a formal offer is made to such a candidate, the letter must include a statement that acceptance can only be made after all contractual obligations have been fulfilled or a replacement secured. Note: It shall be the supervisor's responsibility to notify the Applicant Screening Committee of the action taken on their recommendation.

10.	The supervisor should prepare a proposed plan for interviewing the final group of candidates and submit it to his/her appropriate vice president level supervisor for review with the president. The plan should include: (1) Dates of each interview (2) Persons and/or groups on campus to be included in the interview process and the evaluation process to be used in getting feedback from these persons and/or groups (3) Schedule to be followed during each interview (including time allocated to each person and/or group). Members of the applicant screening committee must be included in the interview process.
11.	Once all interviews have taken place and feedback has been obtained from all persons and/or groups interviewing the candidate, the supervisor should submit his/her recommendation for the position to his/her appropriate vice-president level supervisor. This recommendation must include the process used by the supervisor to reach his/her decision and the reason for selecting the individual. Recommendations of all the interviewing persons and/or groups should also accompany this recommendation.
12.	The vice-president level supervisor in consultation with the president will consider the recommendation of the supervisor together with all of the recommendations of the interviewing persons and/or groups and either (1) Accept the supervisor's recommendation (2) Reject the recommendations and return the matter to the supervisor for further action. Further action may involve (1) Reevaluating the pool of applicants (2) Extending the search (3) Re-opening the search (4) Suspending the process until a later date.

13.	If the vice-president level supervisor and the president agree to offer a position to a candidate, the supervisor may offer the position to the selected individual. For the positions of chaired professors, provosts, vice presidents, and research university deans, the president will forward the recommendation for appointment and a description of the candidate’s qualifications for service in the position to the University System Office for Board approval (Board of Regents’ Policy 803.02). The offer letter should include (not inclusive) the title of the position, the annual salary, the date of employment, and the six months provisional employment statement (except for faculty). A copy of this letter must be sent to the human resources department.
14.	If the individual accepts the position offered, appointment forms for submission to the Board of Regents must be completed as prescribed by Board policies and Southern Polytechnic policies and submitted to the vice-president level supervisor for review by the president who then forwards the appointment to the Chancellor's Office for Board consideration. It is mandatory that no offer of employment be made giving a starting date earlier than the day immediately following the Board of Regents meeting at which the appointment will be considered. The Board meeting date at which the appointment will be considered is determined by the Chancellor's Office; however, the vice-president level supervisor may estimate that date in consultation with the president’s office for purposes of writing the "offer letter". A new employee may not begin work in any case until the Board of Regents has approved his/her appointment.
Note	Board of Regents Policy specifies those positions that require chancellor and Board of Regents action. All other positions are authorized by the president of the Southern Polytechnic State University.
Attached Document	Checklist for Filling Vacant Positions EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, and Other Exempt Professional Categories