High-Level Overview:

FACULTY RECRUITMENT

Please review the Recruitment Toolkit for best practices on inclusive searches and recruitment.
All jobs must be posted, at a minimum, on https://www.interfolio.com/. (COLA Faculty Posting Process)
The Provost’s Office also offers funding to support inclusive targeted advertisements via the PIPES program.

FACULTY CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS

All units should review the attached Accessible Job Interviews document for helpful information that can make the interview process more accessible, accommodating, and inclusive for candidates.
All T/TT candidates meet with one of the deans (meetings may be conducted via Zoom). Information on faculty candidate meetings with the Deans was sent via separate email and is posted on the List of Deans section of the COLA website.

CAMPUS VISITS

Departments may invite finalists to campus for in-person visits or conduct interviews virtually. Faculty candidates who visit campus must adhere to all University Travel Guidelines and are asked to follow guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Departments are encouraged to seek funding via the Provost’s PIPES program when applicable. The Dean’s Office also welcomes requests to fund campus visits that would enhance the diversity of the finalists.
Departments may request funding support from the Dean’s Office for faculty candidate visits. Submit a Special Funding Request (SFR) for reasonable expenses* in advance of the visits:

Submit via the SFR system
Use commitment type ADMN – Administrative Commitments
In the description field input Faculty Recruitment
Attach a detailed budget (*reasonable expenses may include: airfare/transportation, hotel costs, limited meals/entertainment expenses adhering to UT and COLA entertainment policy)

HIRING PROCEDURES

Once all interviews are complete and a final candidate has been selected:

Departments should begin negotiating terms of the offer with Associate Dean Steve Hoelscher and begin preparing materials for the PAR (see PAR Handbook).
Sr. Staff will input approved offer terms into the Faculty Offers Database.
Once negotiations are complete and offer terms are finalized, submit the Offers DB record, APP the PAR in DEFINE, and upload the PAR packet and draft offer letter to COLA HR for review and approval.

When hiring faculty with tenure:

University guidelines are provided on the Hiring Faculty with Tenure section of the Provost website.
As soon as a successful candidate is identified, departments must submit preliminary materials via Associate Dean Steve Hoelscher for Tenured Candidate Pre-Review process.
Once pre-review is approved from the Provost’s Office, COLA HR will notify the department and provide instructions to upload materials for the New Hire Tenure Review file. When all of the materials are assembled, COLA HR will arrange the ad hoc tenure review and will notify the department of the result.

Upon final approval of the PAR, the official job offer can be extended to the candidate.

CONTACTS

General questions: COLA HR
Meetings to discuss recruitment/hiring terms: Steve Hoelscher; schedule via Hannah McKenna

Tenured & Tenure-Track Faculty Search and Job Posting Process

Purpose

To provide policies and procedures for posting faculty search advertisements on Interfolio.

Relevant Definitions:

Interfolio: https://www.interfolio.com. The approved university platform for advertising open faculty searches.

For new users: To request access to Interfolio, please send name, EID, department, and reason needing access to cola_hr@austin.utexas.edu.

Job ID: 5-digit number tied to every posting created through Interfolio

FRD ID: 4-digit Faculty Recruitment Database number recording approval to conduct a faculty search

For new users: To request access to the Faculty Recruitment Database, please send name, EID, department, and reason needing access to cola_hr@austin.utexas.edu.

Process:

Dean determines faculty lines for which departments have permission to recruit and notifies chairs; specifies materials to be submitted for each search:
1. Hiring Summary - the department's plan for the recruitment
2. Draft job advertisement (ad)
COLA HR creates an FRD ID for each approved search.
Department chair submits requested materials to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Deans review submitted materials and inform department chair the search is authorized to proceed, or request more information.
Upon dean’s approval, COLA HR reviews draft job ad.
COLA HR returns draft advertisement to department with any recommended revisions, repeating until all parties agree on language. Minimum job posting expectations include:
1. Brief but descriptive title capturing the essence of the search
2. Precise contours of the search relevant to rank and title
3. Clear statement delimiting areas of expertise under consideration
4. Clear statement of position expectations and duties to be performed
5. Clear statement of degree requirement
6. Statement of criteria on which the hire will be made
7. Clear statement of materials required for a complete application. If additional materials might be requested of finalists or a short-list, this must be stated.
8. Clear statement as to whether there is a firm application deadline or whether applications will be accepted until the position is filled and, if so, when review of applications will begin.
9. Statement that salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and qualifications.
10. Statement that position funding is subject to budget availability
Department submits job posting for review in Interfolio. (For Interfolio help, see Provost help page.)
COLA HR double-checks job ad, approves Interfolio posting, and sets status to “accepting applications.”
Department completes FRD record as requested by COLA HR and submits FRD record for approval.

Related policies:

Departments have the option of requesting a diversity statement from applicants, but, at minimum, must include as part of the qualifications section: “We are interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their teaching, research and service.”

For departments requesting a diversity statement as part of the application, please do so using the following language: (Applicants must include) “a statement reflecting upon their previous, current and/or potential future contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion through their research, teaching, and/or service.”

Tenured and Tenure-Track Recruitment