Qualifications and Skills

The first step in crafting the position announcement should be identifying the essential responsibilities and qualifications for the position. The following questions are especially germane:

• What degree is required?
• What are the disciplinary requirements?
• What sub-discipline expertise is required?
• What type of teaching experience is required?
• What types of research and publication records are required?
• Is a history of and/or potential for grant acquisition required?
• Is a past record of service to a department and/or institution required?
• Is a record of leadership required?

Once the essential qualifications have been identified, they can be incorporated into the position announcement. Those qualifications/skills that are essential should be identified as “Required,” while secondary qualifications/skills should be acknowledged as “Preferred.” These qualifications/skills should be used in the initial screening of all applicants.

Other Points to Consider

• What qualities/characteristics would predict high performance in the position?
• What are the current and future needs of the department?
• How “open” can the search be while still meeting the department's needs? (e.g., do you really need a person focused on late 14th-century Middle English literature with specific expertise in the Irish dialect of the Kildare Poems? Or, can you “open” the search to include a larger group of qualified applicants?)
• Ensure that each qualification relates to the job and the department's needs.
• Be flexible with arbitrary numeric measures (e.g., number of publications, years of experience)
• Set clear criteria for evaluating candidates, and be sure that the position announcement allows candidates to submit evidence that can be used in this evaluation.
• Communicate the genuine value of inclusive excellence in the position announcements.
  • focus on the needs of the students
  • tie into the mission of the department and institution
  • “experience with cultures other than their own”
  • “demonstrated success working with diverse populations of students”
• What are the opportunities for the person in this position, and how can they be highlighted?

Requirements and Recommendations

Position Announcement Requirements

The position announcement must include:

• name of the department
• rank of the position
• start term
• inclusive excellence language, including EEO Statement
• a position overview, including major responsibilities
• a list of qualifications, differentiating between required and preferred as necessary
• a list of materials required for submission^⸸
• description of the application procedure
• department contact information
• date on which applications will begin to be reviewed (“soft close date”)
• anticipated appointment date
• salary and benefits statement*
• mandated reporter statement*
• background check statement*
• reasonable accommodations statement*

The DSC should only consider the specified required materials in their evaluation process. For example, if one applicant submits teaching evaluations that were not requested in the position announcement, and the remaining applicants do not, the DSC should not consider these evaluations as part of their evaluation, since this would create an inequitable evaluation process.

The DSC should collaborate with the Department Chair to develop the position announcement. The Dean and the Office of the Vice President for HRIE must approve the position announcement before it can be posted or disseminated.

The following requirements and recommendations should also be considered in writing the advertisement for the position:

Inclusive Excellence: The position announcement should prominently feature language that affirms CSUF’s commitment to elevating our campus community, respecting and learning from each other’s perspectives, and building an environment that promotes excellence for all. It should be written to attract the widest possible range of candidates. The following statement is in compliance with the university’s mission and legal requirements regarding equal employment opportunity. Placing this language early in the announcement (after the first or second sentence) serves as an important cue about the university’s commitment. Departments are also highly encouraged to include additional language that speaks to diversity and inclusion at the college and department levels.

"CSUF is firmly committed to student success by equipping students to achieve academic excellence, career success, and economic mobility. Candidates who can contribute to this goal through their teaching, research, advising, and other activities are encouraged to identify their strengths and experiences. We are seeking to recruit and retain faculty who can teach and mentor our students to achieve their academic and career goals while advancing the University’s strategic plan objectives. CSUF strives to retain all faculty by providing resources to build meaningful connections and community within and across disciplines. The campus community is designed to foster an inclusive environment that enables students, staff, administrators, and faculty to thrive."

Candidate Commitment to Inclusive Excellence Statement: The position announcement must require applicants to submit a Commitment to Inclusive Excellence Statement. The submission of an Inclusive Excellence Statement by all applicants will support our tenure track faculty hiring, thus implementing Objective 3.1, Strategy number 3^[1] of the Fullerton Forward 2024-2029 Strategic Plan. The Inclusive Excellence Statement aims to learn about the candidate’s perspective on their past and present contributions to and future aspirations for promoting and engaging with a diverse student population. The statement will demonstrate the candidate’s professional experience, intellectual commitments, and/or willingness to teach and to create an academic environment supportive of all students, including, but not limited to, those of diverse ages, abilities, cultures, ethnicities, gender identities, languages, religions, and sexual orientations.

Search committees must consider the candidates’ inclusive excellence statements as part of the overall evaluation process, and candidates who do not submit a statement should be considered to have an incomplete application package.

In line with the University’s equal opportunity policy, there is no requirement or expectation that a candidate disclose their identity or membership in any protected class or group, either in the inclusive excellence statement or in other application documents submitted to the search committee. Demographic information for each applicant is solicited through the application process; however, that data is kept confidential.

The position announcement template includes language to solicit inclusive excellence statements from applicants. Additional information, along with the approved rubric, is given in Appendix C. An Inclusive Excellence Statement Task Force was created with two goals in mind. The first goal was to rewrite the Inclusive Excellence Statement for tenure-track faculty searches. The second goal was to develop a rubric to help Department Search Committees (DSC) evaluate the statement. The Task Force reviewed best practices in faculty recruitment, and recommendations were made that were incorporated into the documents.

Context: The position announcement should also provide potential applicants with a view of the university, college, and department beyond simply listing the position-specific information.

Student Teaching Evaluations: These evaluations are well-known to be biased, particularly against members of underrepresented groups. It is strongly recommended that the position announcement not require applicants to submit student teaching evaluations/student opinion questionnaires. Instead, the DSC should request other types of evidence to evaluate teaching excellence, such as a small teaching portfolio, a teaching philosophy, sample syllabi, or examples of graded student work. The DSC should ensure that these solicitations do not result in onerous or costly work for the applicants. It is possible to request this evidence of teaching excellence after the applicant pool has been reduced to the candidate or semi-finalist pool, thereby reducing the workload for applicants.

Letters of Recommendation: It is strongly recommended that the position announcement request only a list of references with relevant contact information, and that official letters of recommendation be requested at the final stage. This practice helps ensure the largest pool of applicants and reduces the time the DSC spends evaluating applicants early in the process. Research has shown that recommendation letters tend to produce confirmation bias - that is, the reader finds evidence in the letter to support a perspective they already had based on other factors. Additionally, the research has shown that recommendation letters can be biased toward or against certain groups (e.g., letters for men tend to focus on professional achievements, while letters for women focus on relationship skills). Furthermore, research shows that search committees can be swayed by the prestige of the letter writer, which may not be correlated to the applicant's potential. Also, applicants from underrepresented groups have been shown to be systematically denied opportunities to work with these more prestigious letter writers. Moving the submission of the letters to later in the process can help mitigate some of the effects of these sources of bias.

Transcripts: It is recommended that the position announcement not require candidates to submit official transcripts until they are finalists or until the background check phase. This practice helps ensure the largest pool of applicants and reduces the time the DSC spends evaluating them early in the process.

Application Review Date / Deadlines: The position description must specify the date on which applications will begin to be reviewed. This application review date (“soft close date”) must be a minimum of 30 days after the position announcement is approved and posted by HRIE. The applicant pool will be reviewed by HRIE and then the Dean’s office on the next business day after the soft close date. The applicant pool review and approval process typically takes 1-2 business days. The DSC will not have access to the applicant files and may not continue with the search until after the applicant pool has been approved. Departments may select from the options below when referring to the application submission deadline. If a department is interested in using alternative application review language, please email [email protected] to discuss.

Safety Net

In this approach, the DSC reviews applications received by the soft close date. A second pool of applications received after the stated date may be considered if the first group of screened applicants is not satisfactory. If the department decides to review applications received after the specified initial date, every application file received during the intervening period must be screened. Due to the technical limitations of CHRS Recruiting, the DSC must email [email protected] to request the second pool of applicants be made available to the committee members in CHRS Recruiting. This approach is recommended for disciplines that anticipate a large applicant pool.

Announcement Language: “To be assured full consideration, all application materials must be received by [specific date].”

Open Screening

In this approach, the DSC reviews applications received by the soft close date and continues reviewing applications received until an offer is accepted. This approach provides maximum flexibility.

However, ALL applications must be reviewed, regardless of the date of receipt. Due to the technical limitations of CHRS Recruiting, the DSC must email [email protected] to request that new applicants be made available to the committee members in CHRS Recruiting. This is typically done in 2-3 batches during the review process. This approach is recommended for disciplines that anticipate a small or modest applicant pool (<50 applicants).

Announcement Language: “Review of applications will begin on [specific date] and will continue until the position is filled.”

Hard Deadline

In this approach, the DSC reviews applications received by the hard-close date and does not review any applications received after this date. The DSC cannot legally review any applications submitted after the specified date. This approach can limit the applicant pool. We recommend against this approach.

^[1] Develop equitable and sustainable strategies to attract and reward qualified candidates to join Cal State Fullerton