Procedure IV.4003.A.b, Interview Committee

This procedure specifies the process for forming interview committees and identifies the responsibilities for its members.

Employment Selection and Hiring Guiding Principles:
For non-chair faculty searches, the hiring leader (or designee) will select a committee of five or seven diverse members. Committee composition must also have representation from faculty and staff/administrators. At least three committee members must have academic background and/or expertise relevant to the teaching field, and two must have background and/or expertise in support areas such as student services, business services, library services, other non-instructional areas, or an external stakeholder. The selected members will be recommended to the dean who will review and submit recommendations to the respective provost for approval.

For department chair faculty searches, the hiring leader (or designee) will select a committee of five or seven diverse members. Committee composition must also have representation from faculty and staff/administrators. Refer to procedure IV.4003,A,c, Selection of a Department Chair.

For full-time administrator searches, the respective hiring leader appoints a committee of five diverse members. The committee should represent a diverse group of individuals with backgrounds and/or expertise relevant to the administrative area and the internal or external stakeholders served. At least one committee member must have an instructional background and one must be outside the hiring department. Committee members can be from other support areas including student services, business services, facilities services, or other administrative areas. The selected members will be recommended by the hiring leader to the respective Strategic Leadership Team member for approval.

For full-time staff searches, the respective hiring leader appoints the committee. The committee should represent a diverse group of individuals with backgrounds and/or expertise relevant to the administrative area and the internal or external stakeholders served.

A hiring leader who participates in an interview committee is considered one of the members.

Committee members may not be related to or be engaged in business ventures with persons who apply for the vacant position. A committee member who has a relationship with a candidate, creating or giving the appearance of a conflict of interest, will not be able to participate as a member of the committee. Committee members must disclose when such a conflict arises. Upon having knowledge of any potential conflict of interest, the hiring leader or designee should discuss the matter with the respective administrator.

Additionally, an individual who accepts the appointment as a committee member cannot become a candidate for the posted position.

Responsibilities of the Hiring Leader or Designee:

• Provides guidance to committee members and ensures that the committee follows the appropriate College procedures, as well as state and federal laws.
• Completes annual training related to hiring fundamentals/compliance and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as designated by the Strategic Leadership Team. Ensures all committee members have completed the same training prior to conducting any interviews. Orients external stakeholders on the College’s commitment to DEI.
• Reviews application materials of all applicants in the applicant pool, identifies qualified applicants, and completes all required documentation of the screening and interview process. May seek assistance from committee members in reviewing applications.
• Makes all status changes and records comments in the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
• Schedules meetings and maintains attendance records for each meeting.
• Documents reasons (Final Dispositions in the ATS) for applicants the committee does not select to continue in the interview process.
• Establishes job-related questions to ask candidates during the interview process. Additionally, Human Resources has available tools that can aid in the creation of interview questions. A link to a question bank that includes DEI questions is sent to hiring leaders once the position is posted. Each applicant must be asked at least one question that pertains to the College’s commitment to DEI.
• Schedules interviews with applicants.
• May use telephone or video conferencing as an interview tool for applicants.
• For full-time teaching positions, the hiring leader or designee, with assistance from the committee members, determines a teaching topic that candidates will present in both face-to-face and online modalities.
• Presents committee recommendations to their immediate leader for further interviews or consideration. Finalists are submitted to the next level leader for consideration and approval.
• Conducts reference checks prior to the job offer. If an internal candidate is being considered for a full-time position, the hiring leader or designee must obtain a reference from the employee’s current leader. Human Resources recommends three reference checks, but two checks will be required. Once the reference checks are completed, a comment must be entered in the ATS.
  • Although part-time employees are not selected through an interview committee, all part-time candidates, whether the candidate is internal or external, must also be screened through reference checks. The hiring leader will complete a minimum of two reference checks on each candidate. If the candidate is a current employee, the hiring leader must contact the current leader as one of the two references.
• Retains all documents, including interview notes, and reference documents from the entire interview committee for two years for all applicants interviewed.

The Hiring Leader Checklist is provided as a tool to aid in the adherence to this process. The checklist is located in Cornerstone on the resource page.

Responsibilities of Committee Members (internal to the College):

• Attend meetings scheduled by the hiring leader or designee.
• Complete annual training related to hiring fundamentals/compliance and DEI as designated by the Strategic Leadership Team.
• Review application materials of qualified applicants and assist the leader or designee in completing all required documentation of the screening and interview process.
• Assist the leader or designee in preparing questions for interviews and in determining the teaching topic applicants will present at the time of interview.
• Participate in the interviews of all selected candidates. Complete and submit to the leader or designee a summary for each candidate that was part of the process.
• Participate in a meeting at the conclusion of the interview process to formulate a recommendation of the top candidates the leader or designee will submit to the respective leadership team.

Multiple-Campus Hiring

The following process will only be necessary for positions with multiple campus designations. The provosts will be responsible for facilitating this process for positions under their leadership.

In the case that more than one campus is hiring for the same position, representatives from each campus must cooperate to create a preliminary interview committee consisting of five or seven members from the different campuses. For all committee members to be able to screen applicants in the ATS, the preliminary interview committee must designate a hiring leader, who will in turn designate reviewers/interviewers (other members of the interview committee). This will allow all members of the interview committee access to the applications and attached documents. Only the hiring leader or designee can change the applicant status to finalist in the ATS. Once the committee completes the preliminary screening, then further screening, interviewing, and hiring can be completed on the individual campuses, as necessary.

Definitions

Interview committee: An appointed group of individuals whose purpose is to review application materials for candidates within the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), to select qualified candidates for interviews, to identify the most qualified candidates for each position, and to complete required documentation of the screening and interview process.