I. The procedures listed below shall be followed in the hiring process. The procedures are designed to help direct the process for searching and selecting full-time and regular part-time personnel, except the President. The hiring process for the President shall be conducted at the discretion of the Kaskaskia College (KC) Board of Trustees (Board), using procedures developed by the Board. All hiring processes shall treat all candidates fairly and equally. Further, all processes shall be consistently applied.
A. Upon receiving a letter of resignation or retirement, the communication should be forwarded to the Vice President who oversees the department. In the absence of a Vice President, it should be forwarded to the highest-ranking President’s Cabinet-level position within the division. The Vice President or President’s Cabinet-level position shall promptly notify the Director of Human Resources (HR) and the President’s office via email notification. Notices of resignation and retirement from full-time employees shall be presented to the Board. This duty is managed by the HR Department in conjunction with the President’s Office. A transition plan will be developed by the employee’s supervisor and presented to the Vice President or next highest-ranking President’s Cabinet-level position until a replacement position is filled. Further, all vacancies will be considered for elimination, restructuring, and/or amendment of duties by the Vice Presidents, Director of HR, and President, prior to any advertising.
B. New full-time positions or significant restructuring of an existing full-time position must be approved by the President and Board prior to any advertising or announcement. This is completed using an Employee Requisition Form (ERF), justification memorandum, and the updated job description which is submitted to the appropriate Vice President for approval. After such approval, it is forwarded to the HR Department for approval and inclusion in Board materials.
C. Initiation of the Hiring Process
The hiring manager of the position to be filled will initiate the hiring process by completing an ERF (available in the Document Center under Human Resources) and obtaining the appropriate administrative signatures, including the Dean (as applicable), Vice President, and President. Once the ERF form is completed, it should be forwarded, along with the job description (as outlined in I.D. below), to HR for processing.
The hiring manager is defined as an employee who is responsible for filling open positions within their department and often serves as the new hire’s supervisor. Hiring managers work in coordination with the HR Department and the hiring committee throughout the hiring process in the selection of applicants. It is the expectation that all hiring managers possess the ability to accurately assess talent and qualifications of each candidate, lead the interview process of the candidates, and establish the tone and pace for the hiring committee work. The hiring manager must have excellent communication skills, have the ability to motivate and keep a group on track, and have demonstrated leadership skills in consensus decision-making. The hiring manager oversees the process to ensure that the most qualified candidate and best fit to the Kaskaskia College is selected. The hiring manager will review candidates to ensure they meet the minimum requirements. The hiring manager will release applicant materials to the search committee members based on the minimum qualifications met as defined by the job description.
The Vice Presidents, CIO, and the President will approve the ERF and determine if the supervisor submitting the ERF is to lead the hiring committee or serve as a committee member.
D. Job Description
- For every new, replacement, or restructured position vacancy, a job description will be prepared and/or updated prior to any advertising or announcement. Job descriptions must be approved by HR, the Vice President, and President prior to advertising as part of the requisition process. A template job description can be found in the Document Center
- Function – Describes the main purpose of the position
- Qualifications – Describe what is required and/or preferred to be successful at this position
- Essential Functions – Describe the basic job duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation• Other Functions – Describe the additional duties that do not affect the essence of the job and could be reassigned to other employees
- Supervisory Responsibility (if applicable) – Describes who would report to the position
- Supervisory Controls – Describe how the position is expected to work (i.e.: Conduct assigned duties independently and with minimum supervision. Consolation with supervisor if necessary.)
- Organization Relationships, including the classification to which the position reports
- Guidelines
- Physical Demands• Work Environment
E. Advertising/Announcement of Positions
Each respective Vice President and the Director of HR will jointly determine the form of advertising and ways in which such position vacancy will be announced. Advice and direction will be provided for various positions by the President and Board.
All new, replacement and restructured vacancies will be announced by one or more of the following means:
- Locally—Advertising and announcement of position vacancies will be in local newspapers covering the area
- Regional/National—Advertising and announcement of position vacancies will be regionally and through national publications
- Internet Services—All position vacancies will be listed on various job nets to which the College subscribes
- On-Campus—All position vacancies will be posted at various sites throughout the campus, on the College website, and in other internal publications, and sent via campus-wide email
- Union Contracts—Position vacancies will be posted in accordance with any agreed to contract language.• Other Means—Position vacancies will be posted at other appropriate sites such as social media, trade publications, other colleges, or agencies, etc.
F. Job Description Changes in a Currently Occupied Position
The advertising and selection process may be waived in a situation where a job description is being changed and such a position is currently occupied. In this situation, the person affected may assume the position as outlined in the revised job description.
G. Transfers
The College reserves the right to waive the advertising and selection process and transfer a current employee into another open position. The employee must meet the minimum qualifications for the open position. The decision to transfer an employee in this manner shall be made by the Director of HR and the appropriate Vice Presidents and approved by the President and the Board where applicable. All such transfers will be subject to applicable collective bargaining agreements.
H. Applicant Materials
All applicants will be required to submit a cover letter, resume, employment application, and an unofficial copy of transcripts (where applicable). Other qualifying credentials will be requested as appropriate for each search.
HR is responsible for obtaining certified (official) transcripts from the applicant and said transcripts should be sent directly to the HR office from each issuing institution for the recommended candidate, ideally prior to action.
I. Search Committees
A search committee will be formed for each full-time or regular part-time vacancy. The composition and role of each committee is as follows:
Each committee shall have a representative of the division in which the vacancy exists in addition to the hiring manager. Also, it is preferred that each committee includes administrative/professional staff, faculty, and support staff, and be comprised of an odd number of search committee members. For Director level and above positions, the ideal number for the committee is five or seven. For Director level positions and for all full-time faculty/professional managerial positions, the Director or the Assistant Director of HR will participate in the interview and be included as a voting member of the search committee. HR will also serve as an ex-officio member of the committee for positions lower than a director, non-faculty level.
For a President’s Cabinet-level position, the President or his designee will partake in all interviews.
Before interviews are scheduled and prior to any access being granted to any search committee member, the search committee member listed in the ERF must
- Have completed the Conducting Job Interviews training
- Have demonstrated knowledge and comprehension of the selection, appointment, and reappointment procedure • Commit to attending ALL scheduled interviews
- Be willing and free enough to assume the committee’s assignments
- Be an employee in good standing
- Good standing indicates the employee has received average or above average annual evaluations, the employee is not under any performance of improvement plan and has had no disciplinary concerns in the past two years.
- Have demonstrated ability to serve on the committee in a professional, non-biased and objective manner.
- Possess sound independent judgment, personal integrity, and the ability to maintain confidentiality.
- Possess technical expertise sufficient to make astute, objective comparisons among applicants.
In some circumstances, an external individual may be asked to serve on a search committee. The recruited search committee member must
- Commit to attending ALL scheduled interviews
- Be a member of the public of good reputation and knowledgeable in the area of the vacancy
- Have demonstrated ability to serve on the committee in an objective manner
Once the search committee has been identified and commitment has been made from the respective members, the Vice President over the division of the employee vacancy and the President will approve the hiring manager and search committee membership via signature on the final ERF. Communication between Vice Presidents and cabinet members to ensure the requested committee member has the time and schedule flexibility to balance committee membership and their normal job duties and to also avoid the same individuals from serving on multiple search committees.
No deviations/additions/removals of or from the approved search committee membership shall occur without approval from the Vice President over the division of the employee vacancy and the President.
If a search committee member is unable to attend an interview due to unforeseen circumstances, that member must be excused from the hiring process and the search committee shall move forward with the remaining members. If a member is unable to attend an interview after having attended previous interviews for the same position, that committee member’s evaluation rubrics should be discarded for all candidates to prevent an unfair elevated score for some candidates in which the committee member participated.
- Each search committee member will have access to the applicant tracking system to review all applicant credentials in accordance with the position criteria that is listed in the job description.
- The search committee then determines finalists to be interviewed, conducts interviews, and determines a recommendation.
- An interview selection scoring rubric will be distributed to the search committee that will assist the committee to determine the number of candidates to be interviewed. Each member will score the qualified candidates’ submitted materials, provide a score for the submitted materials to HR and the top scorers will be selected for an interview.
- All applicant materials, including letters of recommendation on behalf of a candidate, shall be reviewed by the search committee members during the search/screening process.
- Each search committee member will complete and submit to the hiring manager an evaluation form using a point system in evaluating the applicant’s credentials to the criteria.
- The hiring manager, as the expert/supervisor over the area of the search, will be responsible for creating the interview questions. Once completed, the hiring manager will submit to HR to ensure appropriate compliance has been followed and the questions do not violate any EEOC standards. The hiring manager will also be responsible for preparing the recommendation memorandum, and submission of said ranking sheets and recommendation memorandum to HR for Presidential approval and inclusion of the memorandum in Board materials.
J. Confidentiality
The role of the search committee member is vital to the College’s ability to attract and recruit the best candidates for available positions. The search committee member’s role requires strict confidentiality when involved in the hiring process. All materials shared within the search committee, including discussion of candidates among search committee members, are confidential and are not to be shared with anyone outside the committee (unless the outside individual is listed as a reference for a candidate). A search committee employee member’s breach of this confidentiality shall be cause for disciplinary action, up to and including discharge from employment, and shall bar the member from serving on future search committees.
K. Recommendation
Those candidates being interviewed must all meet or exceed the criteria listed in the job description and vacancy notice unless circumstances warrant a waiver of the criteria. The committee shall form a recommendation that is based on experience, education, interview results, and in general, who is the overall best individual for the position. Thus, the interview process will verify abilities and qualifications and determine human relations, teamwork, communication, problem-solving skills, self-starter abilities, and other position-specific criteria. A unanimous recommendation of the committee is not required. In situations where committee members do not unanimously agree on a candidate, the candidate will be selected utilizing the point system. The candidate with the highest points will be the selected candidate. The President may interview the search committee’s recommendation at his/her discretion. The recommendation will prompt HR to make the offer to the candidate and should include the suggested salary and start date. The salary is determined based on constraints of a collective bargaining unit or a pre-determined range which is included on the ERF. If the President approves the search committee’s recommendation, the recommendation will be submitted to the Board for consideration where required.
L. Background Checks
Background checks are to be conducted to avoid harm or legal liability to the institution. This includes harm to:
- Other employees by sexual harassment or workplace violence.
- College students or guests, for example, sexual assault.
- The public by negligent driving.
- The College through monetary loss or image and reputational issues.
- The conviction of any felony related to the performance of duties associated with the position of employment may cause the disqualification of any applicant.
M. References
Reference checks may offer valuable insight into a candidate’s workplace accomplishments and character. Because of the sensitivity of the information requested and the legal issues with making such inquiries, reference checks are to be conducted by HR after the recommendation memorandum is received and before any employment offer is made. In some circumstances, the hiring manager or VP may be part of that process. If the reference check process identifies issues of concern, HR will discuss with the applicable VP and President.
The hiring manager shall prepare the formal recommendation memorandum outlining the reasons/rationale for the committee’s recommendation and submit it to the HR office. HR will forward the recommendation, along with the successful candidate’s cover letter and resume, to the President for review and final approval.
N. Role of HR Department
An HR representative shall be responsible for overseeing the process to include assuring all candidates are considered fairly and evenly, making sure EEO and other legal requirements are adhered to and ensuring all College procedures and policies are followed. The HR representative is an ex-officio member of the search committee and is to be neutral relative to all positions lower than a director, non-faculty level. The HR representative will also function as a resource person regarding the College and fringe benefits. The HR representative will be responsible for collecting all the evaluation forms after the discussion and recommendation of candidate is completed. The search committee must commit to staying in session until a recommended candidate has been elected to move forward, or second interviews are deemed necessary in order to come to consensus.
O. Role of President and Board of Trustees
The President may interview the search committee’s recommendation at his/her discretion. If the President approves the search committee’s recommendation, the recommendation will be submitted to the Board for consideration where required. In addition to the recommended candidate, the names and credentials of all other finalists will be submitted to the Board. Full-time recommendations require the approval of the Board. Members of the Board will serve on the search committee for Dean and Vice President positions and any other positions where it is deemed appropriate. Additionally, the full Board may interview candidates for Vice President and Dean positions.
P. Role of the Vice President/Dean/Hiring Manager
The hiring manager and the Dean or the Vice President of the department of the position vacancy shall participate in the search committee process as equal members of the search committee. Thus, the supervisor(s) will be a part of the development of a consensus recommendation. It is the hiring manager’s responsibility to work with HR as a liaison for the search committee.
Q. Salary
Recommended salary placement will be determined by the appropriate Vice President and the Director of HR, in compliance with applicable collective bargaining agreements and College policies. Salaries for positions outside of the collective bargaining agreement are determined based on evaluation of the position, market analysis, demographic and market factors, fair compensation, and budget availability. Before any offer is made to a candidate, the salary must be approved by the President. The salary should be stated within the recommendation for hire. Such offers for full-time employees are contingent upon Board approval.
II. Approved Personnel Meeting with the Board of Trustees
New employees will appear at the monthly Board meeting following the Board meeting in which a candidate was approved by the Board. This will allow the Board to meet the person they had approved the previous month.
Approval History: 4/18/2002; Revised 02/23/2022; Revised 5/26/2022; Revised 06/07/2022