The search process must be in alignment with university policy, department needs, and the position advertisement. Faculty recruitment and retention is very competitive for excellent faculty; therefore, providing a supportive institutional environment is critical from the beginning of the search process and throughout the candidate's career.

• Deans and community college presidents will ensure that search committees are diverse. When position posting is submitted, the names of the search committee membership must be included.
• Search advisory committee introductory meeting to include:
  • Charge of committee provided by dean or other hiring authority
  • Request for search committee member orientation as needed. Requests can be made by completing and submitting the  Search Committee Request Form to the Center for Learning and Professional Development.
  • Establishing the search timeline, budget, administrative tasks (i.e. conducting phone interviews, scheduling meetings, contacting references, etc.)
  • Determining a plan for record keeping of all materials, including but not restricted to applicants, candidate contacts made for the search, references, etc. All records must be scanned and uploaded to the PageUp Hiring Proposal and the hard copy materials must be maintained in a secure location for a minimum of three (3) years from the date the position is filled.
  • Review of confidentiality requirements as part of distribution and signing of the Code of Ethics. (see Search Advisory Committee Declarations Statement).  Individuals outside of the search committee, including the dean, can be informed of the overall progress of the search process.
• Develop a position description and advertisement (see Sample Ads):
  • Searches for tenure or tenure track positions are required to be national and need to be advertised in journals, professional listservs and other outlets that have a national audience appropriate to market pool for vacancy.
  • The position description should be established in PageUp and becomes the posting announcement. It must accurately describe the expectations of the position, address the minimum, as well as preferred, qualifications of the position.
  • The advertisement should be developed to attract a diverse pool of candidates in alignment with institutional goals for diversity (see Advertising Guidelines). Be aware of how language in the advertisement may adversely impact a diverse pool of candidates if the requirements are too restrictive. All advertising must include: rank and title of vacancy, tenure/non-tenure track, minimum education and experience requirements, deadline date and reference link to full posting.

Recruiting Candidates

• Discuss ways to obtain an excellent and diverse pool of applicants, including criteria to attract top tier diverse candidates, through active recruitment practices. These discussions should include networking, especially at conferences and meetings to identify future and current leaders in the discipline area.
• Expand networks to identify the best qualified candidates, especially using networking and target publications to attract women and minorities.
• Plan for marketing and advertising the position, placement of ads, and distribution of the position posting (see Advertising Guidelines). If position is underutilized as communicated by OIE in the Affirmative Action Plan Underutilization Goals report, additional recruiting efforts will be required.
• Posted to the NMSU website (PageUp) for a minimum of 28 days.
• Advertised in diverse media sources targeting the underutilized audience. OIE recommends two media sources.
• Develop materials to send to all applicants, and separate/additional materials to send to interviewees to promote the community, local, and university resources. This may include materials from the Chamber of Commerce, phonebooks, university directories, etc. Also, send a list of relevant websites to prospective candidates. (see Recruitment Publication Resources).

Introduction to the Search Process

• Hiring Principles
• Affirmative Action and EEO

Search Process

• Planning and Recruiting
• Evaluating and Responding to Pool
• Preparing for On-site Visits
• Preparing for and Conducting Interviews
• Finishing the Search Process

Roles in Search Process

• Role of the Dean
• Role of the Department Head
• Role of the Search Advisory Committee Chair
• Role of the Search Advisory Committee
• Role of the Department

After the Search

Recruitment Resources

Appendices

Office of the Provost

Hiring & Recruitment Toolkit

For the specific details regarding the actual hiring procedure, please visit the Regular Faculty toolkit.

Faculty Hiring Policies

When hiring new faculty, all involved personnel, including administrators and search advisory committee members, must comply with University policies and procedures, as well as college specific guidelines.

• ARP 6.01 – Hiring
• ARP 6.14 – Hiring of Individuals Named in Contract
• ARP 6.51 – Qualification for Faculty Appointment, Generally

Retention of Records

Retain all applications and records of employment decisions within the employing unit for a period of three (3) years from the date of the decision.