Once the VPAA's office has approved hiring in your department for the following year (whether adjunct, visiting, or tenure-track), please read through this Faculty Hiring and Interfolio Guide for a broad overview of the steps to how to get the search up and running. This would include drafting a job ad, assembling a search committee, meeting with HR for your committee to prepare for interviews (a discussion about Equal Opportunity Employment standards, the legal do's and don'ts during the interviewing process, etc.), submitting the vacancy form for budgetary approval, and opening the search in our online platform, Interfolio.

NB: "Interfolio" and "ByCommittee" are sister companies, the former being the side that applicants see and use to submit their materials. The latter is the receiving end that efficiently organizes applicant materials into a format that search committees can review and score.

TO GET YOUR JOB AD UP AND RUNNING, HERE ARE THE DOCUMENTS THAT NEED TO BE CIRCULATED:

Here's the *** NEW template *** for composing a faculty job ad (one for tenure-track searches, and one for visiting faculty searches).
This document must accompany the Vacancy Form you submit to the VPAA before the search is approved.

About posting the ad

Note that on the vacancy form you'll list where you intend to post the ad. HR pays the first few $100, which covers an ad in the Chronicle or in your field's flagship listserv. The VPAA's office will pay for an additional posting (on approval) if that added visibility will increase the diversity of the pool.

Here's a little more detail, using HR's checklist/timeline of steps in the hiring process. Keep in mind that this is a universal checklist (hiring faculty/staff); for the purposes of a faculty search, chairs need to pay careful attention to steps 7 - 18.

Checking References

In support of equitable hiring practices, all levels of faculty hiring now request 3 professional references instead of letters of recommendation, which foster unconscious bias in a number of ways.

Once the committee has determined the short list, the committee must check candidates' references before moving on to the finalist/on-campus interviews. The successful outcome of the reference check will mean that the committee may move forward interviewing the finalist.

This full overview of Checking References for a Faculty Search discusses why the checks are important, provides the procedure and the brief set of 5 questions (or 10, if the reference is attesting to both teaching and research), and how to evaluate that feedback.

During Interviews

HR should meet with the committee to provide all the background on how to interview appropriately and equitably. If there should be questions about salary early in the interviewing process (that is, before you're down to an offer), here's the language:

The search committee should respond to inquiries regarding salary with the following, “compensation will be dependent upon multiple factors including the qualifications of the candidate selected for hire, the market median salary for this region and the funding allotted for this position."

If the candidate has questions about visa sponsorship

To repeat: it is not permitted under the law to ask any questions regarding the candidate's immigration status or citizenship. If a candidate for a tenure-track position asks whether the College will support visa sponsorship, don't attempt that conversation on your own. Instead, say that Academic Affairs would be very happy to have a conversation about the candidate's immigration needs, and refer them to the VPAA.

How do I extend the job offer?

Once you've received email confirmation that the VPAA has approved your committee's choice and you have been given a salary range for negotiations, it's helpful to write out the bullet points of the job offer before calling your candidate.

salary
start date (both of classes and of your department's expectations for first engagement -- this might be a department retreat)
clarification of rank/title (note: if the hire is ABD at time of hire, Instructor’s rank will be changed to assistant professor providing the requirements for the terminal degree has been completed, and the Office of the VPAA and Dean of Faculty receives official notice, prior to July 31 of the relevant academic year. If this is not the case, the hire will be titled instructor of x . If completion of the doctorate or other appropriate terminal degree and/or official notification to this office and Human Resources occurs after July 31, the change in rank will be effective the following academic year providing that the appointment has not been terminated.
relocation funds, if any (see info on "Moving expenses" below)
health benefits (have the Faculty Health Benefits summary sheet available from HR, or distribute to all finalists while on campus)
fall teaching schedule
expectation for your candidate's timeline to reply (1-2 weeks is standard; note that some professional organizations have best practices outlined on this point. However, late-spring and last-minute hires may require that you ask for flexibility and quick turn-around).

Follow up the phone call with a summary email so the candidate can review these elements and you both have a paper trail of what's been offered. CHECK AND DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR EMAIL CAREFULLY BEFORE SENDING; EVEN THOUGH EMAIL IS NOT THE FORMAL CONTRACT, IT'S CRITICAL THAT YOU REPRESENT THE TERMS THAT THE COLLEGE HAS APPROVED ACCURATELY.

Example of follow-up email

Dear XXXX,
Per our conversation, I write to summarize the details of our offer for the position of Assistant Professor of XXXXX at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
The salary is $X, and includes comprehensive medical insurance, dental insurance, and a prescription drug plan through the State of Maryland as summarized on the "Faculty Fringe Benefits Facts Sheet" given to you during your interview.
Relocation funds are available to faculty moving from distances of 500 miles or further from the college [or list the appropriate amount here]
A signed contract would go into effect on July 31, 20xx. For the purposes of relocation, new faculty should be prepared to be available for orientation and departmental events beginning no earlier than the second week, but no later than the third week of August [check with Associate Dean's office to confirm dates of orientation].
Upon verbally accepting the position, the new faculty person will be sent the Criminal Background Release form and fingerprinting kit, the two parts of the criminal background check. This kit may be completed at any local police station and dropped in the mail. While there is no explicit deadline, applicants should be aware that contracts are not complete until review of the fingerprinting kit has been processed, and this is sometimes a slow system. As is stated on our website and in the original job ad, employment is contingent upon successful completion of the criminal background check and confirmation of up-to-date COVID vaccination status.
(While this process is underway, it may happen that the Dean's office sends out your contract for your review and signature to hold on file until the fingerprint review is confirmed.)
I ask that you please give us your response by no later than Monday, DATE, 20xx; we trust that will allow you sufficient time to review SMCM's offer and discuss this opportunity with family and friends.
In the meantime, on behalf of all of us in the Department of XXX, please accept our warm congratulations on an excellent interview. In terms of your energy, your expertise, and your insights, we all saw tremendous potential for what you could bring to our campus, and in turn, a rich environment in which you'd feel both supported and challenged as a scholar.
Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely yours,Dr. XXXXSearch Committee Chair

If the candidate accepts

... request that they respond to the original offer you've summarized so the acceptance is in writing. Ask for the candidate's preferred mailing address so that HR can begin the process of mailing the necessary forms that will require signed originals, and notify Mai Savelle so that she can prepare the contract.

Email Faye Graves and Kristan Thomas in HR to notify them that the candidate has accepted; provide the candidate's name, position, salary, and mailing address.

If the candidate counters

... it's helpful to stay neutral and ask the candidate to clarify which provisions they are modifying or adding to the job offer. Repeat them back to ensure you've captured them correctly, and tell the candidate you'll need to take the counter back to the VPAA for consideration.

Even if the counter asks for a higher salary that's within the range the VPAA has approved, it's useful to take this pause and instead call back later to confirm the counter offer was accepted. Agreeing on the spot can be a little awkward ("If you were authorized to pay me an additional $2k anyway, why did you make me ask for it?").

If the counter is beyond what was authorized, email the VPAA asap outlining both what had been authorized and what the candidate now has asked for. You might also include some context to help clarify if you have a second-choice candidate you could go to, or if this candidate is especially well-qualified, etc.

If the VPAA will not authorize some/all of the counteroffers, be matter-of-fact in your email to the candidate. Be clear about what parts of the original/modified offer are still open, and reiterate that the department would look forward to their hire. Set a clear deadline for a response.

If the candidate has not responded by the deadline, send a reminder email/phone call giving them one extra day to clarify that the search must resolve. If there's still been no reply, follow up with an email/read-receipt withdrawing your offer in light of the lack of response to an outstanding offer of employment.

Start-up Funds

In some disciplines it is common for faculty to request start-up funds to begin their professional work at the College. This funding is requested in the time between the verbal offer and the acceptance of that offer, and some departments may begin discussion of the start-up request during the interview. A detailed start-up budget should be solicited by the search chair after a conversation about what is appropriate to include (e.g., office supplies and an office computer are provided and would not be included in the start-up request; requests for summer salary are not usually permissible). The request is then provided to the VPAA for revision or approval.

Approved start-up funds are often distributed over the first two years of employment. While it is possible to request extensions beyond the first two years for unused funds if the researcher has clear plans for spending the money and a rationale for why it was not yet spent (e.g., material unavailability during COVID), it should NOT be expected that funds would be available past the stated duration of start-up in the contract (usually the first year or two of employment). Requests to carry over start-up funds should be discussed with the Associate Dean and requested through the Fiscal Administrator. Additional justification may be required by the VPAA.

About the Offer of Employment/Offer Letter

Of special importance is item #18, the Offer Letter-- note that this is not the same as the email follow-up recommended after the verbal offer, nor is it the employment contract. While both of those documents are internal communications between the candidate and the College, the Offer of Employment is more outward-facing for the candidate's needs in setting up relocation needs. The Offer Letter details the College's assurance of the position and salary, allowing the new hire to confirm to a future landlord, for example, that they have steady employment at a specific income guaranteed after a certain date. Note that the Offer Letter does not spell out all elements of the offer, such as start-up, details of insurance and retirement, or teaching load. As an official document of the College, this must be generated by HR and not by the search committee.

Employee Hiring Guidelines - updated 110519.doc

FAQ regarding Hiring Visiting Faculty

In our ongoing efforts to make our hiring practices more equitable, note that application materials for visiting faculty do NOT require letters of recommendation until the finalist round. This responds to the challenges in identifying suitable/available recommenders during a visitor search, which can often be last-minute, as well as differences in access to recommenders for those academics who have been away from their graduate life or off the market for some time.
During the hiring process, the VPAA does not meet with candidates for visiting positions. However, chairs are welcome to arrange 30-minute appointments with an Associate Dean for non-evaluative interviews; this can serve as an opportunity for the candidate to hear about professional development opportunities (New Faculty Seminar, Faculty Development Grant, etc.) and to ask candid questions about the college.
Visitors are *not* allotted the yearly $1000 travel money.
Visitors *are* eligible for Faculty Development Grants.
Encourage visitors to attend both New Faculty Orientation and Teaching Excellence Workshops to signal our investment in their position at the college, as well as in their professional development.
Visitors are *not* eligible for relocation funds.
Note that the College does not sponsor visas for visiting faculty. To be up-front with candidates about this fact while at the same time respecting privacy, note the additional line included on the job ad for visitors that reads, "Candidates must produce the necessary documentation to legally work in U.S. upon hire." Even if the visitor offers to pay the cost of their own H1-B, they may not be aware that the H1-B travels from employer to employer (the sponsor), and that requires a financial commitment. Additionally, when the visa expires, the sponsor is required to commit substantial funding to renew the visa for the employee to continue to work. So in short, we cannot suport visas for visitors.

What about internal candidates applying for tenure-track positions?

Please advise internal visiting candidates for tenure-track positions that professional references from within the department are not permitted; the understanding is that a) the committee will already have inside intel from their own interactions with the visitor, b) seeking references from outside the college gives the visitor a chance to expand their colleagues' immediate understanding of their professional network, and c) including a reference from a department colleague may generate dynamics within the committee that play out later for the candidate in unpredictable ways.

The internal candidate should thus also make it explicit in the application that the choice of non-department references was deliberate for those reasons.

Another option: since the job ad calls for 3 professional references, the internal candidate might solicit one of the three from an SMCM colleague outside the home department, or perhaps even opt for three references from outside the College plus a fourth from a non-departmental SMCM colleague.

What's the process for hiring adjuncts?

The College maintains a standing pool of available adjuncts in Interfolio; the goal is to encourage local instructors to submit application materials once per year where they may be vetted and held on an as-needed basis. This helps to speed up the hiring process when chairs find themselves with a sudden vacancy; if there's a suitable applicant already in the pool, there's no need to go through the process of an open call, a search, etc. If you're aware of potential instructors you'd like to have at the ready, please have them apply on the HR site, under the "Adjunct Faculty" position, being mindful of *which year* the candidate wishes to be considered for hire (there may be multiple ads for "Adjunct Faculty" posted).

See the document below for a step-by-step process for hiring adjuncts (thanks to Lisa Scheer and Faye Graves for hammering out this guide!). UPDATE, JAN. 2023: note that we now request 3 professional references, and not letters of recommendation as listed in the PDF attached below.

Here is also a template for an *adjunct* offer letter.

NB: Payroll should only reflect who's currently working, which makes the issue of retaining instructors who teach intermittently a challenge. The issue of which instructors are retained or deleted from the system most often happens at the level of department timekeepers (this is most often the fiscal associate, but not always; double check in your building). For those adjuncts who teach with predictable frequency -- that is, fall semester every year, for example -- there's no need for timekeepers to mark them for deletion.

However, where there's any ambiguity regarding the instructor's return to classes (eg, when you'll actually have need of that particular class again, or whether that instructor will be available next fall), the instructor should be deleted for the purposes of maintaining as clear a record as possible of those actually on payroll.

Adjunct Faculty Hiring process using Interfolio adjunct pool.docx

Does the candidate have questions about the Faculty Parental Leave Policy?

See the Provost's document for eligibility and parameters regarding parental leave. Here's the larger Parental leave policy for faculty.

What if the candidate has previous tenure-track teaching experience? Can they ask for a shortened tenure path?

Candidates with two years or more of tenure-track teaching experience may negotiate directly with the VPAA for 1 and no more than 2 years' credit toward tenure ("time toward tenure"). The chair should confirm that this option is available for negotiation, but cannot extend an arrangement without approval.

If the new hire has one year's time toward tenure, they will submit their tenure file in year 5 instead of year 6.
If the new hire has two years' time toward tenure, the promotion path is a bit more complicated, and will be shortened by one year in each of the three-year contracts before and after the pre-tenure review. The promotion path will be as follows:

YR 1: a total of 5 classes w/ 1 course release. YR 2. Submit pre-tenure review. 6 classes. [Assuming successful review, new contract.]

YR 3: Second contract, flat raise. 6 classes. YR. 4: pre-tenure course releases available in the fall. Submit tenure file in the spring.

Additional Notes:

Tenure evaluation encompasses six years of academic work. Thus, the hire may include research in the review that pre-dates hire at SMCM by the same number of years as the hire has negotiated toward tenure (that is, if the faculty member negotiated two years toward tenure, they may include research dating two years before their SMCM appointment). This only pertains to research/creative work in the tenure review -- not teaching or service.
A faculty member is eligible for sabbatical only after 6 years of full-time employment.

Finalizing the hire: closing out Interfolio and posting a welcome in InsideSMCM

Here's the over-simplified list:

1) If not already done, search committee reviews all applicants and rate them by the search criteria giving at least 1 star (everyone must receive at least 1 star for the system to calculate)

2) Provide status updates in Interfolio for each person - long list, short list, hired, withdrawn, etc.

3) Applicants not hired/not interviewed need to be emailed, and those interviewed but not hired and the one hired should receive a offer letter on letterhead (see more on this below.)

4) Write to Kristan Thomas in HR for an offer letter to forward to the new hire.

5) Close the search indicating if the position was filled and by whom, or not filled

6) Archive the position. Click here for Interfolio help.

7) Post a welcome notice in InsideSMCM. Here's the template:

Dear Campus Community,

It is my pleasure to announce that Name will be the next Title for St. Mary's College of Maryland. First Name comes to St. Mary's from Place where s/he has held the position of Enter Position since Year. First Name plans to begin his/her position with St. Mary's on Date.

A strong pool of candidates applied and the search committee selected accomplished, qualified and distinctive finalists. I want to thank the Name of Search Committee and everyone on campus who contributed to this successful search.

Please join me in welcoming Name to St. Mary's College.

Sincerely,

Your name

All done with your search? Here are the last few steps:

Once you have a SIGNED CONTRACT (and not before), make sure you go back into Interfolio and close the search. (Go to "POSITION ACTIONS," and from "POSITION STATUS" in the center, use the drop-down menu to change the status to "POSITION CLOSED.")
Ensure that you've personally notified all finalists that the position has been filled.
Contact all other applicants through Interfolio with notification that the position has been filled (Interfolio FAQ provides quick directions on how to send your notice to all applicants simultaneously).
Complete the brief Faculty Search Feedback Form to let Academic Affairs track how well you were able to locate and hire high-quality candidates.
Move on to onboarding your excellent new colleague! More info below...

Some Info on temporary housing for new faculty/staff

Look at this subpage for the options (updated yearly) for both college-sponsored and other local housing.

Additionally, faculty away on sabbatical may have homes available for sublet.

Please see Postings for local rentals page for both information on such opportunities and queries about any subletting opportunities (NB: any info related to private housing should in no way be understood as an endorsement of these properties by St. Mary's College.)

Moving Expenses:

Tenure-Track Faculty (not visitors) are reimbursed for moving expenses at the following rates:

$500 for distances beyond 500 miles
$1000 for distances beyond 1000 miles
$1500 for distances beyond 2000 miles.

Laptops and Software from OIT

Check with OIT about their Policies for Acquiring Computing Equipment to see the options for tenure-track vs. full-time visitors vs. adjunct instructors.

What about changes in rank if our hire completes a doctorate after signing our contract?

Instructor’s rank will be changed to assistant professor providing the requirements for the terminal degree have been completed, and the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty receives official notice prior to July 31 of the relevant academic year. If completion of the doctorate or other appropriate terminal degree and/or official notification to this office and Human Resources occurs after July 31, the change in rank will be effective the following academic year providing that the appointment has not been terminated.

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