PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING FACULTY AND STAFF SEARCHES AT UMCP

Procedures And Guidelines For Conducting Faculty And Staff Searches At UMCP

CHAPTER 12

SEARCH AND SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR SECRETARIAL/CLERICAL STAFF

These guidelines were developed to assist units in conducting and documenting the process leading to the employment of secretarial/clerical staff at the University of Maryland at College Park. Effective July 1, 1992, these procedures were revised to incl ude conditions included in the Agreement the Campus signed with the Office of Federal Contract and Compliance Programs (OFCCP). In May, 1993 the procedures were further revised to more fully incorporate the conditions of the agreement.

All requests to fill secretarial/clerical positions should be submitted to the Major Unit Head (Dean, Vice President or President) for approval.
The equity administrator will inform the Personnel Services Department of the approval of the position and request that an appropriate "List of Eligibles" be forwarded to the appointing official.

* For units that have OFCCP goals, the department may request a standard List of Eligibles or it may request a List of Eligibles that is restricted to eligible OFCCP class members*. If the unit selects this second option, then the department is required to hire a candidate from this list.
The Personnel Services Department will then forward the "List of Eligibles" to the authorizing (appointing) official for this position.
For units that have Affirmative Action goals, the "List of Eligibles" should include, at a minimum, a fair representation of the affected groups according to the available data in the Campus Affirmative Action Plan. For example, for African Americans in 1993, in secretarial/clerical categories it is 31.6%; therefore, at least three of the ten candidates on the List of Eligibles should be African Americans.
All candidates on the "List of Eligibles" should be contacted.
Following the screening and interviewing of the candidates from the "List of Eligibles," the appointing official should complete an Affirmative Action Employment Report (AAER) form for classified staff and forward it and the recommendation for employm ent to the Major Unit Head for review and approval.
The appointing official is required to provide a written justification when an African American candidate is not selected, or when an OFCCP class member is on the List of Eligibles and is not hired, even if the person hired is an African American. The latter part of this requirement will expire upon the conclusion of the OFCCP/UMCP settlement agreement.
The justification form (see appendix D) from the appointing official to the equity administrator shall address the following:
a. A comparison of the candidates’ relative qualifications for the position.
b. An explanation of efforts to contact applications on the "List of Eligibles" who were not interviewed.
c. An explanation of why the recommended candidate best meets the needs for the position specifically referencing the job duties involved and the qualifications making the proposed selectee superior to the other candidates.

Before an offer of employment can be made in a situation requiring a written justification, the equity administrator will be responsible for assuring that the written justification meets the written standards established, and for conducting a review o f the decision. The equity administrator must review the qualifications of the top applicants and contact the appointing official to review the decision. The equity administrator’s concurrence shall mean that the administrator had reviewed the decision and has ascertained that the appointing official has appropriate reasons to support his or her decision.
The equity administrator shall have the authority to require the department to reconsider its decision. If the equity administrator and the department continue to disagree, the final arbiter will be the Director of Personnel Services.
If the Major Unit Head is satisfied that the search was conducted appropriately, he or she signs the AAER and forwards it to the appointing official.
The equity administrator shall forward a copy of the written justification and supplemental materials to the Chair of Equity Council.
The appointing official may now negotiate the appointment with the selected candidate.

*OFCCP class members are African Americans who appeared on a list of eligibles for a secretarial/clerical position at the University between October 1, 1985 and January 31, 1991 and were interviewed and coded "suitable" on the returned list of eligibles.

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