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For any questions please send e-mail to: NDSU.Policy.Manual@ndsu.edu

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SECTION 103: EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF POSITION OPENINGS

SOURCE: NDSU President

The following policy has been developed after consultation with the University General Counsel, the Director of Human Resources/Payroll, the Executive Director, Chief Diversity Officer in the Office for Equity and Diversity, and the President's Council. These position announcement requirements must be followed in making any appointment to a payroll position for which the individual will receive fringe benefits.

1. If the appointment is to be .50 FTE or more and the expectation is that the appointee will serve for more than four months, the position shall be announced throughout the appropriate recruiting area as defined in Sections 200 and 303 of this Manual. Generally speaking, the recruiting area for faculty and professional administrative positions is considered to be on a national level, and the recruiting area for broadbanded technical, office, craft and trades, and service positions to be the Fargo-Moorhead area and the ten-county region surrounding the institution.

   1.1

   When a position vacancy occurs and there is a pool of regular employees appropriately qualified for transfer or promotion (including former employees covered by Reduction in Force policy, Section 223), a unit supervisor may choose to advertise a vacant position internally for a minimum of one week prior to initiating an external search. The procedures for these internal searches will be the same as those external searches (see Section 202 or Section 304). The Office for Equity and Diversity (for non-banded positions) or the Human Resources/Payroll Office (for broadbanded positions), in consultation with the unit supervisor, will be responsible to determine whether a pool of appropriately qualified employees exists.

2. If the appointment is either less than .50 FTE or clearly stipulated to be for a total duration of less than twenty weeks, then there is no formal position announcement required. Unit supervisors are, however, encouraged to announce the position on an internal or local basis. That means that an announcement might be distributed only within the University or to the eligible faculty or staff of the particular academic or administrative unit involved. However, affirmative action efforts should still be undertaken within this possible limitation to ensure that qualified minority individuals, females and individuals with disabilities are included in the applicant pool. Distributing the position announcement to the other Tri-College University institutions or within the Fargo-Moorhead community is also encouraged.

3. Recruitment for all full-time, regular administrative, academic and professional broadbanded staff positions (all those in the 1000, 2000 or 3000 job categories) shall include the use of a search committee of at least three people to be appointed by the unit administrator at the time the unit requests authorization to fill a position opening. Unit administrators are urged to consider the importance of diversity when making appointments to search committees.

   The search committee shall be involved in recruiting, screening and interviewing applicants, with particular responsibility for affirmative action efforts to solicit and include applicants from under represented and protected groups. Selection from the group of finalists of the individual to fill the position is the responsibility of the unit administrator. The Executive Director, Chief Diversity Officer in the Office for Equity and Diversity or the Director of Human Resources/Payroll, depending on the type of position, shall be considered an ex officio member of each search committee and will be available to assist the committee in fulfilling its responsibilities.

4. Although department heads are encouraged to post throughout the University any position that offers an important promotional opportunity to employees in other departments, the formal procedures for filling positions (see Sections 202 for broadbanded positions and 304 for non-banded) shall be optional in the following cases. Whenever an appointment is based on one of the following options, the specific option should be noted in the remarks section of the NDSU Hiring Form (100) or on the NDSU Change Form (101) and relevant documentation attached:

   4.1

   Timeslip employment which is not identified as a payroll budget appointment.

   4.2

   The transfer or promotion of an employee within a department or office, provided that the employee is fully qualified for the new position and was originally hired through a competitive search. This exception excludes faculty positions.

   4.3

   The transfer of a faculty member from special appointment status to a probationary appointment, provided that he or she had secured the special appointment on a nationally competitive basis.

   4.4

   A reassignment of duties on a part-time basis, including any appropriate change in title, which does not result in more than a 10% salary increase, a change of more than 50% of the original duties, or the creation of a position vacancy.

   4.5

   The appointment of an employee to fill a vacant administrative position on an acting basis, normally for a period not to exceed one year, while a search is being conducted for a regular appointee.

   4.6

   When there is concurrence by the hiring department, reassignment due to

   a) an injury resulting in worker's compensation award and subsequent retraining

   b) a reduction-in-force.

   4.7

   With prior approval, the temporary appointment of a person to a grant-funded position when the individual has been instrumental in the development of the project or is identified by name in the proposal as having unique expertise necessary to the project. This temporary appointment may not be continued beyond the period of the grant project, and the individual may not be transferred to any other University appointment without an appropriate search.

   Note: To use this option, proposal writers should indicate their intention on the transmittal form and provide a letter of explanation when the proposal is submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration. Those submitting proposals for internal funding that are not reviewed in Sponsored Programs Administration should contact the Office for Equity and Diversity prior to submitting the proposal.

   4.8

   An externally funded appointment as a postdoctoral fellow, research scientist or broadbanded research professional in a department where the individual has just completed an NDSU graduate degree and the assignment involves continuation of the research used for the individual's thesis/dissertation. This appointment is limited to the period for which funding has been given and normally may not exceed two years.

   4.9

   At the time a new employee is hired or within the first year of employment, the appointment of the employee's spouse/partner to a position for which the spouse/partner is fully qualified.

   If a new employee indicates that s/he has a spouse/partner who is also interested in employment at NDSU, the department/unit administrator is responsible to:

   -- contact Human Resources/Payroll Office and/or the relevant academic department(s) as soon as possible (depending on the spouse's/partner's education and experience); and

   -- encourage the spouse/partner to make an appointment with a staff member in Human Resources/Payroll Office and/or with the head/chair of the appropriate unit to review the spouse's/partner's education and experience.

   4.10

   At the request of the appropriate supervisor, the reinstatement of a former NDSU employee who has left his/her employment within the previous nine (9) months, provided that:

   1) the employee had a satisfactory performance record; and

   2) the employee is returning to a position requiring similar qualifications and having similar responsibilities; and

   3) the position is within the department where he/she worked at the time of resignation.

    

   4.11

   The appointment of a post doctoral fellow (postdoc) who comes to NDSU with a newly appointed faculty member on whose research project the postdoc is currently working. The postdoc may not transfer to other NDSU employment without being hired through the usual recruitment/selection process.

5. Regardless of the position announcement procedures that are followed, all employment decisions within the University are subject to equal opportunity laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age or Vietnam Era veteran status or sexual orientation. In addition, all appointments to payroll budget positions and equivalent positions supported by non-appropriated funds are subject to the equal opportunity monitoring system defined in Sections 202 and 304 of this manual.

6. Exceptions to this policy may be authorized by the President in unique circumstances.
   A request for the Presidential exception is initiated by the hiring department and forwarded through the appropriate supervisory line to the unit's dean or director. If there is support from the dean or director, the request is forwarded to the appropriate vice president. If the request is supported by the vice president after consultation with the University's Executive Director, Chief Diversity Officer in the Office for Equity and Diversity and the unit's dean and director, it is forwarded by the vice president to the President for consideration.

HISTORY: May 15, 1978; Amended February 6, 1979; April 21, 1981; November 13, 1989; September 24, 1991; April 1992; August 1993; December 1994; May 4, 1999, October 2001, October 2004, April 2005, October 2006, October 2007, May 2008.