How to Launch an Academic Search

 

Updated 10-17-23

Academic recruitments can be for Senate positions, non-senate positions, and for ongoing pools and all of these recruitment types are processed in the UC Recruit system. Note that recruitments for student Academic Titles are not processed in the Recruit system.  

 

The Position Approval Packet

To start an academic recruitment, you must complete the Position Approval Packet. Before you complete the packet, it is essential that you review each the document's accompanying set of instructions. Keep in mind the recruitment process requires you to be acquainted with the information included in the instructions before you launch your recruitment. Taking the time to review them ahead of time will save you, the division, and the APO considerable time and it will help ensure that your recruitment's proposed Open Date is met.  

Download copies of the packet's forms from the APO's Forms web page (see section titled, Recruitment Forms). Be sure to download the forms that are applicable to the type of recruitment you are initiating.

Deadlines for Submitting the Position Approval Packet

The Recruitment Team in the Academic Personnel Office requires a minimum of four weeks to review position approval packets and set up the searches in Recruit.

You should check with your division's academic personnel team to identify additional divisional deadlines for submitting your position approval packets.

 


Instructions for Completing the Position Approval Packets

Non-senate Position Approval Packets (link to packet)

Instructions for Completing the Non-senate Recruitment Set-up Form

Instructions for Completing the Non-senate Applicants Screening Criteria Worksheet.

Ongoing Pool Position Approval Packet (link to packet)

Instructions for Completing the Ongoing Pools Recruitment Set-up Form

Instructions for Completing the Ongoing Pools Applicants Screening Criteria Worksheet

 

Senate Position Approval Packets (link to packet)


Updated 2-13-2019

The following information is designed to instruct the hiring unit on how to complete the Senate Recruitment Set-up Form. The layout of the instructions is based on the form's sections and fields.


GENERAL INFORMATION

Name of Hiring Unit

List your academic department. For interdisciplinary recruitments (e.g., a recruitment that involves two divisions or multiple departments within a division), list the all of the divisions or departments involved.

Academic Title

For Senate recruitments, you will list either the Professor title series and applicable rank or you will list the Lecturer with Security of Employment (LSOE) title series. Furthermore, if the recruitment will be open to multiple ranks (Professor Series) or titles (LSOE title series), please list all that are applicable to your recruitment.

Title of the Position

List the position's title as you would like it to appear on your flyer. The title of the position (i.e., the preferred working title) does not have to be the formal Academic Title. For example, your recruitment may be for an Associate Professor (Academic Title Series), but the title of the position could be Associate Professor:Public Policy and Immigration(preferred working title).

Title Codes

List the title code (four digit number) that corresponds to the position's Academic Title and rank. Academic title codes can be found in the current UCSC Salary Scales. If the recruitment is open to multiple ranks, please list all of the applicable title codes.

Image above shows how the academic title (including ranks) and title codes display in the salary scales.


AVAILABILITY DATA AND FIELDS OF STUDY

Recruit utilizes availability data, which is data that details the availability of men, women, and ethnic minority Ph.D. graduates in specific fields of study at the national level. When completing the set-up form, you will need to provide the fields of study that are applicable to your recruitment. To make your selections, refer to the Tenured Fields of Study list, which is located on the APO's Academic Recruitment web page.

TIP: The Fields of Study list is updated each year, which usually occurs in September.

 

How the Availability Data and Fields of Study Are Used in the Recruitment Process

Diversity Page

Once a recruitment goes live, the committee can refer to the recruitment's availability data in Recruit to help it engage in successful and targeted outreach efforts such as advertising in relevant publishing outlets and forwarding the flyer to key professional organizations or colleagues at other universities and research institutions.

Academic Recruitment Analysis Report: Shortlist Report

The APO provides this report to the division at the time that it forwards your Search Report (that identified the candidates being recommended for interviews). The Shortlist report includes the recruitment's availability data and the gender and ethnicity composition of the recruitment's applicant pool, the candidates who were seriously considered (depending on the stage of the recruitment, these are the candidates proposed for interview or they are the Proposed and Alternate Candidates). In other words, the report compares the recruitment's applicant pool with the available labor pool. The Dean reviews the Shortlist and Search Reports (both the first report that lists the proposed Interviewees/Alternate Interviewees and the second report that lists the Proposed/Alternate Candidates) to determine if the hiring unit has made a good-faith effort to attract a workforce that reflects the gender, racial, and ethnic profile of the available labor pool.


SEARCH COMMITTEE

When completing the form, you will need to provide (regardless of role) each member's name, title at UCSC, and UCSC email address. Please note that you must provide the name as it is listed in the campus directory to avoid confusion when the committee member is being set up in Recruit. Furthermore, if the committee will include graduate students, please be aware that they are not permitted to review confidential letters of recommendation or the applicants' lists of references. As a result, their access will exclude all reference-related application materials.

TIP: For Senate recruitments, a Search Committee Chair and a Diversity Liaison are required and additional reviewers are optional. The Search Committee Chair and Diversity Liaison must be members of the Senate and these roles cannot be occupied by the same individual.
TIP: For committee members who are UCSC students, list their title as student on the set-up form.
TIP: If a committee member does not have an active UCSC email account/Cruz ID, you must request a UCSC Sundry account for the individual before access to UC Recruit can be given.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Faculty and Staff Contact

The Faculty and Staff Contact role is for internal use only. The individual listed here should be able to answer questions from the division and the APO about the recruitment. For Senate recruitments, the Department Manger is usually the individual assigned this role.

Prior to a recruitment going live, the Faculty and Staff Contact will be required to confirm for the APO that the recruitment has been configured with the correct information (which will be based on the information provided in the Position Approval Packet).

HELP Contact

Applicant inquiries are forwarded to the email address of the individual listed as the Public Contact. In Recruit, there are three different links that applicants can click on to submit an email inquiry.

The image above shows the Help links in the UC Recruit Job Listing web page and the Application screen.

System Generated Email Notifications/ Public Contact

Provide the name and email address that should be displayed in Recruit's system-generated email notifications that are sent to applicants and references. Keep in mind that the name can be generic (e.g., UCSC Ocean Sciences Search Committee Chair) and the designated email address can be a UCSC Mailing List (e.g., deptxrecruit@ucsc.edu ). Recruit sends the following system generated emails:

  • Emails to references are sent to thank them for submitting their confidential letters of recommendation.
  • Emails to applicants are sent when they create and/or activate their application and to remind them to complete the diversity survey.

Recruit Analyst

Some of the documentation in Recruit can only be completed by a staff member in your unit who has been assigned the role of Recruit Analyst in the Recruit system. In the recruitment set-up form, provide the name, title, and UCSC email address of the staff member who will serve as the Recruit Analyst. For Senate recruitments, the Department Manager is usually the individual assigned this role.

If the staff member who will be serving as your Recruit Analyst does not have access to UC Recruit, please email recruit@ucsc.edu to request an account.

Mailing Address

With UC Recruit, application materials are submitted entirely online. In the rare event that applicants are required to submit physical materials, you will need to indicate this in the recruitment set-up form and provide the hiring unit's mailing address in the following format:

University of California, Santa Cruz
1156 High St
Attn: [insert unit's Mailstop]
Santa Cruz, Ca
95064

TIP: A Mailing Address is required in Recruit. Therefore, if physical materials will not be accepted the default is to list the email address of the individual listed as the HELP Contact. However, you are welcome to list another email address if you prefer.

RECRUITMENT PERIOD

The Recruitment Period is the time in which applications can be submitted for a recruitment. Senate recruitments can have a maximum recruitment period of two years in order to provide the hiring unit ample opportunity to identify a candidate for the position.

Senate recruitments are set up with an Open until Filled/Initial Review Date (IRD) configuration. This type of recruitment collects groups of applicants that are separated by review dates. The Open until filled/IRD configuration includes an Open Date, IRD, Final Date, and Subsequent Review Dates (optional), which are discussed below.

Open Date

The Open Date is when the recruitment goes live and can be viewed by the public on Recruit's Open Positions web page. Applications can be submitted beginning on the recruitment's Open Date.

TIP: When determining your recruitment's Open Date, keep in mind that it must be at least four weeks out from the date that you submitted the Position Approval packet to the division. There is no guarantee that your recruitment will go live by your proposed date, but completing the Position Approval Packet in accordance with the instructions provided in this document will certainly improve your chances.

Initial Review Date (IRD)

In Recruit, the IRD is the initial application deadline and applicants have until midnight of the IRD to complete their application. After midnight, applications are permanently locked thereby preventing the applicants from making further changes.The day after the IRD is when the committee can begin its official review of the recruitment's completed applications.

TIP: When determining your recruitment's IRD, keep in mind that your senate recruitment must include an application period (from the time the recruitment opens to the application deadline) that meets a minimum threshold of time. The application period for Senate recruitments must be a minimum of sixty calendar days. Additionally, the IRD must occur during the standard workweek (Monday - Friday).

Final Date

The Final Date is the last day of the recruitment period and as a result, it is the last day that applications will be accepted and the last day that existing applications can be modified by the applicants. On the day subsequent to the Final Date, the recruitment will no longer be visible to the public on Recruit's Open Positions web page. Unless the hiring unit lists an earlier date on the form, the standard Final Date is June 30 of the recruitment's second year.

TIP: When determining a recruitment's Final Date keep in mind that if you do not identify a candidate before the Final Date has passed, you will need to open a new recruitment. If the position is filled before the Final Date has passed, the recruitment will be closed and it will no longer be visible to the public. In other words, err on the side of caution and list a Final Date that provides you ample time to identify a qualified candidate for the position.

Subsequent Review Dates (optional)

With the Open until filled/IRD configuration, groups of applicants are created when the recruitment is updated with additional review dates subsequent to the IRD. The review date (whether it is the IRD or a subsequent review date) differentiates applications completed by one review date from those completed by another review date. For example, your recruitment's first group of applicants will include the applications completed by the IRD. Updating your recruitment with a second review date creates a second group that includes the applications that were completed after the IRD but on or before the second review date.

Key Features of The Open Until Filled/ IRD Configuration

The Search Committee can only view the applications completed by the IRD and any subsequent review dates that are entered in Recruit by the APO. As described in the section above, the recruitment can be updated with additional review dates, so that applications completed since the last review date can be released to the committee. To have your recruitment updated with additional review dates, contact the APO (Leslie Marple at lesliem@ucsc.edu for Senate recruitments and Gillian McGuire at gmcguire@ucsc.edu for Non-senate recruitments). There is no limit on the number of review dates a recruitment can have as long as they occur prior to the recruitment's Final Date.

The Review Date's Impact on Applications

An applicant can add or delete application materials until midnight of the recruitment's review date. Once the review date has passed, any applications completed by the review date are locked.  When applications are locked, the applicants are prevented from making major changes * to their applications. Furthermore, once an application is locked it remains so without exception. Applications that are not completed by the review date remain unlocked, which allows the applicants to continue working on their applications.

*The actions still available to individuals with locked applications are the following:

  1. The applicant can trigger the system-generated email request for a confidential letter (provided the applicant triggered the initial request prior to the IRD).
  2. The applicant can complete the Diversity Survey.

Image provides a sample Senate recruitment period: Open Date of July 31, 2017; IRD of October 5, 2017; Additional review date of December 4, 2017; and on Monday, May 7, 2018 recruitment is closed after Proposed Candidate accepts campus offer of appointment.



Updated 2-13-2019

The following information is designed to instruct the hiring unit on how to complete the Senate Template Flyer and the layout of the instructions is based on the flyer's sections and fields.

When completing the flyer template, please note the following:

  • Black font: required text and it cannot be revised or removed.
  • Green font: text that you can revise.
  • Red font: special instructions and they should be deleted before you forward your draft flyer to the division.

When completing your flyer, it is essential that you refer to your recruitment set-up form to ensure that the information on both documents is consistent. For example, the Academic Title information on the recruitment set-up form must match what is listed on the flyer.


HEADER

Update the flyer's header with the name of the hiring unit and the title of the position that you provided in your recruitment set-up form. Please note that the case style for the hiring unit is upper case, whereas the case style for the title of the position is title case.


DESCRIPTION

At a minimum, the Senate flyer's description of the position must provide the following information:

  • Name of the hiring unit (followed by the unit's URL)
  • Title of the position
  • A description of the unit where the position will reside
  • A description of the position's core responsibilities

The description may also include preferred areas of expertise, training, or professional experience, which are broader and less defined than the position's basic qualifications (addressed in the section Basic Qualifications) as demonstrated in the following examples:

  • The successful candidate must demonstrate professional achievement and intellectual leadership through publication, creative accomplishments, or other professional activity.
  • The successful candidate will be expected to be a visionary leader and organizational strategist who will help UC Santa Cruz expand its reputation as an international leader in graduate education in coastal science and policy.

ACADEMIC TITLE

List the Academic Title Series that you provided on the recruitment set-up form and indicate if the position is tenure-track or tenured.

TIP: For recruitments that are open to multiple ranks or levels, be sure to list all of the applicable ranks/levels along with the academic title (e.g., Associate Professor or Full Professor).

SALARY

For Senate recruitments, you do not have to make any updates since the flyer displays the default language, Commensurate with qualifications and experience; academic year (nine-month basis).


BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

Federally Defined
The Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) defines Basic Qualifications as "qualifications that an applicant must possess" and "The basic qualifications which an applicant must possess means qualifications that the contractor [employer] advertised to potential applicants . . ."

When determining the position's basic qualifications keep in mind that OFCCP regulations require the following:

  • Basic qualifications must be objective.
  • Basic qualifications must be noncomparative features of a job seeker.
  • Basic qualifications must be relevant to the performance of the position.
  • The assessment as to whether an applicant meets or does not meet the advertised Basic Qualifications can only be based on the individual's application materials.
Appropriate Basic Qualification Inappropriate Basic Qualification
  • Evidence of one year post baccalaureate research experience in organic chemistry
  • Extensive research experience in organic chemistry
  • Evidence of teaching experience at the university level.
  • Evidence of Teaching Excellence or teaching potential
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Deadline for Meeting Basic Degree Requirements
For Senate recruitment's, the flyer's default language details the required basic degree and relevant field/s of study. When deemed appropriate, the flyer also informs applicants when the degree requirement is expected to be completed. In these instances, information that pertains to the basic degree requirement is included in the Basic Qualifications and Position Available sections of the flyer, which the hiring unit updates accordingly.

Basic Qualifications: [insert minimum degree requirement] (or equivalent foreign degree) in [insert degree area/s]. It is expected that the degree requirement will be completed by [insert month, date, and year].

Position Available: Degree requirement must be completed by [insert deadline listed in Basic Qualifications section] for employment beyond [insert month, date, and year].

TIP: An applicant must meet all of the basic qualifications to warrant further consideration for the position. Be mindful of this when identifying your recruitment's basic qualifications.
TIP: At a minimum, basic qualifications define the position's minimum required degree/certification, research experience, and teaching experience.
TIP: When a recruitment is open to multiple ranks, the degree requirement listed in the Basic Qualifications section must be the degree requirement for the lowest rank. The hiring unit can elect to list the higher degree requirement as a preferred qualification.

POSITION AVAILABLE

For Senate recruitments, the following language is listed, July 1, 20XX, with the academic year beginning September 20XX. You will update the years accordingly and when applicable, you can modify the month and date.

TIP: For Senate recruitments, the dean will determine if the following language must be included in this section of the flyer,  Appointments are contingent upon availability of funding.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

This section of the flyer details the documents or materials that will comprise an application and it includes the subsections Documents / Materials and Reference Requirement.

DOCUMENTS / MATERIALS

This subsection is where you list the documents or materials that are required in the application. It is essential that the flyer clearly indicate, for each item, the minimum number that are required and the maximum number (if optional items are applicable) that will be accepted. For example, The application must include a letter of application, a current C.V., sample publications (a minimum of three are required and a maximum of six will be accepted), a research statement, and a statement addressing their contributions to diversity through research, teaching, and/or service.

REFERENCE REQUIREMENT

This subsection details the process for including confidential letters of recommendation (if applicable) as part of the application process. There are two methods for obtaining confidential letters of recommendation in Recruit: Letters of Recommendation and Contact Information Only, which are further described below.

Letters of Recommendation

With this method the applicant must enter the required number of references and trigger Recruit's system-generated email requesting a confidential letter to each of the references. Hiring units use this method when they want all of the applications to include confidential letters.

With the Letters of Recommendation method, applicants can monitor their references' progress in submitting their letters (note that the applicants cannot access the letters). If the references do not respond to the initial request, applicants can trigger additional system-generated email requests (even after the application deadline has passed). Additionally, if the application deadline has not passed, applicants can replace a reference with another individual.

Contact Information Only

With this method the applicant must enter the required number of references, but the applicant does not trigger Recruit's system-generated emails requesting confidential letters. It is the Recruit Analyst or Search Committee Chair who trigger the email requests for confidential letters.

Hiring units use this method when they only want a subset of applications to include confidential letters. For example, a hiring unit may only require confidential letters for those applicants who are under serious consideration.

Criteria for Recruit to Tag an Application as Complete

Search Committee members will only be able to review applications completed by the review date (i.e., application deadline). Recruit will tag an application as being complete if the applicant has done the following on or before the recruitment's review date:

  • Uploaded all of the required documents/materials
  • Fulfilled the Reference Requirements (if applicable) for the required number of references

Sample Application Requirements Listing

The following is an example of a recruitment's Application Requirements as they appear in the flyer.

SampleAppRequirements.jpg

TIP: With the Letters of Recommendation method, Recruit does not take into consideration the number of confidential letters that have been received when determining if an application is complete. The system only considers if the application's reference requirement has been satisfied (i.e., the applicant entered the required number of references and triggered the system-generated emails as required by the Letters of Recommendation method or the applicant entered the required number of references as required by the Contact Information Only method).
TIP: Once a recruitment goes live, the application requirements cannot be changed.

 


RECRUITMENT PERIOD

In this section, update the default language with the IRD and Final Date that you listed in your recruitment set-up form. It is essential that the dates on the form and the flyer are the same.



Updated 2-29-2019

The Applicants' Screening Criteria Defined

During their review of the applications, the Search Committee members use the Applicants' Screening Criteria to screen-out unqualified or insufficiently qualified applicants and to identify applicants who will be interviewed (or identified as Alternate Interviewees). The most important thing to know about the Applicants' Screening Criteria is that they must be based on the qualifications and requirements listed in the recruitment's flyer.

Additional background on the Applicants' Screening Criteria: The Recruit Analyst will update (in Recruit) the applications with the screening criteria assigned by the Search Committee. This will done via the Assign Reasons functionality, which is only available to Recruit Analysts and Search Committee Chairs. The assigned criteria will be included in the Recruit Search Reports that your unit will submit to the APO and division for approval. These units will review the report to ensure that the criteria has been consistently and equitably assigned to the applicants.

There are four levels of Applicants' Screening Criteria, which are discussed below.


Section 1 Screening Criteria

Section 1 criteria are used to identify applicants who do not meet the advertised basic qualifications. Applicants assigned Section 1 criteria are determined to be unqualified and they are removed from further consideration.


Section 2 Screening Criteria

Section 2 criteria are used to identify applicants who meet the advertised basic qualifications, but are not sufficiently qualified to be considered for the position. Applicants assigned Section 2 criteria are removed from further consideration.


Section 2.5 a. and Section 2.5 b. Screening Criteria OPTIONAL

For Senate recruitments, Section 2.5 Screening Criteria are used when the department wants to request additional information (e.g., conduct preliminary Skype interviews or request confidential letters) from a subset of qualified applicants before it determines whom to recommend for formal campus visits or as Alternate Interviewees.

The Search Committee assigns Section 2.5 a. criteria to the applicants from whom additional information will be requested. After the committee completes its review of the additional information, it assigns Section 2.5 b. criteria to those applicants the committee determines are not sufficiently qualified. Applicants assigned Section 2.5 b. criteria are removed from further consideration. Applicants who are not assigned Section 2.5 b. criteria move on in the review process and are assigned Section 3 screening criteria.


Section 3 Screening Criteria

Section 3 criteria are assigned to qualified applicants whom the department recommends for formal campus visits or as Alternate Interviewees. Please note that Senate recruitments require the department to submit a Search Report that must be approved by the APO and the Division before the department can extend invitations for formal campus visits.


Instructions for Completing the Worksheet

When you are ready to complete the worksheet, make sure to have a copy of your draft flyer to ensure that your screening criteria are based on the recruitment's advertised qualifications.

With Sections 1, 2, and 3, there is list of UC Recruit stock criteria. You will indicate on the worksheet which, if any, of the stock criteria you want to use. Additionally, you will have the option of providing custom criteria to address unique aspects of the position. In Sections 1 and 2, you can create up to five additional criteria and in Section 3, you may create as many as you see fit.

UC Recruit does not provide Sections 2.5 a. or 2.5 b. stock criteria; so you must create them (again, based on the position's advertised qualifications) and you may create as many as you see fit.


 


Fields of Study (Availability Data)

When completing your position approval packet's Recruitment Set-up Form, you will need to provide fields of study that are relevant to your recruitment.  Click on one of the link below to access the current year's Availability Data- Fields of Study List.

 

Fields of Study (availability data)