Faculty Hiring

Instructions for Submitting an Online Hiring Plan

Please continue to use the paper Hiring Plan and FPA, as described in the Hiring Template for all searches or appointments for Visitors, Adjuncts, Research Faculty or Post-Docs.

The on-line form only replaces the "hiring plan" portion of the search process ( for details see this document) but not the interim pool report or the compliance report, both of which must be submitted in paper form using the conventional procedures.

Setup Requirements

The first step is setting up an account with the PeopleAdmin system. If you already have an account for handling staff appointments, you may skip this step. If not, navigate to the Brown PeopleAdmin website and select the link for "Create User Account" where you will be asked to enter a username and password and other information about yourself.

After you fill out the form click on the "Continue" button and then "Confirm" to submit your username request. You will be notified by email when your account is all set.

Logging on to PeopleAdmin

You can login to People Admin at: https://careers.brown.edu/hr

Those who already use PeopleAdmin (e.g. for staff positions) will be need to select the a faculty related role after login (usually denoted with "(fac)"). Department Managers who will be dealing with both staff and faculty appointments will be able to change roles in the side menu by selecting the "Change User Type" option under the Admin menu.

Creating, Approving, Editing an on-line Hiring Plan

PeopleAdmin assumes that the first step in any search authorization is for the Department Manager to enter the information about the position and to send it to the Department Chair for editing and approval. If the Department Chair would prefer to enter the information, please contact Michael McDermott (3-3779) for instructions.

In case of a joint search only one department should submit the on-line form. A separate submission must be made for each position you hope to fill even if an identical ad is used for several positions.

Creating: To create a new Hiring Plan, you must have responsibility as a department manager within the system. Click on the link under the "Create Requisition" menu on the left hand side labeled "From Scratch"

Please fill out all the required fields. In the "Reason for Request" box, please provide details regarding the reason for the search (e.g. replacing faculty member x). In cases of joint searches or searches in which there is a pre-selected candidate, there is space to include the relevant additional information. At the bottom of the page, you will be asked to indicate your agreement to conduct the search in accordance with Brown's policy on institutional diversity. Please check "Agree."

Click on the "Continue to Next Page" button.

On the second screen, enter notes and other information you would like to include about the search.

When you are finished, click on the "Continue to Next Page" button.

This will take you to a summary screen where you may review your request and decide how to proceed: you may edit, save, or submit for review at the next level. After you make your selection, click "Continue" and then "Confirm" to save or submit the form. .

Approving/Editing/Rejecting: Once the Department Manager prepares and submits the request, he or she will need to notify Department Chairs that a requisition has been submitted. (In a future version, email notification will be added to the system.)

At this point, Department Chairs will then be able to log in to PeopleAdmin using the instructions above. Once you have logged in, go to the "Job Postings" header on the left and select the "View Pending" option to see a list of hiring plans that are pending approval or that have already been approved (of course, most departments conduct only one or two searches, so the list won't be extensive). Select one and click the "View" link. You will see a summary of the requisition along with notes. To revise, select the "Edit" link.

You may also choose under "Posting Status" to return the request to the Department Manager for further revision and resubmission. We suggest adding a note to explain the reason it is being sent back.

Once all is in order, the Department Chair will approve the request and submit it to Faculty Personnel. Under "Posting Status" you will choose the "Submit to Faculty Personnel" option, click "Continue," and "Confirm," and you are done.

Tracking the Status of a Requisition

The system also makes it possible to track where a requisition is in the system. Log in to PeopleAdmin as above and select your role. Under the "Job Postings" menu header, select the "View Pending" option.

You will see a list of all the requisitions that you have submitted or that require your approval. The ones that you need to approve will list the posting status options you have, the previously approved ones will merely list the current status.

Selecting a requisition that you have previously approved allows you to see the approval history and notes.

Staff in Faculty Personnel will be checking the system regularly and will be able to view the requisitions at all levels. They will be able to answer any questions about the status of aa requisition.

Please contact Michael McDermott (3-3779) with questions.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Hiring Process for Faculty

Q: How do I submit a request to conduct a search for a Regular Faculty position in a department reporting to the Dean of the Faculty now that the process is online?
A: Directions can be found above.

Q: When is a search required?
A: Almost always. Read Chapter 9 of the Handbook of Academic Administration carefully to note the few exceptions.

Q: Where do I get an FPA (Faculty Position Authorization)?
A: From the Stockroom. As of Fall 2007 this is no longer need for searches for Regular Faculty in Departments reporting to the Dean of the Faculty since the Hiring Plan part of the process for such searches is now submitted on-line.

Q: Where do I get a Compliance Report?
A: A Compliance Report is normally sent to the department when a search is approved and the departmental copy of the FPA is returned. You can also obtain a copy from the EEO/AA Office.

Q: Who should prepare the search materials?
A: Who prepares the materials is a matter of departmental administrative practice and the area of specialization in which the search is being conducted. However, all FPAs must be signed by the chair of the department or the director of the program, center, or institute submitting the materials (FPAs not signed by the chairs or directors will be returned for proper signature).

Q: What is an Affirmative Action Representative (AAR)?
A: Each search committee is required to have an Affirmative Action Representative who cannot also be chair the search committee (Handbook, 9.4.3). The AAR must be a tenured member of the faculty and is expected to take an active role in identifying women and minorities who qualify for the position. The AAR is also charged with ensuring compliance with affirmative action guidelines in all phases of the search and with writing the portion of the interim pool report (9.7) that addresses the women and minority applicants. The AAR should act during the search as advocate for candidates from protected groups who are being considered for elimination from the pool.

Q: Where can departments get further information about qualified women and minority candidates?
A: Contact the Associate Provost and Director of the Office of Institutional Diversity.

Q: What details most commonly require follow-up before FPAs and hiring plans can be approved?
A1: Be consistent throughout your documentation, e.g., do not use one start date on the FPA and a different start date in the hiring plan, do not use different wording in the job description contained in the ad and the one included in the hiring plan.
A2: Submit sample copies of any letters you use to solicit applications.
A3: Read carefully the section on the Short-List and the Interim Pool Report, especially the section requiring you to submit CVs on women and minority candidates in the pool if they are not adequately represented in the proposed shortlist.
A4: The fact that you cannot always accurately determine minority group membership does not relieve you of the burden of doing it as accurately as you can and of submitting the numbers and percentages as requested in the Handbook guidelines.

Q: Why do we have to go through all of this bureaucracy?
A: The affirmative action and equal opportunity guidelines that we follow are both mandated by law and required by vote of the Brown Faculty. Departments that follow the guidelines carefully have generally not found it difficult to get approval for their hiring plans, their short-lists, or their finalists.

Q: Who should negotiate with the candidate?
A: Negotiations between a department and a candidate should be conducted by the chair of the department (or director of a center, program, or institute) after consultation with the Dean of the Faculty or Associate Dean of the Faculty. The role of the chair of the search committee ends once the candidates have been ranked, except in an advisory capacity to the chair or director. If the chair or director is unavailable during the period of negotiation, he or she should designate one individual to negotiate in his or her stead.

Q: What about salary and other financial commitments?
A: The Chair should discuss the terms with the Dean of the Faculty. All financial commitments (including salary and startup) are made through the formal offer letter from the Dean of the Faculty. The Chair’s letter (referred to in the past as the “pre-hire” letter) provides information about office/lab space, teaching expectations, department's standards and criteria etc. but does not need to repeat the financial terms specified in the formal offer letter. Both letters are mailed to the candidate at the same time.

10/21/2002; Revised 9/12/2006

Hiring Plan Template

* Please note that beginning in August, 2007, hiring plans for regular faculty searches (Lecturers, tenure-track, and tenured positions) in departments that report to the Dean of the Faculty will no longer use the FPA but will be filled out on line. Searches for non-regular faculty (Visitors, Adjuncts, and Postdocs) will continue to use the paper FPA and hiring plan template. Instructions on how to use the on-line hiring plan are available here.

Department of Psychoceramics

Title: Assistant Professor (or appropriate ranks) of Psychoceramics (tenure track), to begin July 1, yyyy

Search Committee:

The Search Committee will be chaired by CHAIR NAME. Other members include: MEMBER 2, MEMBER 3, MEMBER 4, and MEMBER 5 [the number of members is not prescribed].

Professor AAR NAME is the departmental Affirmative Action Representative and he/she will serve in this capacity on the Search Committee. He/She will monitor compliance with affirmative action procedures [Note that the AAR must be a tenured member of the faculty, or, as appropriate, a comparable senior member of the faculty].

Job Description/Sample Advertisement:

TENURE TRACK ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (or Appropriate Ranks) OF PSYCHOCERAMICS

Department of Psychoceramics, Brown University

Brown University invites applications for an assistant professor.

[Brief description of the position, the desired areas of specialization, the degree required, and expectations for publication and teaching experience, and anything else that should be included, such as a statement about the department. If more than one rank is specified, be sure to differentiate among the qualifications required for each rank.]

Candidates should send a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation. For tenure-level searches, submit five (5) names of references with contact information. Recommenders will be contacted by the search committee. The deadline for applying is xxxxxxxxx, yy, zzzz [If the search is to remain open longer: Applications received by xxxxxxxxx, yy, zzzz will receive full consideration, but the search will remain open until the position is closed or filled. Alternative 2: Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled or closed. For departments choosing the last option, they must keep in mind that review could begin immediately, but ranking and selection could not occur until a reasonable time had passed for receipt of responses to all forms of advertisement or letters announcing the position, and this must be made clear in the Hiring Plan]. For further information or to apply write to:

Psychoceramics Search
Box xxxx
Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island 02912

Brown University is an EEO/AA employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

Method of Identifying a Diverse Pool of Applicants:

The Search Committee will advertise the position in [name specific journals or listings of professional organizations]. The Committee will also submit the advertisement to the following specialized services maintained by the American Psychoceramics Society: [if there are any]. We will also consult any sources of women and minority candidates in consultation with the Associate Provost and Director of the Office of Institutional Diversity and we will write to individuals who are brought to our attention as promising women or minority candidates, to departments that train graduate students in the specialization we seek, and to individuals known to have information on minority and women candidates. A list of individuals and departments to be contacted is attached along with sample letters being sent to them.

>Processing applications

The applications will be received and logged for the Search Committee by xxxxxxxxx. The Search Committee will review applications as they come in and eliminate those clearly unqualified because of their field or their lack of appropriate credentials. The Committee will categorize applicants as best it can using evidence from the applications according to gender and ethnicity, using the abbreviations suggested in the log.

Short list

After the deadline for receipt of applications, the Committee will review candidates remaining in the pool and will recommend a short list to the Department. [Some departments interpose a preliminary interview here, taking advantage of professional meetings (no acronyms, please – you might be surprised to know how many APAs there are). If so, please describe this procedure and specify an alternative such as a telephone interview for otherwise qualified candidates who are unable to attend the meeting in question]. After the Department votes on the recommendations of the Search Committee, the Interim Pool Report on the Short List will be submitted to the Dean of the Faculty for review and approval by the Dean and the Director of Institutional Diversity, following the guidelines outlined in Chapter 9 of the Handbook for Academic Administration. Submission of the Interim Pool Report will be accompanied by the Applicant Log and will include a report written by the Affirmative Action Representative including both numbers and percentages of members of protected groups using the available information as noted above. After approval of the Interim Pool Report, we will invite the candidates on the short list to campus for interviews. In the case of advanced rank candidates, the committee will provide a list of referees, in addition to those provided by the candidate.

Final selection

Following campus interviews, the Department will establish a rank-ordered list of the finalists to whom it wishes to extend offers, for submission to the Dean of the Faculty. This list will include a statement justifying the ranking of the finalists and outlining the procedure that will be followed should none of the approved candidates accept an offer from Brown. (In the case of Advanced Rank candidates, further approval by TPA and the Provost will be required. The recommendation will be accompanied by the Compliance Report.

Revised 10.07.04