The staffing plan is based annually upon individual college needs and overall Academic Affairs priorities. This document is necessary in hiring tenure track and instructional faculty replacements for the following academic year. It is also essential in the budget planning process at the college and Provost levels.

Identifying Vacancies

After July 1, the Academic Budget and Personnel Coordinator in the Provost Office sends each college dean his/her staffing plan which includes the following information per vacancy:

• Department Name
• Department Org Number
• Position Number
• Incumbent Name
• Tenure Type
• Budgeted Rank
• Budgeted Salary

Requesting Searches or Changes to Positions

When the dean receives the college staffing plan from the Academic Budget and Personnel Coordinator, the following columns must be completed:

• Search Status
  • If the dean requests to conduct a search or hold a position, “Search” or “Hold “must be indicated.
  • If a position is to be held, the dean may use the temporary salary savings from the position that fiscal year for lectureship needs. However, the following fiscal year the approved rank will typically be assistant professor (unless the current rank is instructor), and the salary will be the minimum salary with a doctorate on the next academic year’s salary model. The permanent salary savings will be reallocated into the Provost’s lectureship. If the dean requests to maintain the current rank and salary, rationale must be provided to the Provost. Approval is required.
• Requested Tenure Status
  • Rationale must be provided to the Provost if the dean requests to change a tenure track position to instructional faculty or vice versa. This requires Provost’s approval and should not be assumed based upon approved rank and salary.
• Requested Rank
  • Instructor
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor
• Requested Salary
  • Must be at least the minimum of the requested rank on the next academic year’s faculty salary model.
  • If requested salary is greater than the budgeted salary, the dean must justify the requested salary and identify how the cost will be funded (including benefits).

If a new position is needed, the dean must insert a row and include the above information. Rationale and funding source for the salary and benefits must be provided to the Provost.

As soon as these columns are completed, the dean will send staffing plan to the Academic Budget and Personnel Coordinator and then contact the Administrative Assistant to the Provost to schedule an appointment with the Provost to discuss the staffing plan. The Provost will take into consideration the permanent cost or savings per position as well as the overall cost or savings within each college. This figure is the difference between the requested salary and the budgeted salary per position.

Approving the Staffing Plan

After the deans meet with the Provost, they must send their approved staffing plans to the Academic Budget and Personnel Coordinator so updates can be made to the master staffing plan. Once the master plan has been updated, the college plan will be sent to each dean for final approval. Upon approval, the Academic Budget and Personnel Coordinator will send each college staffing plan to the Academic Employment Specialist in Human Resources.

Steps Following Approval of the Staffing Plan

1. Notify departments of all approved positions on the staffing plan.
2. Develop Form B that describes search strategies for approved positions only and send to the Academic Budget and Personnel Coordinator in the Provost Office for review. Once reviewed, the forms will be delivered to Human Resources for review.
3. When Human Resources has approved the search strategy, the search forms will be returned to the Academic Budget and Personnel Coordinator. The department chair will receive the original forms and copies will be sent to the dean and Human Resources.
4. After the department receives the forms from the Provost Office, an electronic copy of the advertisement must be sent to the Academic Employment Specialist in Human Resources to place on the faculty vacancies website.
5. All advertising and candidate expenses must be charged to the dean’s faculty recruitment FOAP (budget number). Recruitment funds per faculty and department chair positions will be transferred to this FOAP from the Provost Office. However, if there is a carry forward balance remaining from the previous fiscal year, only the difference will be transferred. The dean will be responsible for managing the recruitment budget and staying within its boundaries. Expenses exceeding the budget are the dean’s responsibility.
6. If a college has a vacancy after the staffing plan is approved, Form A will need to be completed as well as Form B in order to receive the Provost’s approval prior to beginning a search.

Point of Hire

If the individual selected for the position does not have a doctorate or equivalent and, therefore, is hired at a salary less than the approved salary on the staffing plan, the difference will be reallocated into the Provost’s lectureship. At the time of receipt of doctorate, the Provost will transfer the necessary funds into the position.

If the individual selected for the position has a doctorate or equivalent but is hired at a lower salary than the approved salary on the staffing plan, the dean may use those dollars as leverage to hire another individual at a higher amount. Justification and funding source for the higher salary must be attached to the Academic Appointment and Employment Record when sent to the Provost Office for approval.

Budget Process

Permanent salary savings accrued from each position will be reallocated into the Provost’s lectureship the following fiscal year to be used for faculty needs across academic affairs. This amount will be based upon hired salary for filled positions and approved salary for unfilled positions. Also, for any position that remains unfilled, the following fiscal year budget book will indicate the rank and approved salary as shown on the staffing plan.

See Search Guidelines for further instructions.

 

Revision History:

Approved 2002

Revised by Assistant to the Provost for Budget & Personnel and approved by the Provost March 2015.

Edited for web links, formatting and plain language. Approved December 2015.

Previously annotated as VII.20 Staff Plan Guidelines.  Renamed Staff Plan Guidelines for alphabetical listing, grammar and spell check, and transitioned into policy library April 2017

Non tenure language replaced with instructional faculty language to align with updated BOG 2.2.040 Faculty Classification Policy, February 2018.