Fayetteville Policies and Procedures  401.0 

Advertising of University Positions

In order to provide the strongest possible pool of qualified candidates, and consistent with principles of equal employment opportunity and the University of Arkansas Affirmative Action plan, as a general rule, academic departments and administrative units must advertise vacancies and conduct a search for all appointed faculty and staff positions where the appointment will last longer than one year. The hiring department should adhere to the following requirements in advertising university positions.

Hiring Request Approval

Prior to advertising a vacant position, a Hiring Request Form must be approved through the relevant administrative chain of authority. When completing this form, it is most important to have an active position number, note the funding source, state if the position is a new or a replacement hire, state how the position is related to the University’s Guiding Priorities and then send the request through the appropriate internal approval chain that includes both human resource and financial stakeholders. For colleges, the final approver should be the assistant dean, associate dean or dean role. For guidance in completing and submitting this form, please see Online Hiring Request Form Guidelines.

Advertising Requirements for Faculty and Staff Postings

Position Type:

Minimum Advertising Period Requirement:

Faculty: Professorial Rank

Thirty (30) calendar days

Faculty: Instructors and Lecturers

Seven (7) calendar days

Staff:   
EXTERNAL Postings

Seven (7) calendar days

Staff:  
INTERNAL Postings

Seven (7) calendar days

  • Departments are limited to six (6) internal postings per fiscal year.      
  • If a position has been advertised and filled within the past 90 days, departments may ask Human Resources for authorization to use the same applicant pool to fill an identical position instead of re-advertising.
  • Advertisements for staff positions should generally not remain on the University of Arkansas Career Site for more than 90 days. If a hiring department has not identified a suitable candidate for the position within 90 days, in most circumstances the listing should be removed from the Career Site, edited and reposted.

Advertising Requirements for Staff Internal Postings

As a general rule, staff positions must be advertised externally.  However, in certain circumstances, hiring departments may wish to fill positions from within the university to encourage the upward mobility of staff employees to positions for which they are qualified. This process has been developed to provide hiring departments with that option while ensuring equal opportunity for qualified internal candidates.  This policy does not affect or preclude the posting waiver (promotion, demotion, transfer, and variance) process through the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance (OEOC).  Internal postings represent exceptions to the standard (external) search process and the hiring department’s past affirmative action efforts and underrepresentation of any protected group within the department and similar positions within the department may be factors in considering the approval of the internal posting.

 Internal postings must follow the same basic procedures as external postings with the following exceptions:

  • The department must indicate that a position will be advertised internally in the applicant tracking system. Approval or denial of an internal posting will be determined during the posting approval process.
  • Internal postings are open to current University of Arkansas employees, appointed or hourly, whose employee status can be confirmed in the BASIS system.
  • Internal Postings will be designated as such and listed on the University of Arkansas Career site for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days
  • Departments are limited to six (6) internal postings per fiscal year.
  • The university position vacated when the internal posting is filled must be advertised under the standard (external) advertisement policy.
  • If the internal posting does not result in the identification of a successful candidate, the hiring department must conduct an external search and post the position on the University of Arkansas Career Site for a minimum of an additional seven (7) calendar days.  Departments should contact Human Resources for assistance in converting the internal posting to an external posting.

Recruitment Plan and Advertising Requirements

A recruitment plan is required for all searches for appointed faculty and staff positions. The university has purchased licenses to post positions on multiple job listing sites. Jobs posted to the University of Arkansas Career Site will automatically be placed on these licensed sites and no action is required of departments. These sites do not count towards the proactive recruitment requirements reviewed below. Visit Paid Campus Licenses for a complete listing of current paid campus licenses.

The Policy on Pro-active Diverse Recruiting and Diverse Recruiting require that departments and campus units identify recruitment activities within their respective discipline or field that target diverse populations. Refer to these policies to review the expectations for diverse recruitment.  Utilizing low/no cost activities such as email listservs, professional contacts and organizations is recommended.

In accordance with federal/state regulations and university policy, all electronic position announcements must contain one of the combined affirmative action/equal opportunity, "legal authority to work" and freedom of information act statements. All printed position announcements must contain (at a minimum) an abbreviated affirmative action/equal opportunity statement. The most updated versions of the statements can be found at Affirmative Action/Diversity Statements.

Background Check Advertising Requirements

The Background Checks and Substance Abuse Testing Policy specifies that all positions are required to include the appropriate notification language for background checks or substance abuse testing in the posting.  The language must include specific background check requirements.

Advertising Recommendations for Extra-help Hourly Positions

Hiring departments are encouraged to support equal opportunity and advertise extra-help hourly employment opportunities on the University of Arkansas Career Site.

Posting Waivers

As an institution committed to taking affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity to all applicants, in general, the university is committed to posting and advertising all vacant faculty and staff positions as set forth in this plan. However, there are exceptional circumstances under which a waiver of posting for a permanent position may be permitted.

 Criteria for waiver approval may include:

  • Appointment of executive and senior management level positions (i.e. Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, etc.).
  • The department has secured a candidate with “special distinction” (i.e., rare expertise in a specialized field, internationally renowned).
  • Emergency related: The mission of the administrative unit or department will be in jeopardy if the position is not filled immediately.
  • The terms of the grant or contract require the appointment of the defined individual.
  • As part of the recruitment in another unit on campus, the candidate is a qualified “dual-career” spouse or partner.

 Prior to hiring a candidate through the waiver process, it must be confirmed that the candidate meets the minimum qualifications for the position.

 In exceptional circumstances a current employee may be promoted, transferred, or demoted to a position without a search as specified in the plan under the following conditions: 

  • The employee must meet the minimum qualifications for the position.
  • The department head must certify that the best interest of the department will be served by the change for the employee in question.
  • The appropriate Vice Chancellor (and, in academic units, the Dean, and ultimately, the Provost), in consultation with the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, must certify that the best interest of the academic unit or division and the university will be served by the change in question. 

When a staff vacancy is filled through promotion, demotion, or transfer of a currently appointed employee who works in the same office or department, the position made vacant by the promotion, demotion, or transfer should be advertised.

Resources

Human Resources staff members are available to assist departments with advertising positions. Contact an HR Partner by calling 575-5351 or accessing the HR Directory. Each area of campus is assigned an HR Partner to assist with advertising and recruiting for vacant positions. For a list of departments and the assigned HR Partner, see HR Partners by Department.

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance maintains a Recruitment Manual with detailed instructions for advertising positions. Also provided, on the same site, is a checklist for a successful search as well as a list of diverse recruitment resources.

Special Circumstances

Any modification of the procedures outlined above, in the best interests of the university and consistent with the underlying purposes of this policy, requires the advance written approval of senior university officials, OEOC and, as appropriate, Human Resources.

Revised July 5, 2023
Revised December 4, 2018
Revised September 28, 2015
Reformatted for Web, November 11, 2014
Revised October 24, 2014
Revised March 20, 2012
Revised June 2, 2011
August 23, 2006
June 17, 1991
January 18, 1979