Request Academic Position Faculty/Academic Staff

Create a Position 

When to Use this Process

This process applies for hiring processes such as:

  • Posting a position.
  • Posting an MSU extension position.
  • Requesting an Exception.
      • Recruitment and Retention Contingent Hire - Spouse/Partner.
      • Recruitment and Retention Contingent Hire - Non Spouse/Partner
      • Emergency Hire– This will be allowed for non-Tenure/Continuing appointments.
      • Internal Hire
      • Senior and Executive Management Hire
      • Position will last 3 days or less – This will be allowed for non-Tenure/Continuing appointments.  

Selecting the Organizational Unit and Answering Questions Regarding the Position

The system asks a number of questions at the beginning of the process. Your answers to these questions drive choices later in the process, such as titles available and fields required. When creating a new position, you are also prompted to select an organizational unit. You will have the opportunity to select additional organizational units later in the process.

To respond to wizard questions and enter the organizational unit

  1. Enter the Desired Start Date for the position. This is the earliest date for a posting or requested exception.
  2. Select the Hiring Process.
  3. Respond to additional questions:
      1. Do you wish to use an existing position as a template?
      2. Does this position have an executive management or management administrative title?
      3. Does this position have a paid rank position?
  4. Enter or search for and select the Organizational Unit.
  5. Click the Continue button to open the form.  
  6. Vacant positions may exist within the selected organizational unit.  Respond to the question, "Would you like to reuse one of these positions?".

Does this position have an executive management or management administrative title?

Click the Academic Titles link for a list of academic titles to determine if the title you intend to use is an Executive Management, Management or another administrative title. There are three categories of administrative titles: 1) executive management, 2) management, and 3) other administrative titles. Many “Director” titles do not fall into the category of Executive Management or Management titles. If this is the case, answer No to this question. 

Does this position have a paid rank position?

If you answer No to the above question, it then asks you if it is a paid rank/position. In most cases the answer is yes. If you answer No you are limited to only those titles that are neither executive management nor management. Click the Academic Positions link to get a list of ranks/positions. 

Is this an open rank position?

Open rank positions are those where the applicant will be hired as an instructor, assistant, associate, or full professor based on qualifications. Select yes if this is the case. 

Is this a pool posting hire?

If you have more than one identical position to fill, select yes in response to this question. The system then asks how many positions are needed. You may select up to 10 position and only one form is needed. This information drives functionality in the Applicant Tracking System. See the Staffing Coordinator Guide for additional information. 

Saving the Form

Save a draft at any time by clicking the Save Draft button. Note that as soon as the form opens, the position number being used is put on hold to ensure it is not used by another process. If you close the form without saving or submitting, the position number is still held for 24 hours. We recommend you save a draft of the form rather than simply closing the window. 

Filling Out the Form

You move through the steps in the process using buttons at the top of the screen.

  • Click the Next button to validate the information on the screen and advance to the next step. If you receive a red system message, the error on the page must be corrected before moving onto the next step. Because options presented are based on information previously entered, you are less likely to encounter errors.
  • Click the Previous button to go back to the previous screen.
  • If you receive a yellow or green system message, click Continue to acknowledge the message and advance to the next step. 

You can also go directly to the final summary step and enter all the information on one screen. However, this bypasses the validations that occur when clicking the Next button. All validation occurs after you click the Check button and you receive all error messages in one long list. 

Here are some additional tips for completing the form:

  • Required fields are indicated with an asterisk.
  • Press Enter after typing information into a field to have the system validate the information entered.
  • Use the Tab key on the keyboard to move from field to field. When you tab into a date field and type, the system automatically formats the field for you.
  • Where you see a search button, you can press the F4 key to open the search window, rather than clicking on the button. 

Organizational Assignment

Responses to previous questions are pre-populated here. Position requests route for approval to the organizational units on this screen and to organizational units associated with funds entered later under cost distribution.  For exception requests the position requests route for approval to Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs and to the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives before organizational unit approval.

If this is an open rank position, select the job with the highest rank. For example, if the position is to be posted as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, select the Professor job in this field. Also provide a comment in the Comments section listing all ranks the position will be posted at. 

To enter organizational assignment information

  1. Search for and select a Job.
  2. Search for and select any other departments that should approve the position, outside of funding.
  3. Enter any Other Ranks/Titles in the box provided. For example, if creating a position for a Chairperson who also holds the rank of Professor, indicate Professor in this box. 

Enterprise Structure

The Enterprise Structure describes the position. To define the appropriate enterprise structure the following questions will be asked:

  • Is this a union position?
  • The employee basis will be?
  • Work Contract
  • Assignment Type

Administrative Address

The Administrative Address is the most direct MSU mailing address for the employee; the address where mail is sent. When completing the hire or appointment form you will have the opportunity to enter an actual (physical) work location on the form. 

To enter an Administrative Address

  1. Specify the Location ID, either by entering the number or looking up and selecting the building by name.
  2. If necessary, press Enter to populate address information and see a range of valid room numbers.
  3. Enter the room number. Alpha characters are allowed.
  4. Enter the Telephone Number and extension, if applicable. The telephone number must be in the format 5173551234, with no dashes in between numbers.
     
    When entering the Location ID, it is not necessary to enter the preceding zeroes.

Cost Distribution

Position cost distribution information is provided in order to drive approvals for the position. Detailed funding information is provided when the employee is hired. 

An FTE Salary or FTE Salary Range should be provided. This represents the amount that would be paid to a full-time employee. The actual salary is entered when the employee is hired.  

To enter funding lines

  1. Search for and select a Fund. If you have created a Personal Value List, you may have to press F4 to override your personal values. If you type the account number, press Enter after typing it to default the other required accounting information.
  2. If necessary, search for and select other funding elements. If a WBS Element (sub- account) does not appear in a row after the account number is entered this means that there is more than one option for that account. If no sub-account is entered, WBS Element defaults to “NO_SUB-ACCOUNT.”
  3. Repeat the above steps for each additional funding line. To add more rows, click the Add Row button and repeat the above steps.

To remove a row, click the Remove Row button.

To view names of Funds, WBS Elements, etc., click the triangle button to the left of an individual line or click the Expand/Collapse All  button to view all names. 

Enter an FTE Salary or FTE Salary Range in the boxes provided. If the Minimum FTE Salary is pre-populated do not enter an amount less than this.

Posting Details

The Posting Details section contains information on whether this is an internal posting, and to whom (for example, tenure system employees within a particular college), and on posting beginning and ending dates. Interviewing and applicant management begin after a posting is closed. All postings have a Posting Begin Date. You also supply either a Posting End Date, or if the posting is to remain Opened until Filled, a date on which review of applications will begin. If the position is Open until Filled, the form auto-populates an end date of two years. Per HR practice, a position can be open for a maximum of two years. 

In some circumstances, central HR may change the closing date for a posting when creating the posting in the Applicant Tracking System. All postings must remain open at least two weeks, so if by the time the form is fully approved the original begin date has passed, HR adjusts the posting dates. Also, a posting cannot close on a date on which the university is not open (that is, on a Friday, Saturday or a holiday). Postings close at midnight. If the closing date falls on such a day, central HR changes the closing date to the next date on which the university is open. 

Position Description

The boxes provided indicate text to be included in the posting. Please enter the text exactly as you wish it to appear in the posting. 

To enter Position Description information

  1. Enter an employment percent for the position.
  2. Select an option for how salary information should appear in the Applicant Tracking System. Select the first option to have the FTE salary range entered earlier to appear in the posting. Select any other option to have that phrase appear.
  3. For Position Summary and Minimum Qualifications, enter the text exactly as you wish it to appear in the posting.
  4. For Degree Requirements, select the lowest acceptable degree. Some positions may have a minimum defined. Specify a subject area in the box provided if required.
  5. For Desired Degree and Desired Qualification, enter the text exactly as you wish it to appear in the posting. 
  6. A MSU Statement will be generated for all postings
  7. A  Department Statement will be optional text to accompany the posting

Applicant Instructions

If you wish to require Letters of Reference from ALL applicants in order to be considered for the position, change this option to Yes. If you select yes, additional prompts appear. Select the number of letters required, and indicate whether or not you wish to use the reference letter portal to collect the letters. The reference letter portal allows references to provide letters directly. See the Staffing Coordinator Guide for additional information. If you opt to not use the reference letter portal, Special Instructions to Applicant becomes a required field. Indicate here how letters of reference should be handled (for example, sent via email or hard copy to the unit).

The Special Instructions to Applicant field can be used to provide additional information to applicants. Please enter the text exactly as you wish it to appear in the posting. This field is required if the reference letter portal is not used and if Other is set to Required under Documentation. For example, the text below might appear in the Special Instructions to Applicant box to indicate documentation requested: 

Interested individuals should provide an electronic (PDF) document that includes a Curriculum Vitae, statement of research interests, contact information for five references, and copies of relevant publications. 

Documentation

The Documentation section applies only to posted positions and provides selections related to documentation to be requested of applicants. Select Required for a document only if that document is required of all applicants. The system will not accept an application if a PDF is not uploaded for each required document. 

Committee

Information regarding the search committee is required for posted positions. A minimum of two search committee members are required and one must be the Search Chair.  Search committee members do not have to be MSU employees, so a search mechanism is not provided. Affirmative Action Advocates and Staffing Coordinators must be MSU employees. 

To enter search committee information

  1. Enter the name, title and email address for search committee members. All fields are required.
  2. Indicate the search committee chair by selecting the checkbox in the Chair column. 

To add more rows, click the Add Row button and repeat the above steps.

To remove a row, click the Remove Row button. 

To enter Affirmative Action Advocate and Staffing Coordinator(s)

  1. Search for and select the affirmative action advocate in the row provided. Enter an alternative phone number to appear in the posting if desired.
  2. Search for and select the staffing coordinator(s) in the rows provided. Enter an alternative phone number to appear in the posting if desired. 

Indicate whether or not an outside search firm is handling the appointment. If so, provide the name of the search firm in the text box that appears. If applicable, check the box regarding exposure to health risks and complete and send the Exposure to Health Risks and Physical Demands form to the address listed on that form. 

The remaining fields are not editable, and act as reminders to process participants. 

Attachments and Comments

Based on the information provided, the form identifies required attachments and lists them at the top with a checkbox next to each item required. Attachments are required for posted positions and academic specialists only. Important Links at the bottom of the screen are links to policies and procedures that may apply, and to forms that can be attached and submitted. Review this information as needed. 

To enter comments and attach documents

  1. Upload the required attachments indicated.
  2. Enter any comments in the New Comments field. 

To upload an attachment

  1. Select an Attachment Type from the list provided.
  2. Click the Browse button.
  3. Locate and select the file, then click the Open button.
  4. Click the Upload button to upload the attachment to the form. Repeat this process for each additional attachment.

To delete an attachment

  1. Select the attachment by clicking the check box.
  2. Click the Delete Attachment button. 

Summary Form

A summary of all information is displayed for final review. 

To review the completed form

  1. Click the Check button to have the system perform a final check of the information. Correct any remaining errors.
  2. If desired, generate a PDF by clicking the Generate PDF button. The PDF version of the form opens in a new window, and can be saved or printed.

Submitting the Form

You are now ready to send the form for approval. Click the Send button to route the completed form for approval. A confirmation message displays a process reference number that can be used to track the form. 

The form routes for all unit approvals, then goes to central HR. Central HR reviews the form, then approves it to update the HR/Payroll system.

As the form routes for approvals, approvers are able to view the form via the Summary Screen or as a PDF by clicking the Generate PDF button. 

Attachments are an important part of the hiring process. To ensure that all appropriate attachments are available to all approvers, approvers cannot add or remove attachments. If attachments must be changed, the approver should reject the form back to the initiato