The Office of Affirmative Action administers the policies and procedures related to equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
D. Acting/Interim Positions
The principles of affirmative action, equal employment opportunity, and faculty/staff participation apply to acting/interim appointments. Acting/interim appointments provide individuals with unique opportunities to gain experience. Equal opportunity is lost when the acting/interim appointment is a try-out for the permanent position. In fact, when the position is filled on a permanent basis, it may be difficult to compete with an individual who has successfully performed the position responsibilities on an acting/interim basis. The following actions should occur prior to offering an acting/interim appointment.
- Contact appropriate administrators and Affirmative Action to obtain verbal or written approval to proceed to evaluate internal candidates for an acting/interim assignment.
- Prepare a position announcement, including duties and qualifications for the acting/interim assignment.
- Distribute the position announcement to all faculty/staff in channels reporting to the vacant position. Ask that nominations and/or statements of interest be submitted by a specific date to ensure consideration. Internal pools may be severely underrepresented in minorities and women. All qualified protected group members should be encouraged to apply.
- Evaluate the information provided by the candidates and faculty/staff in light of the qualifications for the position and affirmative action goals.
- Submit an Affirmative Action Appendix 11 form and a letter briefly justifying the selection through appropriate administrative channels to the Affirmative Action Office. State the anticipated time frame for filling the position on a permanent basis. Affirmative Action Office staff will prepare the employment contract and send it to the Provost/Vice President/ President, as appropriate, for signature. The contract will be forwarded to the hiring unit to convey to the candidate.