Qualifications and Equivalencies for Staff Roles

Navigate to the specific guidance you need:

Minimum Qualifications
Education/Experience Equivalencies
Certifications, Licenses and Registrations
Preferred Qualifications
Frequently Asked Questions and Additional Assistance

Minimum Qualifications

Kansas State University sets minimum qualifications for staff job titles based on education and/or experience required to ensure candidates are qualified to perform the duties of the job. Minimum qualifications are established using comparisons to similar positions across higher education and relevant industries as well as through consultation with subject matter experts at K-State. Minimum qualifications for staff positions must align with the established job profile within the university’s staff job architecture and are verified during the position description review process.

While not required, in addition to the minimum qualifications, hiring managers may choose to indicate one to four specific areas of experience required for the role. These areas of experience should be carefully considered and must be essential to performing the core duties of the job. Avoid the following:

Soft skills that are difficult to ascertain through a review of the application materials.
Jargon specific to K-State or overly specific. For instance, use “learning management system” instead of Canvas.
Vague or subjective language such as extensive experience, proven track record or demonstrated success.
Experience that implies bias toward certain career paths.
Experience that overlaps with preferred qualifications.
Experience not directly related to the essential functions of the role.

Lead Degree Analyst

Minimum qualifications designated in university job architecture: Requires a high school diploma (or equivalent) and eight years of relevant experience. Requirements may be met through a combination of work experience and education.

Appropriate additional experience added: Requires a high school diploma (or equivalent) and eight years of relevant experience in academic records management, degree audit processing or academic student services. Requirements may be met through a combination of work experience and education.

Inappropriate additional experience added: Requires a high school diploma (or equivalent) and eight years of experience in technology troubleshooting and project management, including the ability to communicate well with others. Requirements may be met through a combination of work experience and education.

Word of Caution: Additions to the minimum qualifications should be carefully considered to reflect the actual requirements of the role without unintentionally limiting the candidate pool. Overly rigid criteria can exclude candidates who have gained equivalent skills and competencies through alternative paths. This may result in missing out on highly capable individuals who bring valuable experience and perspectives to the role.

Hiring managers may elect not to include more specific areas of experience and instead use the minimum qualifications established in the job profile. This allows for a broad range of experience and candidates to be considered for the role.

Once minimum qualifications are advertised, they cannot be changed without restarting the search.

For positions that require a degree, avoid specifying a particular field of study unless it is truly essential to perform the core duties. Narrow degree requirements can unnecessarily restrict your applicant pool and overlook candidates whose backgrounds make them strong contenders. If a hiring manager believes a specific degree is necessary, justification must be provided in the notes section of the position description.

You are hiring for a finance director, and the role requires a bachelor’s degree. An applicant applies and their materials indicate they have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and 18 years of experience at a bank, where they are currently the vice president. If you had required an accounting degree for the role of finance director, this candidate would have had to be excluded from consideration for not meeting the minimum qualifications. With no specific degree specification, this candidate and those similar can be considered for the role.

Education/Experience Equivalencies

When specified in the job profile within the staff job architecture, the university allows for an equivalency to be applied between formal education and relevant experience to meet minimum job qualifications. This provides flexibility in hiring and can help attract a broader range of qualified candidates.

This approach supports effective recruitment by acknowledging that competencies essential to job performance in specified roles can be developed through multiple pathways. It also allows hiring managers to consider candidates whose practical experience may be comparable to, or exceed, those gained through traditional academic programs.

When can an equivalency be applied?

If the job profile includes the equivalency statement “Requirements may be met through a combination of work experience and education,” an education/experience equivalency may be utilized.
If the job profile does NOT include the equivalency statement, the minimum requirements must be met as stated without substitution.
When a job requires a degree, additional education beyond the minimum degree requirement may count toward required experience if deemed relevant by the hiring manager.
Licensure or certification specified in the minimum qualifications must be met as stated with no substitution.

How is an equivalency applied?

K-State uses a 1:1 ratio when evaluating minimum education/experience requirements, meaning one year of formal education beyond high school is considered equivalent to one year of relevant work experience, and vice versa. The following table outlines the equivalency relationship between education and experience.

Application of Equivalencies
Formal Education	Experience Equivalency
High school diploma (or equivalent)	0 years
Undergraduate credit hours (no degree)	1 year for every 30 hours
Graduate credit hours (no degree)	1 year for every 18 hours
Associate degree	2 years
Bachelor’s degree	4 years
Master’s degree	6 years
Professional degree*	7 years
Doctoral degree	9 years

*A professional degree is an advanced credential that prepares individuals for specific careers or licensed professions, typically requiring practical training and specialized coursework. Professional degrees—such as those in law, medicine or architecture—are designed to meet the standards of a particular industry or regulatory body.

An industry-recognized certification may be considered as an equivalency for required years of experience. However, only the typical time it takes to earn the certification will be credited toward the experience requirement. This duration must be documented and consistently applied.

Examples

If a job requires a high school diploma (or equivalent) plus seven years of relevant experience, an applicant with an associate degree would require a total of five additional years of relevant experience (associate degree + five years of experience = seven years of experience).
If a job requires a high school diploma (or equivalent) plus three years of relevant experience, an applicant with 90 hours of undergraduate education would be qualified (90 hours / 30 hours = three years of experience), assuming the undergraduate education was considered relevant as determined by the hiring manager. An applicant with an associate’s degree and one year of relevant experience would also be considered qualified.
If a job requires a bachelor’s degree and six years of relevant experience, experience cannot be substituted for the degree requirement. However, advanced education may substitute for part of the experience, if relevant. For example, a master’s degree could count as two years toward the experience requirement, provided the degree is considered relevant to the job.
If a position requires two years of coding experience, and a candidate holds a coding certification that typically takes six months to complete, the certification may count for 0.5 years of experience. The candidate would still need to demonstrate 1.5 additional years of relevant coding experience to meet the minimum requirement.

Certifications, Licenses and Registrations

If a particular certification, license or registration is required to perform the role as determined by a review of similar roles in the market, those credentials are included in the job’s minimum qualifications within the job architecture. The position description and job advertising must be clear about whether these credentials are required at the time of hire, required within a certain timeframe following hire, or preferred.

Search committees and hiring managers should be careful not to screen out qualified candidates for not holding a preferred license, registration or certification. Even for required credentials, if an applicant appears to be otherwise qualified but didn’t mention the credential, it may be worth verifying whether the applicant truly does not have the credential before screening them out of the pool.

Examples

For a role with driving responsibilities, such as an admissions officer or recruiter, a driver’s license would be required upon hire and must be listed in the minimum qualifications.
A veterinary nurse role requires licensure as a Kansas veterinary technician, but the requirement may be met within the employee’s first six months in the role. The requirement should be listed in the minimum qualifications with a notation that the licensure must be obtained within six months of hire.
For an accounting role, a CPA may be preferred, but at K-State it is not a requirement, so it should be listed as preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

Preferred qualifications are utilized to further describe the knowledge, skills and abilities an ideal candidate should possess to excel in performing the job duties. Preferred qualifications are established by the hiring manager and should follow these guidelines:

Align with core job duties – Ensure each preferred qualification connects directly to one or more key responsibilities. Ask yourself: would this qualification enhance performance in a specific aspect of the role?
Be specific and measurable – Use clear, concrete language that can be evaluated through resumes, cover letters or interviews. Avoid vague terms like “strong leadership” unless you define what that looks like in context. Example: Instead of “strong communication skills,” use “demonstrated ability to communicate complex information to audiences of varying levels, as evidenced by presentations, publications or stakeholder engagement.”
Focus on value-add – Preferred qualifications should be used as a framework to identify candidates who bring additional skills and experience beyond the minimum requirements that are valuable to the job.
Ensure accessibility – Ask yourself: can this be reasonably judged from applications materials or explored in an interview? Avoid qualifications that require insider knowledge or are too subjective.
Are inclusive – Avoid overly specific preferences that may unintentionally narrow your pool of candidates. Consider alternative ways candidates may demonstrate the same competencies (e.g., community leadership, volunteer experience).
Can be explored during interviews - Use preferred qualifications to frame behavioral questions in interviews, e.g., “Tell me about a time you led a process improvement initiative.”

Preferred qualifications may be used to screen applicants and frame behavior-based interview questions to help identify top candidates.

Minimum qualifications screening guide (pdf)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I manage a larger applicant pool if we are allowing an education/experience equivalency?

Allowing education/experience equivalency can increase the number of qualified applicants in the search pool, so it’s important to use a structured and efficient screening process. Use a consistent method for evaluating how each candidate meets the minimum qualifications, whether through education, experience or a combination. Prioritize applicants who most closely align with the job duties and preferred qualifications and consider using pre-screening questions to help narrow the pool before interviews. If a candidate pool gets too large, your talent acquisition strategic partner can help you focus on the top candidates.

As a higher education institution, shouldn't we prefer job seekers who have a higher degree of education?

While advanced education is valuable, Kansas Senate Bill 166 requires public institutions to remove unnecessary degree requirements unless a degree is essential for performing the job. This means hiring decisions should be based on whether a candidate meets the baseline qualifications, which may include education, experience, certifications or training, rather than automatically favoring postsecondary degrees. As a university, we still value academic achievement, but we also recognize that relevant experience can provide comparable skills and competencies. This approach ensures fair access to employment and aligns with state law while maintaining high standards for job performance.

What does relevant work experience mean?

Relevant work experience demonstrates skills or knowledge comparable to those required for the position. Relevancy is determined during the applicant review process and should be guided by the position supervisor and/or hiring manager. Relevant experience may include directly relatable experience, such as serving in the very same role in a previous job, or may include transferrable skills where the candidate has performed different work but using the same or similar skills.

Examples:

Directly relatable experience – An applicant for an accountant II role has performed the same work as an accountant in a previous role.
Transferable skills – An applicant for an accountant II role was previously the assistant manager of a retail location. The retail job may have included skills such as monitoring budgets, managing cash receipts, supporting financial reconciliation, reporting and tracking data, use of spreadsheets and software and more. Look for these skills detailed in the application materials and consider whether they may be applicable skills for the open role.

Hiring managers can indicate one to four specific areas of experience directly related to the core functions of the job as part of the minimum qualifications for the role. The specific areas of experience must be listed on the position description and in the job advertising in order to be used as minimal screening criteria.

How do I determine if a candidate’s experience or education are equivalent, and what types of experience are acceptable?

To assess equivalency, evaluate whether the candidate's experience or education provides the same level of knowledge, skills and competencies required for the role. The experience should be relevant to the job duties and demonstrate comparable complexity, responsibility and skill as the formal education or experience being substituted. Acceptable types of experience may include internships, military service and volunteer roles, provided they align with the core functions of the position.

Review the candidate's resume, cover letter and application materials for evidence of how their background supports the role. Interview questions should be designed to further explore the depth and applicability of their experience. The hiring manager can guide the search committee on what constitutes relevant or transferable skills for the position.

Additional assistance

Questions about minimum and preferred qualifications and education/experience equivalencies can be directed to your department’s HR liaison, the HR compensation team or your HR talent partner.