HHD Hiring Guideline

If an academic department  or school (heretofore referred to as “academic unit”) wants to search for a tenure track (TT) faculty member in the upcoming academic/fiscal year, the unit head will request approval for the search during the budget-setting process in the spring the prior academic/fiscal year.   

Once approved, the search process is initiated through Workday via the “Create Job Requisition” function.

Academic unit heads have access to more detailed guidelines related to tenure-line position hiring in the HHD Inclusive Hiring Resources SharePoint folder. 

All non-tenure track faculty positions are considered limited-term appointments and must adhere to the University Definition of Academic Ranks. 

Additional guidance related to non-tenure track roles, offer letters, and renewal procedures can be found in the HHD Non-Tenure Line Offer & Renewal Guideline—available to department heads.

Please review the following approval requirements based on the position's source of funding:

Positions Funded by General Funds

• The hiring manager or individual requesting to fill the position must obtain approval from the Department Head, Center Director, or Unit Leader before initiating the job requisition in Workday.
• Ideally, the unit head will seek Dean-level approval for the position during the spring budget-setting process for the upcoming academic/fiscal year.
• If the request is to backfill a vacated position, it may be submitted as soon as the vacancy is known and does not need to wait for the budget cycle.

Positions Fully Funded by Grants

• Unit Head or Center Director approval is required prior to creating a Workday requisition.
• All grant funds must be secured and available in university accounts at the time of posting.

Once funding is confirmed and unit approval occurs, the search process is initiated through Workday via the “Create Job Requisition” function. Workday approvals have replaced the previously utilized Hiring Exception Request (HER) system. 

Unit Approvals

Positions Funded by General Funds

• The hiring manager or individual requesting to fill the position must obtain approval from the Department Head, Center Director, or Unit Leader before initiating the job requisition in Workday.
• Ideally, the unit head will seek Dean-level approval for the position during the spring budget-setting process for the upcoming academic/fiscal year.
• If the request is to backfill a vacated position, it may be submitted as soon as the vacancy is known and does not need to wait for the budget cycle.
• Unit Head or Center Director approval is required prior to creating a Workday requisition.
• All grant funds must be secured and available in university accounts at the time of posting.

Positions Fully Funded by Grants

Justification 

Provide a clear explanation for why this position needs to be filled. Consider how the role impacts areas such as student success, compliance, safety, and financial ROI. You may also include any other benefits the position brings to the unit. These key points will help approvers understand the importance of filling the role. Justification will be entered into Workday upon submitting the requisition. 

Outline Staff Position Responsibilities

The purpose of Staff Position Responsibilities is to allow a staff employee’s direct supervisor to document the specific duties and effort of a position. The information provided in the Responsibilities correlates to a staff job profile and level, therefore, it is important that it accurately represents the way the position is currently/should be functioning.

Capture between three (3) and ten (10) primary duties of the position – You will enter these in the responsibility section of the requisition.

• For each duty, provide an estimated percentage of time allocated. E.G. 15% – Duty description.
• The percentage for each duty must be between 5% and 50%.
• The total of all duties must equal 100%.

Know Your Key Details

These details will be used to fill in fields on the "create job requisition" task in Workday:

• PM Sup Org
• Job Profile and level(s)/rank(s) you’d like to post the job for
• Number of vacancies
• Cost Center and Pay account
• Anticipated Salary Budget: Work with your HRC and FO to determine an amount appropriate for the job requisition

Background Check Needs: 

Use the Compliance Designation Tool to assist in understanding requirements

Draft a Job Posting: 

The Staff Job Posting Guideline outlines key principles for crafting attractive and compliant job postings. The job posting created will be entered into the job posting language and additional language fields during the requisition creation process. Please use this guide to help you create an effective ad.

Create Your Job Requisition in Workday

A job requisition in Workday is used to initiate recruitment events to fill new and existing jobs or positions. The steps to completing a job requisition vary depending on the type of job or position you need to fill. 

• Backfill Single Full-Time Position
• Backfill Multiple Full-Time Positions
• Create New Full-Time Position

Search Committees 

Search committees are NOT required for staff vacancies. Rather than defaulting to search committees for every staff hire, units can benefit from adopting hiring processes well aligned with the nature of the position and the extent and depth of engagement with different entities/actors the position will require.  Based on the hiring manager’s own assessment, and as-needed consultation with their supervisor, a search may proceed with or without a committee, and the size and composition of a committee, should one be formed, should be dictated by the nature of the job responsibilities.  If the decision is made to proceed without a committee, the hiring manager is still expected to incorporate alternate means of gathering input on candidates from others within the unit. 

Meet Our Talent Acquisition Specialist

Lindsey Torba, Talent Acquisition Specialist, partners and consults with hiring managers on all aspects of talent acquisition, including the management of recruiting transactions and processes, candidate sourcing, screening, and selection.

How Talent Acquisition Can Support You

• Source candidates for your position and invite them to apply
• Share your position through social media postings
• Screen your pool and provide a spreadsheet of top-qualified candidates before beginning the interview process
• Decline candidates who do not meet the qualifications
• Conduct initial phone interviews

Once your requisition is fully processed and posted to the Penn State Career site, contact Lindsey to schedule your recruitment kick-off meeting!

Email: lmk5015@psu.edu 

Phone: 814.865.9557

Postdoctoral positions at Penn State are temporary, full-time appointments intended for individuals who have recently earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent). These roles are classified as trainees and are designed to provide mentored research and/or scholarly training that supports the continued development of professional skills in preparation for academic or research-focused careers.

At Penn State, postdoctoral appointments are typically categorized as:

• Postdoctoral Fellows – individuals supported by external fellowships, or
• Postdoctoral Scholars – individuals whose funding is provided through faculty grants or departmental resources.

Hiring Managers must obtain Department Head, Center Director, or Unit Leader approval and confirm with the Finance or Research Office that funding is available before creating a job requisition in Workday. 

All postdoctoral appointments must comply with Policy RA68 Postdoctoral Appointments. 

The College of Health and Human Development follows the University’s “Postdoctoral Trainees Stipend Table” when determining appropriate salary levels. 

Once funding is confirmed and unit approval occurs, the search process is initiated through Workday via the “Create Job Requisition” function. Workday approvals have replaced the previously utilized Hiring Exception Request (HER) system. 

Part-time employees are classified as either part-time academic or part-time non-academic. For more information regarding part-time positions, please refer to policy HR103, Employment Conditions for Part-Time Employees.  Please note there are restrictions on remote work for part-time academic and non-academic employees in certain states and locations. Consult with HHD HR prior to extending any remote offers. 

Existing graduate students are not permitted to continue the same work they perform in their assistantship over the summer if they were funded on an assistantship during the academic year. Graduate students who are on a funded assistantship may perform work that is different from the work they were performing during the academic year as a part-time employee.  

Part-Time Academic Positions

Teaching part-time academic employees 

Teaching (adjunct) appointments are classified as exempt or non-exempt under FLSA (the Fair Labor Standards Act), as required by applicable legislation, and employees may teach a maximum of nine (9) credits per academic semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer) for each Affordable Care Act (ACA) standard measurement period (October through September). Employees that teach the maximum nine (9) credits per semester shall not have any other part-time appointments at Penn State. 

Undergraduate teaching positions typically require the following credentials:  

• Ph.D. or Master's degree in a related field; or
• Baccalaureate degree in related field plus 10 or more years of subject-matter experience; and
• Demonstrated ability to teach relevant subject matter. 

Note: all undergraduate teaching faculty with a baccalaureate degree as their highest degree must be approved by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Outreach and the  Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. If a candidate for instructor has a baccalaureate degree as their highest degree, please complete and submit this form to obtain approval to proceed with the hire before courses are assigned. 

Graduate teaching positions typically require the following credentials:  

For teaching 500-level courses: 

• A research or professional doctoral degree
• A record of scholarly achievement
• An active program of research/scholarly activity, appropriate to the field 

Documentation of teaching effectiveness (e.g., formal student evaluations, peer evaluations, self-reflections, etc.) from an initial year of teaching in the graduate program as applicable. For teaching 800-level courses: 

• A master’s degree or, in some cases, a doctoral degree (examples include AuD, DrPH, DHA, DBA, DPA, DHSc, and others at the program’s discretion),
• Recent or ongoing professional experience relevant to the professional degree program field, or ongoing research/scholarly activity in the professional degree program field, and
• Documentation of teaching effectiveness (e.g., formal student evaluations, peer evaluations, self-reflections, etc.) from an initial year of teaching in the graduate program, as applicable.

All individuals teaching at either level should have experience equivalent to teaching at the post-secondary level and evidence of above-average teaching ability. Additional approvals are required to teach at the graduate level, as outlined in GCAC 101 and the College-specific guidelines. 

Non-teaching part-time academic employees  

• Exempt non-teaching part-time academic employees may work up to 60% FTE.
• Non-exempt non-teaching part-time academic employees may work up to twenty-four (24) hours per week year-round and may also work forty (40) hours per week for sixteen (16) consecutive weeks per calendar year. 

Part-Time Non-Academic Positions

Employees in the part-time non-academic employee type may be categorized as either exempt or non-exempt. 

• Exempt part-time non-academic employees may work up to 60% FTE.
• Non-exempt part-time non-academic employees may work up to twenty-four (24) hours per week year-round and may also work forty (40) hours per week for sixteen (16) consecutive weeks per calendar year. 

Part-Time Position Approvals

• All positions must be approved by the Department Head, Center Director, or Unit Head. Hiring managers must verify all administrative and budgetary approvals for part-time positions prior to posting a part-time position.
• For grant-funded positions, funds must be available and in university accounts at the time of posting. For general fund positions, appropriate budget approval must be in place prior to posting. Managers must also verify that the correct Budget/IO (funding Source) is listed in Workday.
• Once approval and funding are verified, managers may proceed with posting. All part-time positions must comply with applicable University policies and state regulations, including if working remotely. Authorization to work remotely outside of Pennsylvania must be obtained by HHD Human Resources prior to an offer being extended.