HHD Hiring Guidleines

1. 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.   
   • All requested positions will be justified in terms of educational, research and outreach mission delivery. 
   • Requested positions will be categorized as either (1) having sufficient funding through sources available to the academic unit to cover position salary and fringe or (2) requiring additional strategic investment from the college.  For a position to fall in the first category, projections on the unit’s revenue (allocation plus other sources) and expense side will indicate that anticipated future departmental allocations are sufficient to fund the position.  For positions in the second category, additional rationale related to anticipated, but not yet realized, revenue increases or expense reductions will need to be provided. Strategic investment from the college may be time-delimited.
   • The college, not the academic unit, will cover start-up expenditures.   However, at the time of the request, the academic unit head must also categorize the position into anticipated start-up package expense tiers as follows:  Tier cut-points will be released to the academic units with budget-setting materials and may be adjusted from year to year.  When determining which tier a start-up will most likely fall into, estimates of the following expenditures should be considered:  standard space/office outfitting, research equipment, research supplies and operational non-personnel expense, research-related personnel (including graduate students), summer salary/fringe, and moving/professional expenses.  Do not include any facility renovation costs, the opportunity cost of course releases provided to the incoming faculty member, or any expenditures that will be covered by an endowed professorship or chair (when applicable).   The final anticipated tier categorization will be done in consultation with the dean. 
2. Once position requests are approved through the budget process, the Dean will still need to gain approval from the Provost.
3. After Provost approval, the Dean will notify the unit head the search may be initiated. 

*See Hiring Process Guidelines for TT Searches Managed by Academic Units for guidance on completing the TT hiring process. 

If partially, or fully funded by general funds, complete the Hiring Exception Request.  Unit Head/Center Director approval is required before a request is entered into the Hiring Exception Request system.

Note the following:

• In the section labeled “Exception Reason” outline the following:
  • Position criticality: safety, student success, compliance, return on investment, or other.
    • a statement describing the current non-tenure track faculty and adjunct tasking within the unit as well as why existing faculty cannot perform the work of the new faculty position.
  • Funding source and, if partially externally funded, outlook for continued funding.
  • A statement outlining the fallback strategy if an exception is not approved.
  • Statement certifying that the submitter has confirmed the approval of the appropriate department head or center director.
  • List all budgets and funding sources which will fund the position including all general funds IOs, SIMBA Grants or Research IOs, or OSP numbers for pending awards.

If funding is 100% from external sources (i.e. Grants) - See "100% Externally-Funded Full-Time Positions" information.

If partially or fully funded by general funds, complete the Hiring Exception Request.   Unit Head/Center Director approval is required before a request is entered into the Hiring Exception Request system.

Note the following:

• In the section labeled “Exception Reason” outline the following:
  • Position criticality: safety, student success, compliance, return on investment, or other.
  • Current funding source and, if partially externally funded, outlook for continued funding.
  • A statement outlining the fallback strategy if an exception is not approved.
  • A statement certifying that the submitter has confirmed the approval of the appropriate department head or center director.
  • List all budgets and funding sources which will fund the position including all general funds IOs, SIMBA Grants or Research IOs, or OSP numbers for pending awards.
• Job Posting and Summary Position Descriptions (SPD)

  • If posting as multi-level, SPDs are needed for each level being requested

     

If funding is 100% from external sources (i.e. Grants) - See "100% Externally-Funded Full-Time Positions" information.

If any of the position types above are being created to accommodate a spousal or partner hire for an approved faculty hire, note in the Exception Reason field: “Spousal or partner hire for approved position (DESCRIBE APPROVED POSITION).”

The hiring manager or individual requesting to fill a position must obtain Department Head, Center Director, or Unit Leader approval prior to initiating the Hiring Exception Request, or before creating the job requisition if fully-externally funded. Ideally, new positions will be identified during the annual budget-setting process. 

Submitted Hiring Exception Requests will route to the HR Strategic Partner, Financial Officer, Dean, Executive Vice President & Provost, and Senior Vice President for Finance & Business for review and approval.

Once all approvals are in place, the hiring manager or administrative designee can proceed in creating the job requisition in Workday.

Summer graduate assistantships do not require exceptions.

Postdoc positions do not require approval regardless of position funding source(s). Hiring Managers must obtain Department Head, Center Director, or Unit Leader approval and confirm with the Finance or Research Office that funding is available. 

See RA68 Postdoctoral Appointments for further guidance. 

credits per academic semester. Adjunct faculty who are teaching from a location outside of Pennsylvania may be classified as non-exempt and be eligible for certain benefits, depending on their specific work location. These costs will be incurred by the hiring department.

Teaching part-time academic employees 

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 Education and University 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: 

• Ph.D. or Master's degree in a related field; and  
• A record of scholarship in the field; or 
• Terminal Master's degree accepted for tenure-line appointments in the field at Penn State; and
• Must be engaged in scholarship in a field relevant to the course for which permission is sought.   

For teaching 800-level courses: 

• Ph.D. or Master's degree in a related field; and
• Relevant professional experience appropriate to the field. 

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 may be required. 

World Campus positions: 

Prior to extending an offer for a part-time World Campus adjunct faculty position, the C.V./resume must be forwarded for review to the Department Head and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Outreach Programs. Part time World Campus faculty who are teaching from a location outside of Pennsylvania may be classified as non-exempt and be eligible for certain benefits, depending on their specific work location. These costs will be incurred by the hiring department.

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. 

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. 

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 should be obtained prior to an offer being extended.