Manager's Guide to Appointment and Recruitment Processes for Faculty/Non-Faculty Academic

Overview

This content offers information for managers on the recruitment and appointment process for faculty and non-faculty academics.

Recruitment process

Overview

UCSF is an equal opportunity employer. Open recruitment ensures that a diverse pool of qualified internal and external applicants are considered for vacant faculty and non-faculty academic positions. If you are unsure which positions fall within the faculty and non-faculty academic titles contact your assigned Academic Personnel Analyst (APA).

The Office of the Vice Provost, Academic Affairs (VPAA) facilitates the recruitment, development, mentoring, and retention of the highest-caliber diverse faculty.

Visit the UCSF Office of Faculty and Academic Affairs (OFAA) website to access information on the Academic Recruitment Process. Contact your academic recruitment specialist for information pertaining to recruitment/search policy and process, timeline, search waivers and how to use the AP Recruit system.

Once the final candidate is approved, collaborate internally in your department on the terms of the offer, consulting with the School as needed. Offer Letters for paid faculty and NFA populations will be generated and routed for approval using the Offer Letter Generator Application (OLGA). Once the offer letter is accepted, information about the hire will be mass-uploaded into Oracle. 

Tips

  • Contact your academic generalist for information pertaining to:
    • Series, rank, and step
    • Terms of employment
    • Drafting the offer letter in OLGA
    • Timeline for appointment begin date
  • Do not issue offer letters until the search process report (SPR) has been approved by the VPAA and the draft offer letter has been approved by your APA.
  • Clinical appointees may not begin clinical care until they have been approved through the credentialing process.
  • Additional review/approval may be required if the candidate is internal, currently covered by a bargaining unit, and applying for a non-faculty academic or faculty position.
  • Contact the Controller's Office for information regarding:
    • Travel reimbursements
    • Moving expense reimbursements

 

Appointment process

This content pertains to all faculty and non-faculty academics except for volunteer clinical professors (VCP) and visiting scholars (APM 430).

An approved appointment is required for your academic employment at UCSF. Your academic appointment is processed through the UCSF’s Advance system and is routed through approval authorities prior to implementation.

Timelines, required documentation, and steps may vary depending on the type of appointment.

Recruitment employee steps

Step 1 Get approval for search process or waiver

If required, ensure the Search Process Report or a Search Waiver has been approved.

  • Note for School of Medicine (SOM): If your recruitment impacts the basic science funds flow and/or if dean’s office resources are required, you will need to complete the Faculty Recruitment Planning Organizer (FRPO) process prior to your recruitment being approved.

Refer to the Turnaround Timing Considerations document for appropriate processing times.

Step 2 Draft offer letter and new hire request

For paid Faculty and Non-Faculty Academic (NFA) appointments, the offer letter should be generated and routed for approval using OLGA. Collaborate with APA on the drafting of the offer letter, if necessary.

Once the offer letter has been accepted, the applicable hire information will be mass-uploaded into Oracle. The academic appointment packet will continue to be completed in Advance, and the onboarding process will be completed in Oracle.

For salaried faculty appointments, including those paid by an affiliate, follow applicable requirements regarding the Important Points for Discussion document and ensure that all required documentation is completed and included as part of the appointment process.

For Chair and/or Organized Research Unit (ORU) Director appointments, consult with the Dean's Office for additional guidance regarding the offer package and any additional required documentation or approvals.

Step 3Manage appointment committee

As needed, manage your appointment/promotion committee (e.g., scheduling, admin support) and ensure that the committee reviews materials per department practice.

Step 4 Draft Chair Letter

When requested from your APA, draft the chair letter:

  1. If the core appointment is in an ORU, the ORU will draft the chair letter.
  2. The chair reviews, finalizes, and certifies the chair letter via the Advance system:
    • For chair appointments, the dean’s office is responsible for completion of the chair letter in Advance.
  3. Provide additional information/documentation, if needed.

Additional information

  • Ensure the candidate has or is eligible for necessary licenses/credentials and initiate/manage credentialing and licensing processes with the candidate and Medical Staff Office.
  • Emeritus and recall faculty cannot vote via Advance, but may participate in review per departmental practice.
  • Once the vote is called, reviewers lose access to the chair letter, so ensure all necessary review is complete prior to the call of the vote.
  • Refer to Academic Affairs:

Timeline

Complete the required offer letter, appointment, and onboarding steps according to the applicable process and the Turnaround Timeline Guidelines external site (opens in a new window)For paid Faculty and Non-Faculty Academic (NFA) appointments, offer letters are generated and routed for approval through OLGA. Once the offer letter has been accepted, hire information is mass-uploaded into Oracle, while the academic appointment packet is completed in Advance and onboarding is completed in Oracle.

For department/supervisor

Academic Recall

Recall appointments serve the essential academic needs and interests of the University by allowing campuses to employ retired academic appointees on renewable term appointments. If you are a former UC employee (in an Academic title) who is receiving a monthly retirement benefit or received a lump sum cash out from the University of California Retirement Program (UCRP), you may be eligible to be rehired on a part-time basis (no greater than 43-percent appointment) into a recall appointment. In this recall title, you may be hired for teaching, research, or administrative service in an academic title, which may be paid or unpaid.

Department steps – Recall

Step 1Determination and terms

Determine if a recall appointment is appropriate.

Negotiate terms of the appointment with the retired employee.

If the proposed recall appointment is for faculty, determine if the appointment is in or out of the compensation plan — confer with Academic Personnel as needed.

Step 2Submit hire transaction

Submit the Recall faculty hire in Oracle using the appropriate Hire transaction. Enter the required position, assignment and salary information and attach any required supporting documentation.

Select the appropriate Recall appointment information when completing the transaction and submit the hire for processing.

Step 3 Offer letter and onboarding

  1. Collaborate with the APA on drafting the offer letter.
  2. Issue the approved offer letter to the recall appointee.
  3. Chair finalizes and certifies the chair letter via Advance.
  4. Work with recall hire to ensure onboarding process is completed.

 

Recall tips

  • For paid recall faculty, the salary rate must minimally be the salary scale for rank/step on pre-retirement APU. There is an NIH cap-funding exception available.
  • Campus administrators may only make pre-retirement recall agreements with academic appointees who are age 60 or older and who have five years of service credit.