Additional Information about Faculty Searches
Who Pays for What:
- Recruiting expenses - Travel costs: The Dean's Office will reimburse departments for the travel costs involved in bringing candidates to campus up to a maximum of $600. Departments should be fiscally conservative in these costs! The Associate Dean must approve in advance any travel costs exceeding $500. Travel by air should be in coach, not first class. If substantial savings can be obtained by booking the airplane trip with a Saturday night stay, and if the department and the candidate are agreeable to this arrangement, this should be done.
- Recruiting expenses - Food, lodging, etc., costs: It is up to the department to pay for the normal costs of food, lodging and other reasonable expenses for the candidate's visit to campus. As noted above, the Dean's Office will reimburse certain additional costs that are incurred to save on airfare.
- Recruiting expenses - Advertising costs: The department is responsible for paying the costs of placing advertisements for the position. The department is not charged for the posting in insideCMU.
- Moving expenses: Moving expenses, like the salary offer, are a negotiable issue. It should be noted that the college does not have a budget for moving expenses for faculty members. Thus, any moving expense allowance will need to be covered by the department. Moving expenses can be significant, and it is recommended that departments not extend moving expenses to every candidate.
- Computer, equipment, etc.: The department is responsible for providing whatever equipment and facilities are promised to the candidate. This should be done either through reallocation of departmental resources or through the normal S & E budget. As in the past, the Dean's Office will recognize the fact that new faculty have been hired when allocations of college resources are made, but there is no explicit commitment to provide additional resources when new faculty are hired.
Determination of Initial Salary Offer:
Initial salary offers are based upon five criteria: the contractual minimum salary for the candidate's rank as listed in the current FA -- University Agreement; the candidate's degree level; previous relevant experience of the candidate (previous teaching and research positions as well as other types of relevant experience); market factors (What are the salaries being offered to comparable candidates at universities similar to CMU); and equity issues within the department. The department can assist in the preparation of the salary offer by providing information to the Dean's Office concerning salaries being offered by other educational institutions as well as private industry and governmental service. Departments might obtain this information through professional publications/newsletters or through informal contacts.
Based upon the above criteria, the Dean's Office will prepare an initial estimate of the starting salary range to be offered to candidates. This is shared with Faculty Personnel Services, which does its own calculation of the starting salary range. The Dean's Office and Faculty Personnel then consult and agree upon an initial salary offer to be made to the candidate. If the candidate rejects the initial offer, the department may raise the offer up to the maximum of the agreed-upon salary range. If the candidate wishes more than this amount, the department should contact the Associate Dean to obtain permission to exceed this amount. It is necessary to provide a rationale for why this higher salary is being requested.
Informing Candidates of Their Status in the Search:
Candidates often contact the chair of the department or the chair of the search committee to determine the status of their application. It is acceptable and desirable that candidates be kept informed with regard to whether all the required material has been received by the search committee. Until the position has been filled, candidates should not be told that they are no longer being considered. The one exception to this is for candidates who do not meet the minimum qualifications. If they inquire about their application, they can be told that their application is no longer being considered. After a candidate accepts the position, all other candidates should be notified that the position has been filled.
