NUMBER: HR 1.24
SECTION: Human Resources
SUBJECT: Appointment, Transfer, Promotion
of Classified Employees
DATE: August 1988
REVISED: July 1, 1995
Policy for: All Campuses
Procedure for: All Campuses
Authorized by: Jane M. Jameson
Issued by: Division of Human Resources
________________________________________________________________
I. Policy
A. This document sets forth the uniform system for filling
vacant classified positions within the University of South
Carolina, pursuant to regulations of the South Carolina Office of
Human Resources.
B. The appointment, transfer and promotion policy of the
University of South Carolina is designed to assure that
1. all qualified applicants receive full and fair
consideration for employment without regard to race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, age, disability or veteran
status;
2. all current employees are provided an equal
opportunity to explore and seek other positions for career
advancement;
3. qualified applicants are recruited and referred to
departments with listed vacancies;
4. vacancies are filled with those persons who are
best suited to perform the duties and responsibilities of the
positions;
5. vacancies comply with the provisions of the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
C. Responsibility for Administration
1. The Division of Human Resources is responsible for
developing and administering the policy on appointment, transfer
and promotion.
2. On the Columbia campus, the Employment Office is
responsible for recruitment, advertising, testing as applicable,
and initial screening of applicants for employment.
3. On the regional and four year campuses, the campus
Human Resources Officer is responsible for recruitment,
advertising, testing as applicable and initial screening of
applicants for employment.
4. On all campuses, the administrative head of each
department has the authority, responsibility and accountability
for the selection of employees.
5. Selection decisions are subject to review by the
Executive Assistant to the President for Equal Opportunity
Programs or Campus Affirmative Action Officer. In the case of a
complaint or a contract or grant pre-award review, selection
decisions may also be subject to review by the South Carolina
Human Affairs Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, the Department of Labor, the Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs, and the Office for Civil Rights.
D. All classified vacancies will be filled through open
recruitment conducted by the campus Human Resources Officer on
regional and four year campuses and the Employment Office on the
Columbia campus, except as noted in Section I. M. of this policy.
Note: See the Nepotism policy for regulations pertaining to the
employment of individuals related by blood or marriage.
E. No person will be appointed to, or separated from, a
position because of race, color, national origin, sex, age,
religion, disability, veteran status, political affiliations or
opinions.
F. Discrimination on the basis of age in employment is
prohibited except where specific age requirements are stated in
job class specifications of the South Carolina Office of Human
Resources.
G. Persons with disabilities will be given equal
consideration for appointments or transfers to positions for
which they are qualified.
H. Any person appointed to a classified position in the
University of South Carolina must meet minimum training and
experience requirements established in the specifications for the
class to which appointed, unless the employee is appointed in an
emergency or trainee status.
I. New appointments will be made at the minimum salary for
the grade unless the applicant's qualifications for the position
are exceptional. (See the policy on Pay Plan for Classified
Employees for information on hiring an employee above the entry
level salary.)
J. Each newly appointed employee must serve a probationary
period of one year. The probationary period is designed to
determine whether the employee is capable of doing the job for
which he or she was hired. If it is determined during the
probationary period that the employee may not be able to perform
the duties and responsibilities of the position, the supervisor
should contact the campus Human Resources Officer or the Division
of Human Resources at once.
K. Interviewing for Transfer or Promotion
An employee may be given reasonable time off from the
job for the purpose of being interviewed for another University
position if arrangements are made in advance with the supervisor.
If such arrangements are not made, the employee must use annual
leave.
L. Minimum Age Requirements
1. Persons under the age of 18 may be employed only
upon the approval of the campus Human Resources Officer on the
regional and four year campuses or the Employment Manager on the
Columbia campus.
2. South Carolina labor laws cover a variety of
prohibitions related to the minimum age of workers, depending
upon the nature of the work, the degree of hazard and the
requirements of special occupations. Questions about child labor
laws should be addressed to the Employment Manager on the
Columbia campus.
M. Exceptions to Open Recruitment
1. For both classified and unclassified employees,
exceptions to open recruitment may be made for administrative
appointments of persons who serve in positions of trust to the
University President (i.e. chief executive assistant, general
counsel, etc.) or for appointments which meet an affirmative
action goal.
2. Administrative appointments for affirmative action
reasons must be approved in advance by the Special Assistant to
the President for Equal Opportunity Programs and the Division of
Human Resources. (See also University policy EOP 1.00)
II. Procedure
A. Recruitment
1. The recruitment of non-academic employees is the
responsibility of the Division of Human Resources through the
Employment Office on the Columbia campus and through the Human
Resources Officers on the regional and four year campuses.
2. Recruitment for and appointment to classified
positions will be undertaken only for positions which have been
approved, budgeted and classified in accordance with the
Classification and Compensation policy. The process of obtaining
administrative approval to establish or fill positions is subject
to change depending upon budgetary or other considerations.
3. All classified position vacancies for which
recruitment is taking place, whether newly established or
vacated, must be listed with the Employment Office on the
Columbia campus or the campus Human Resources Officer on the
regional and four year campuses. Vacancies must be filled with
applicants referred by the Employment Office or the campus Human
Resources Officer.
4. Vacancies must be listed with the Employment
Office or campus Human Resources Officer even if it seems likely
that a vacancy will be filled by a promotion or transfer from
within the department. Due consideration must be given to all
qualified applicants referred by the Employment Office or campus
Human Resources Officer.
5. Recruitment Sources
In order to attract a broad range of qualified
applicants, the Employment Office and campus Human Resources
Officers use a variety of recruitment sources to publicize
employment opportunities at the University. These sources may
include but are not limited to:
a. Dial-a-Job - Dial-a-Job announces job
vacancies through a telephone voice response system which states
minimum qualifications, pay grade, minimum salary, location of
the position, and interviewing hours of the Employment Office.
For the convenience of the applicants Dial-a-Job also lists
positions that have been recently filled. Dial-a-Job is
available for use by all campuses of the University of South
Carolina. Dial-a-Job operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day
and is updated each Friday afternoon. The telephone number is
(803) 777-JOBS (777-5627).
b. bulletin boards located in the Division of
Human Resources, the Employment Office and at other locations on
the regional and four year campuses;
c. listings with local Job Service offices;
d. listings with the Recruitment Unit of the
South Carolina Office of Human Resources;
e. classified advertisements in newspapers,
professional journals and specialty publications;
f. contacts with colleges, universities,
professional schools, placement agencies and community
organizations;
g. contacts with institutions and departments
having high enrollments of women, minorities, persons with
disabilities, and/or veterans.
B. Advertising Positions
1. All classified position vacancies on the Columbia
campus must be advertised on Dial-a-Job. Departments must submit
a Personnel Requisition (Form PBP-9) to the Division of Human
Resources, Office of Salary Administration, by noon Thursday of
the week the vacancy is to be advertised on Friday. Note: The
Office of Salary Administration verifies that the position has
been established and/or vacated and that the required approvals
to advertise, if any, have been obtained. The training and
experience required by the department is also reviewed for
consistency with the duties and the classification level of the
job.
2. In addition to advertising on Dial-a-Job,
departments may advertise in journals, newspapers and specialty
publications with the advance approval of the Employment Manager.
3. Positions must be advertised initially for at
least one work week.
4. All advertisements must carry the statement that
the University of South Carolina is an Affirmative Action/Equal
Opportunity Employer.
5. If training and/or experience requirements change
after the position has been advertised, the position must be
advertised again with the new requirements.
C. Receipt of Applications
1. A person who wishes to apply for employment with
the University should review the current job vacancies to
determine whether there is a vacancy which meets his or her
qualifications and interests. The Employment Office staff or
campus Human Resources Officer will assist the potential
applicant by answering questions, discussing position information
and describing the employment procedures.
2. In order to be considered for employment, an
external applicant must complete an official University
Application for Non-Academic Employment. Internal applicants
complete a Request for Transfer form. Applications must be made
for a currently posted job. Applications must be received by the
posted cut-off date in order to be part of the applicant pool.
3. Applications for employment, resumes, oral or
written inquiries or placement credentials which are received
directly by departments are not valid applications for
employment. Such information will not be retained or committed
as a pool of applicants for future vacancies which may occur.
D. Screening of Applications
1. Screening of applications is conducted by the
campus Human Resources Officer or Employment Office staff on the
Columbia campus.
2. The screening process is conducted within the
established training and experience requirements for performing
the job in order to determine which applicants possess the
qualifications that meet or exceed the specified advertised
requirements.
3. Applicants who do not meet the advertised
requirements will not be referred to the department for
consideration.
4. A police record check, background investigation,
pre-employment physical, alcohol and/or drug test may be required
of applicants for certain positions.
D. Referral
1. Following the screening of each applicant's
qualifications, the Employment Office staff or campus Human
Resources Officer will refer to the hiring department those
applicants determined qualified to perform the job based on the
information available.
2. Hiring officials should interview only those
applicants referred by the Employment Office staff or campus
Human Resources Officer.
E. The Departmental Interview
1. The interview serves the following purposes:
a. it provides the interviewer an opportunity to
give applicants detailed information about the specific duties
and responsibilities of the position;
b. it provides applicants the opportunity to
describe their qualifications in relation to the position duties
and responsibilities.
2. Information solicited during an interview or
information solicited outside of the interview about an applicant
must be relevant to the duties and responsibilities of the
position without reference to race, color, national origin, sex,
age, disability, marital or family status, credit standing or
appearance unless any such consideration is unquestionably
job-related and non-discriminatory in effect.
3. The hiring official must interview a reasonable
number of applicants referred by the campus Human Resources
Officer or Employment Office staff. Those interviewed should be
the most qualified of the applicants referred.
4. When the hiring official has determined the final
candidates for the position, the hiring official should attempt
to verify each candidate's education, past work and training
experience. The Employment Office staff or campus Human
Resources Officer will assist in the verification of credentials
if requested to do so by the hiring official.
F. Selection
1. The person to whom the position is offered must be
selected only from those applicants referred by the campus Human
Resources Officer or Employment Office staff.
2. Final selection must be made on the basis of the
position requirements and the qualifications of the applicants to
perform the duties of the position.
3. No applicant should be selected solely on the
basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability,
marital or family status, appearance, veteran status or age.
However, when selecting from among similarly qualified applicants
for a position in a department or job category in which women or
minorities are underutilized, the University's affirmative action
goals should be considered as one factor in the selection
process.
4. The department should inform the campus Human
Resources Officer or the Employment Office staff when a job offer
has been made and when the vacancy has been filled. Notice that
the position has been filled will be posted on the "Jobs Filled"
portion of Dial-a-Job.
G. Post-Selection Procedures
1. If hiring an outside applicant, the hiring
department must submit to the Employment Office staff or campus
Human Resources Officer an Authorization for State Slotted Hire
(Form PBP-1) as soon as the employment offer has been accepted.
The form must be accompanied by a completed Applicant Interview
Report (Form PBP-14), and the employee's application. The
information on the back of the application labeled "For Hiring
Department Only" must be completed.
2. The Applicant Interview Report for the other
applicants must be returned at the same time the new employee's
forms are sent forward. The Applicant Interview Reports of the
unsuccessful applicants who were interviewed must document the
reasons they were not selected for the position. Reasons must be
valid, specific, and objective and must be based upon the
position requirements and qualifications of the applicant.
3. For an internal applicant transferring or
promoting into a position, the Request for Transfer (Form P-15)
submitted by the applicant must accompany a completed Applicant
Interview Report (Form PBP-14). For all applicants interviewed,
the applications and Applicant Interview Reports must be
returned. Only the front of the Applicant Interview Reports must
be completed for unsuccessful applicants.
4. The Employment Office will post a notice on the
Dial-a-Job of all positions filled.
To obtain an official copy of this policy please contact the USC
Division of Human Resources.
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Jane M. Jameson
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