2.1 General Policy
2.1.1 Recruitment Objectives. It is the objective of the College to hire the best qualified and most appropriate candidates in order to advance the College’s mission. Persons shall be selected for positions at the College on the basis of bona fide occupational qualifications. The determination of best qualified and most appropriate will be at the College’s sole discretion. Recruitment activities will be conducted for each vacancy to the extent that is practicable to assure a pool of well-qualified candidates. Staff positions (SS Grade level II-V) identified by management as having the potential to be filled internally, will be advertised on campus only, otherwise all vacancies will be posted on campus and announced locally. When appropriate, recruitment shall be advertised locally, national, regional, or international basis.
2.1.2 Vacancy Advertisements. It is deemed appropriate to develop internal guidelines for the advertisement of vacancies in various Employee groupings such as Faculty, Management and Professional and Technical and Staff.
2.1.3 Current Employees. Current Employees are not barred from applying for or being selected for positions that have been advertised and for which an adequate applicant pool has been developed.
2.1.4 HR Responsibility. The office of Human Resources is responsible for all recruiting activity and for approving (with Presidential approval) all employment commitments including salary, position classification, and any special conditions of employment. The Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for coordinating the hiring process among the affected College divisions. The search committee shall evaluate the fitness of applicants for employment and shall recommend the action to be taken on each applicant to the President.
2.1.5 Equity in Recruitment
Subject to the requirement that two candidates are ranked equal based on qualifications experience, and merit, a hiring preference shall be given to citizens of the Marshall Islands for all positions at the College. All Human Resources recruitment and all rules and regulations governing Human Resources at the College shall otherwise adhere to the Board of Regents “Equal Employment Opportunity” and “Non-discrimination” guidelines, which forbids human resources, admissions, educational programs, employment and campus life decisions that are made solely on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, and veteran status. The College shall comply with the non-discrimination guidelines as found in any treaty or law among the Governments of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau. Equal employment opportunities shall be extended to all applicants and Employees
2.1.6 Vacancy Advertising
All Human Resources recruitment requirements shall be announced through notice of position vacancies. In addition to advertising on the College website and in local and international publications, these notices shall also be published and distributed throughout the components of College. Positive efforts shall be taken to assure that vacancy announcements reach all segments of the population in order to assure equal employment opportunities to all citizens.
- Purpose. This policy applies to external candidates for employment in regular, full time positions including faculty, administrative and staff positions at the College of the Marshall Islands. (External candidates are defined as candidates for College positions who are not presently employed at the College.)
- It is important that the College’s academic and service missions are supported by qualified employees, in a safe and secure environment for all College constituents, including students, visitors and employees. It is also important that the College of the Marshall Islands take meaningful actions to protect its funds, property and other assets.
- This policy is intended to support the verification of credentials, degree equivalency, criminal history, and other information related to employment decisions that assist the College in meeting its commitments.
- Policy.
It is the policy of the College of the Marshall Islands that all external candidates for employment in regular faculty, staff and administrative positions have certain credentials, criminal and other background information verified as a condition of employment. Such information may include, but is not necessarily limited to, the following:
- County or State Criminal History Search,
- Auxiliary National Criminal Index Search,
- Global Terrorist Search,
- SSN Trace,
- Employment Verification with Supervisor Interviews,
- Reference Interviews,
- Education Verification, and
- Determination of Degree Equivalency in the case of an external candidate for a position which requires a degree.
- Definitions
- “Criminal History Search” means verifying that the selected candidate does not have any undisclosed criminal history in every jurisdiction where the candidate currently resides or has resided or has been employed.
- “Auxiliary National Criminal Index Search” means a search for to determine whether the external candidate has a felony, misdemeanor, sex offender and traffic case pending.
- “Global Terrorist Search” means a search for specially designated nationals, terrorists, narcotics traffickers, blocked persons and parties subject to various economic sanctioned programs who are forbidden from conducting business in the United States, as well as entities subject to license requirements because of their proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Global Terrorist Search is also used in the financial services industry to look for potential money launderers.
- “SSN Trace” means verification that the Social Security Number (SSN) given by the external candidate is valid.
- “Employment verification” means ensuring that the selected candidate actually worked in the positions listed on the application, resume, or cover letter or otherwise cited by the candidate that qualify the individual for the position sought. This verification should include dates of employment and verification of last position held.
- “Reference Interviews” means an interview with the professional references listed by the external candidate regarding the candidate’s skills, aptitudes, behaviors and experience.
- “Educational verification” means:
- ensuring that the selected candidate possesses all education credentials beyond high school listed on the application, resume or cover letter or otherwise cited by the candidate that qualify the individual for the position sought, and
- for non-US institutions, confirmation of accreditation of the institution where the external candidate received his/her degree(s) and US equivalency of such degree(s).
- Human Resources Responsibilities.
The Human Resources Department shall be responsible for submitting background check requests to a third party vendor for any initial hire.
- All offers of employment, oral or written, prepared by the Human Resources Department shall include the following statement: “This offer is contingent upon the College’s verification of credentials and other information required by RMI law and College policies.”
- The background check(s) shall be completed by the Human Resources Department within one week and prior to making a contingent offer of employment to any individual.
- If the background check indicates there are no discrepancies, the third party vendor shall inform Human Resources who in turn shall inform the hiring department that the candidate is viable for employment.
- If the background check indicates there are discrepancies, Human Resources and the Search Committee Chair shall review the report and shall evaluate each discrepancy, including any additional information that the individual provides, before the offer of employment is confirmed or withdrawn. The existence of a discrepancy does not automatically disqualify an individual from employment. Relevant considerations may include, but are not limited to, the nature and number of discrepancies, their dates, and the relatedness the discrepancy(s) has to the duties and responsibilities of the position. Any decision to accept or reject an individual with a background discrepancy is solely at the discretion of the College of the Marshall Islands.
- If unreported felony convictions are discovered in the criminal history check, the offer of employment shall be withdrawn and, if employed, the individual shall be terminated from employment, unless the individual proves that the report is in error. The decision to reject or terminate an individual with an unreported conviction is solely at the discretion of the College of the Marshall Islands.
- In the event the results of the background check influence a decision to withdraw an employment offer or terminate employment, Human Resources shall inform the hiring department and the individual. The Human Resources Department shall be responsible for any fees associated with any of the components of the background check process.
- Consequences of Providing False or Misleading Information. Violations of College policies, including providing false or misleading information used for any of the above background checks, shall be handled in accordance with applicable College policies and procedures, which may include corrective action up to and including termination from the College; or termination of the ability to apply for positions at the College.
2.2 Recruitment and Hiring Procedures
2.2.1 Submission of Position Description – If a new position is being created, a completed position description must be first submitted to the Human Resources Office for review and submitted to the Job Evaluation Sub-Committee for assignment of the appropriate classification and pay level. Thereafter, the position description is sent to the President for approval. If the position has already been established and a vacancy occurs, the Hiring Manager should review the existing position description to ensure that it accurately describes the position as it currently exists. If inaccurate or outdated, the position description should be updated and submitted to the Human Resources Office for determination of the appropriate classification.
2.2.2 Establishment of a Search Committee – The appointment of a Search Committee is the responsibility of the appropriate Administrator. The relevant Administrator will serve as committee Chair unless such responsibility is delegated. The Search Committee shall be comprised of a minimum of 3 members one of whom shall be Marshallese.
A Faculty Search Committee will include the Vice-President Academic and Student Affairs as Chair, the Dean Academic Affairs, the Department Chair and two faculty members one of whom should be from another department. At least one of the members shall be Marshallese.
A Search Committee for an Administrator will be chaired by the President and will include other members selected by the President.
Each Committee member will be asked to sign a Search Committee Ethics Agreement, including a declaration that the committee member will disclose any potential conflict of interest.
2.2.3. Development of the Selection Criteria – The required and preferred qualifications for the vacant position are described in the approved job description. The Chair will meet with the committee to assure that each committee member understands the essential job qualifications. These qualifications will become the selection criteria and the basis for all screening and selection decisions.
2.2.4 Human Resources Office Assistance – The Recruitment Specialist from the HR Department will meet with the search committee to develop a recruitment plan and timeframes, review the essential and marginal functions of the position and the preferred and required qualifications for the vacancy, and review general processes and procedures, affirmative action considerations, and requirements for confidentiality. The Human Resources Office will provide any other assistance which may be of help to the committee members throughout the hiring process.
2.2.5 Initial Screening – After the application deadline date (if there is one), the Human Resources Office will electronically provide the Search Committee with all applications received by the deadline date. The Search Committee members will uniformly apply the selection criteria to all applicants to identify the top candidates for further consideration. The selection criteria cannot be changed after the vacancy has been posted. If the advertised qualifications later seem to be inappropriate, the search can be aborted and the position re-advertised with modified criteria.
2.2.6 Reference Checks – The Committee chair and Human Resources should conduct reference checks on at least the top candidate, and at least 2 references should be contacted, one of whom must be the current supervisor or immediate past supervisor. Upon receiving the written reference report, the Chair of the Search Committee may follow up with a phone call to seek further clarification on the contents of the report.. Notes from the references should be presented to the Search Committee to affirm, or otherwise, the determination of the top three candidates.
2.2.7 Interviewing – The Search Committee members will identify the top candidates to be interviewed for the position vacancy. At least three candidates should be interviewed from the application pool. Questions should be developed by the committee to be used in each of the interviews, and all questions should relate to the announced qualifications for the position. Interview notes from committee members can be maintained and provided to the Human Resources Office for purposes of documentation or the selection process.
If the Search Committee deems it necessary, a follow up interview may be conducted with the final shortlisted candidate(s). Where a vacancy for an Administrator position is being filled, the Search Committee may include an onsite visit for the top two candidates. The visit will include presentations by the candidates to students and employees and a final assessment of the candidates by the Search Committee before making a final decision.
2.2.8 President’s Approval – Once the Search Committee has made a selection of the top three candidates from the applicant pool, a memo will be written from the Chair to the President indicating their choices in ranked order. The final decision on all matters of hiring at the College rests with the President.
2.2.9 Extending a Job Offer – A position may be offered only upon approval of the President. Once offered, the Human Resources Office will prepare a follow up written offer of employment setting forth the conditions of employment, which will include the title, salary level, starting date, and any other special conditions of employment. Once the offer is accepted, unsuccessful candidates who were interviewed will be informed of the selection decision by a regret letter sent from either the department or the Human Resources Office.
2.3 Nepotism
2.3.1 Nepotism Defined
Nepotism is favoritism shown to relatives by giving them employment, influencing evaluations, securing their promotion, or otherwise treating them favorably on the basis of their family relationship rather than on merit.
2.3.2 Nepotism Prohibited
- Immediate family members and members of the same household are not to be employed in any position where one has line authority over Human Resources actions concerning the other. Exceptions to this policy require a written affirmative declaration by the President that such exception is in the best interest of the College.
- Employees should neither initiate nor participate, directly or indirectly, in Human Resources actions (initial employment or appointment, retention, promotions, salary, work assignments, evaluations, leave of absence, etc.) involving members of their immediate family or household. Employees who have a conflict of interest must provide an affirmative written declaration of that conflict.
- For the purposes of this policy statement, “immediate family” includes: spouses, domestic partners, children (including step-children), parents, step-parents, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, siblings (including step-brothers and step-sisters), cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.
- If two Employees become members of the same household, both may retain their positions, provided one is not under the direct or indirect supervision of the other. It is the responsibility of the supervisor/manager to advise the relevant department Administrator if such a relationship is established. Exceptions to this policy require the approval of the appropriate dean/director, the Director of Human Resources, the College President, and then only when such exception is in the best interest of the College.
