Frequently Asked Questions

What is Affirmative Action?
Response: The University has implemented Affirmative Action policies, practices, and procedures to ensure all qualified applicants and employees receive an equal opportunity for recruitment, selection, advancement, and other hiring opportunities.

What is an Affirmative Action Plan?
Response: The annual Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) is a document produced by the Office for Access and Equity that summarizes the affirmative action program. The Affirmative Action Program includes the initiatives, policies, processes, and activities that the campus engages in to promote equal employment opportunity and diversity relating to women, minorities, people with disabilities, and certain veterans. The AAP also contains a quantitative analysis of the University’s workforce as compared to the relevant recruitment areas and serves to identify any problem areas, particularly hiring, promotions, or terminations disproportionately impacting women, minorities, people with disabilities, or veterans. Affirmative action plans are used by management in their efforts to increase diversity.

What are my responsibilities to comply with the University's affirmative action policies as a manager and supervisor,?

Response: The University’s managers and supervisors are responsible for maintaining a work environment free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. They are responsible for reviewing all personnel activities for potential differential impacts on different groups and unintentional bias in such personnel actions as selection, salary increases, promotion, reclassification, layoff, corrective action, training, and termination. They are also responsible for applying policies and standards consistently and having legitimate reasons for all employment decisions.

Additionally, managers and supervisors who desire to serve on a search committee must complete the mandatory search committee training.

Which appointments require a search?
Response: All salaried Academic Professional and Faculty positions which are 50% time or greater, including Visiting Academic Professional Appointments must be filled via an open and competitive search process.

What are the job posting requirements for Searches?
Response: The posting requirement is 1 week for internal searches. External searches require a 2-week posting interval.  In addition to posting in external media, all positions are automatically added to the UIC Job Board , Linkedin, and IllinoisDiversity.com.

Are units required to advertise in the print media (newspapers, journals, etc.)?
Response: No, departments may choose to use online, print, free, or paid recruitment resources to attract a diverse and qualified applicant pool.

What should I include in my job posting?
Response: Each job posting must include, at minimum, the minimum job qualifications and University-approved Equal Opportunity Statement. Inclusion statements and preferred qualifications are encouraged.

What if I identified a top candidate without opening a search?
Response: Positions may be eligible for search waiver requests due to (a) the existence of statutory or other policy guidelines governing the appointment or search process; (b) the unique talents and skills required for the position; or (c) urgent departmental/unit teaching needs that cannot be addressed through the normal search process (i.e., increased class enrollment at the beginning of a semester requiring an immediate teaching appointment).

What is the time limit for Visiting Appointments?
Response: State-funded visiting positions may be extended up to three years and extended to five years for those contract/grant (soft-funded) visiting positions requiring a five-year commitment. Searches or waiver requests are required for Academic Professional Visiting Appointments.

How do I request a Search Extension?
Response: Please complete the following steps:

  1. Send a request to oae_eeo@uic.edu (complete)
  2. Update the number of vacancies, if applicable
  3. Update the recruitment plan and external job posting
  4. At the top of the External and Internal ad pages, please include:
    1. “Search Extended until XXX DATE” at the top of the Hiring Department line
    2. Update the position close date on the Submit and Manage Postings page with the new date for the external and internal job boards.

 

For more information contact OAE at oae_eeo@uic.edu.