3.2.9

The institution publishes policies regarding appointment, employment, and evaluation of all personnel. (Personnel appointment)

Compliance Judgment

X In compliance Partially compliant Non-compliant

Narrative

All policies concerning appointment, employment, and evaluation are derived from SC Code of Laws. Title 8. Public Officers and Employees, which are interpreted and reviewed by the Human Resources Division of the South Carolina Department of Administration (SCHRD) as authorized in SECTION 8.11.230. Creation, duties, and administrative head of State Personnel Division; duties of Department of Administration [1]:

There is hereby created as a part of the Department of Administration, the State Personnel Division (hereinafter referred to as the Division), which shall be responsive to agency needs for all personnel functions and which shall implement the provisions of this article subject to the policies and direction of the Board.

The administrative head of the Division shall be the State Personnel Director who shall be appointed by the Board. The State Personnel Director may employ such staff as deemed necessary to efficiently carry out the provisions of this article within authorized funding.

The Department of Administration is authorized and directed to:

Establish procedures for the regulation of compensation of all State employees where not otherwise regulated directly by the General Assembly. Such procedures and regulations shall distinguish between two categories of positions, classified and unclassified. A uniform Classification and Compensation Plan shall be provided for such regulation of all positions in the classified service. Such additional procedures shall be provided as in its judgment adequately and equitably regulate unclassified positions.
Develop and revise as necessary in coordination with agencies served specifications for each position in the classified service concerning the minimum educational training, experience and other qualifications considered necessary to assure adequate performance of the duties and responsibilities. The Board and agency heads will require adherence to these specifications. The Board may waive training and experience requirements where circumstances warrant upon request and adequate justification by the agency head.
After coordinating with agencies served, develop fair employment policies to assure that appointments to position in the State classified service are made on the basis of merit and fitness without regard to race, sex, age, religion, political affiliation or national origin.
Operate a recruitment and applicant referral program as an optional service available to all agencies.
Validate selection procedures for the classified service in accordance with sound personnel practices and the requirements of federal law or regulation.
After coordination with agencies served, develop policies and programs concerning leave with or without pay, hours of work, fringe benefits (except State retirement benefits), employee/management relations, performance appraisals, grievance procedures, employee awards, dual employment, disciplinary action, separations, reductions in force, and other conditions of employment as may be needed.
Provide assistance and coordinate with the agencies served training and career development programs for State employees.
Enter into agreement with any political subdivision of the State to furnish services and facilities in the administration of its personnel program. Any such agreement shall provide for the reimbursement to the State of the reasonable cost of the services and facilities furnished. All political subdivisions of the State are hereby authorized to enter into such agreements.
Establish and maintain a central personnel data system on all State employees covered by this article, both classified and unclassified, and in coordination with agencies served, determine that data to be recorded on employees and positions and the procedures and forms to be used by all agencies in reporting data.
Develop a position management data system to assure conformity with Board policies and State law.
Delegate to the heads of the State agencies served such of the above responsibilities as may be appropriate in such form as the Board may determine.

The interpretations of Title 8. Public Officers and Employees are presented as the State Human Resources Regulations [2]. All Francis Marion policies and procedures must be approved by SCHRD. An example of an approval by the SCHRD consultant assigned to Francis Marion is attached [3-scroll down the page].

The Human Resources offices of South Carolina state agencies are evaluated periodically to determine that they are complying with the agency policies and procedures that have been approved by the SCHRD. The most recent audit for Francis Marion was in March 2017. All checked personnel files contained appropriate position descriptions which are one of the three components of the mandated evaluation system which will be described in the following sections. Francis Marion received an excellent rating [4-scroll down to bottom of p. 2].

Policies concerning the appointment, employment, and evaluation of faculty and staff are readily available on the Francis Marion website [5] or the South Carolina Department of Administration-Human Resources website [6]. This information is also available to non-Francis Marion visitors to either site.

Information about available positions is accessible on the Francis Marion Human Resources website [7] by clicking onto one of the following categories:

Full-time Faculty
Full-time Staff
Internal Positions
Part-time Faculty
Part-time Staff
Temporary Staff or Grant Positions

Information about institutional policies and procedures is available by clicking sequentially on About History; Facts; Administration; Policies [8].

Faculty and staff are informed that personnel policies and procedures are located on the Human Resources webpage during their intake interview. Each new person signs a form which informs him/her of the website address and that printed copies may be obtained at any time from the Human Resources office [9]. Every staff member is assigned an e-mail account. For those individuals who do not have a campus computer, public terminals are available across campus, including breakrooms in the Facilities Management building; so that website materials are easily available.

Faculty also have a printed Faculty Handbook. The most current version of the handbook is also on the university website [10].

Categories of Personnel

The particular procedure followed will vary depending upon the category of employment to which the employee belongs. Table 1 indicates the eight categories of employment which exist at Francis Marion.

Permanent (FTE)	Temporary (Non-FTE)
Classified (Part-time or Full-time)	Hired for a period not to exceed 50 consecutive weeks (Part-time or Full-time
Unclassified (Part-time or Full-time)
Unclassified	Hired for a specified period of time--usually a semester--to instruct a class(es)

Table 1. Categories¹ of Faculty and Staff as Derived from the SC Human Resources Regulations

The following definitions are taken from the SC Human Resources Regulations [11]:

¹FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT or FTE – a numerical value expressing a percentage of time in hours and of funds related to a particular position authorized by the General Assembly

CLASS/UNCLASSIFIED STATE TITLE CODE – the alphanumeric identification assigned to a particular class or unclassified State title.

¹CLASSIFIED POSITION – an FTE position that has been assigned to a class.

CLASS – a group of positions sufficiently similar in the duties performed; degree of supervision exercised or received; minimum requirements of education or experience; and the knowledge, skills, and abilities required that the Division of State Human Resources applies the same State class title and the same State salary range to each position in the group.

¹UNCLASSIFIED POSITION – an FTE position that has been assigned to an unclassified State title.

UNCLASSIFIED STATE TITLE – the name assigned to an unclassified position or to a group of similar positions by the Division of State Human Resources.

UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE – all those positions in the State service which are not subject to the position classification plan.

¹TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE – a full-time or part-time employee who does not occupy an FTE position, whose employment is not to exceed one year, and who is not a covered employee.

Faculty are excluded from the classification and compensation plan which applies to classified and non-higher education unclassified employees by virtue of SECTION 8-11-270. Exemptions from classification and compensation plan [12]:

Exempt employees specified in Section 8-11-260;
Academic personnel; [bold added]
Officials or employees whose salaries are fixed by statute;
Such other positions the General Assembly may elect to exempt from time to time;
Such other personnel employed by the State institutions of higher learning and/or medical institutions of education and research as are recommended by the respective governing bodies and approved by the Department of Administration. [bold added]

SC Code of Laws Section 8-17-380. Grievance and performance appraisal procedure for academic employees indicates further the autonomy of higher education institutions to create an evaluation which differs from the staff who do not hold academic positions [13].

SECTION 8-17-380. Grievance and performance appraisal procedure for academic employees.

With respect to the teaching and research faculty, professional librarians, academic administrators, and all other persons holding faculty appointments at any post-secondary educational institutions described in item (10) of Section 8-17-370, each such institution, subject to the approval of the Director of the Department of Administration or its designee and the Commission on Higher Education, shall establish in writing:

(a) A performance appraisal procedure which shall assure:

(1) annual review and evaluation of such employees;

(2) written findings;

(3) review of evaluations with each covered employee;

(4) retention of performance appraisals and written comments of such employee, if any, in a permanent file with right of full disclosure to the employee.

Classified and unclassified staff are subject to the same evaluation system (i.e., EMPS). The Planning Document/Position Description differ only in that the unclassified staff member provides information concerning his/her duties in the document; whereas the classified staff member does not directly provide materials for the Planning Document. Inasmuch as the policies and procedures applying to classified and unclassified staff do not differ, no distinction will be made between these two categories of staff during the remainder of the Comprehensive Standard 3.2.9 section.

Policies and practices concerning: Recruitment and Hiring; Evaluation; and Employment will be presented in the next three sections. In each section processes which are common to faculty and staff will be presented first. Processes unique to faculty or staff will be presented subsequently.

Recruitment and Hiring

Faculty and Staff

The announcement of position vacancies for faculty and staff positions must satisfy the requirements set forth in the State Human Resources Regulations [14]. In summary, all advertisements must include the following information or direct the reader to a source which contains the required information:

Title of the position
Summary of the duties
Required skills or characteristics/preferred qualifications
State Classification Code
Position number assigned by Francis Marion
Type of Employment (i.e., Full-Time vs Part-Time; Permanent vs Temporary)
Work schedule
Entry level salary or salary range
Acknowledgement of Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action status
Summary of the application process.

SCHRD regulations require that in all non-emergency situations a position be posted “at least five working days before employing a person to fill the vacancy.” Francis Marion, however, requires seven working days. The additional time is to ensure that a large group of individuals are made aware of the employment opportunity. All information listed above is presented in position openings posted on the Available Positions section of the Francis Marion Human Resources website [15]. A position application can be downloaded from each posted position for faculty [16] and staff [17].

Francis Marion is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution which strives to maintain a diverse workplace environment. The Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Plan [18] is in the list of policies and procedures located on the Human Resources website. Two practices derived from that policy are:

For each application received, a copy of an EEO Data Reporting Form [19] is sent to the applicant. The form requests the race and ethnicity of the applicant and the means by which he/she learned of the position.
The hiring supervisor is presented a form [20] indicating the extent to which the percentage of minority staff employed at Francis Marion in that position reflects the percentage of minorities in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. If the percentage of minority applicants is lower than would be expected, more advertising will be done.

After a hiring decision is made the supervisor of the area or the Search Committee chair completes a form for each candidate indicating why he/she was not hired [21]. These forms and the application materials are saved for two years. Departments retain reference checks and notes from departmental discussions until they are informed by Human Resources that they may be discarded.

Faculty

Full-time (FTE).

As explained in the Faculty Handbook 2016,

The initial appointment to a full-time faculty position at Francis Marion is the result of meritorious selection and is based on academic preparation and the expectation of effectiveness in teaching, scholarly activity, and professional service. Accordingly, candidates for initial appointment to full-time positions at Francis Marion University should normally hold an earned terminal degree in the appropriate discipline and should offer promise of, or a demonstrated record of, effective teaching, scholarly activity, and professional service. At a minimum, those receiving initial appointment to a full-time position must hold the Master’s degree in field or a Master’s degree with at least 18 graduate hours in the teaching field [22].

All of these faculty are issued a contract for at least one year and are either tenured, tenure-track, or temporary (i.e. their association with the University is no more than 3-5 years unless they are hired into a tenure-track position).

Once the President and Provost indicate that a position may be filled, the processes described in the attached procedure for faculty hiring begin [23]. These procedures have been distributed to chairs and deans by the Provost’s Office and are also available in the Human Resources Office.

The criteria for selection of the successful candidate and the itinerary for candidates who visit campus are determined by the hiring department/school. The Human Resources office is responsible for the placement of all ads and coordinates with the departmental/school representative and the candidate to bring the candidate to campus for an interview and an opportunity to learn about Francis Marion and Florence [24].

Part-time (Temporary). According to the Faculty Handbook 2016 “part-time faculty members generally are not given appointments for a longer period than one semester or one summer term” [25]. Furthermore,

no distinction is made in the procedure by which full-time and part-time faculty members are recruited, although vacancy announcements are less widely circulated for part-time faculty. Part-time faculty must meet the same professional, experiential, and scholarly criteria as those of their full-time counterparts. Part-time faculty (like full-time faculty) must have at least the Master’s degree in field or a Master’s degree with at least 18 graduate hours in the teaching field to qualify [26]

As soon as it is known that a part-time faculty member is needed the ad is posted on the Human Resources website. The credentials of applicants are reviewed by the dean/chair–and to the extent allowed by time faculty of the academic area– and approved by the Provost.

Staff

Permanent (FTE). The supervisory staff of the department with the vacant position constitute a search committee usually consisting of three to four members. This committee includes the supervisors who will be the rater and reviewer of the new staff member. Another member(s) may be included at the discretion of the reviewer. After reviewing the applications, the committee identifies an interview list. Human Resources, usually the Human Resources Manager, checks references [27] for the potential interviewees. If any problematic issues develop during the reference check, the Vice President for Administration and the person checking references will discuss the issue and present the information to the head of the Search Committee who will decide whether or not to interview the applicant.

Once the successful applicant is identified, the Vice President for Administration is informed. If there are no procedural issues or personnel issues (e.g., having held several positions in a short period of time), the Human Resources Manager will make the offer. If there are personnel issues, the Vice President for Administration and the Supervisor will discuss to determine if an offer should be made.

If the position Supervisor asks to make the offer to the successful applicant, he/she is allowed to. Most supervisors request that Human Resources staff make the offer.

Temporary (non-FTE). The need for temporary staff usually occurs suddenly (e.g. sudden illness of a FTE staff member; temporary increased needs in an area, etc.). The positions are posted for seven working days on the same Human Resources website as all other positions. Depending upon the extent to which a quick hire needs to be made the hiring process may differ in two ways from the hiring for permanent (FTE) positions:

There are no advertisements other than on the Francis Marion website
A search committee is not created; however the hiring supervisor may confer with colleagues.

Performance Evaluation

Faculty

Full Time (FTE). The faculty performance review consists of three parts: (1) a self-review in the form of the faculty member’s annual report. The template which helps to organize the contents of the report is presented [28]; (2) an annual summary data provided by the Student Rating Form [29]; and (3) an annual written review by each faculty member’s department chair or school dean [30], which includes a numeric rating of whether 4-highly meritorious; 3-meritorious; 2-satisfactory; or 1-unsatisfactory. These review processes are described in detail in the Faculty Handbook 2016 for both faculty and Librarians with faculty rank [31].

Faculty ratings may be appealed to the Faculty Grievance Committee [32-scroll down the page]. Situations in which a faculty member thinks that the evaluative process has interfered with his/her academic freedom may be heard by the Academic Freedom and Tenure Grievance Committee [33-scroll down the page]. Recommendations of the committees are reported to the President who will make a final decision. The President’s decision may be appealed to the Board of Trustees. The Board’s decision is final [34-scroll down to top of next page].

Tenure track faculty undergo a Third-Year Review which is designed to provide feedback as to the extent to which their progress toward tenure is satisfactory [35]. Feedback from this process is only formative; therefore there is no appeal process.

Part-Time (non-FTE). There are no performance expectations with regard to research or service for these faculty; therefore they do not submit a 3-part Annual Report which assesses teaching, research, and service. Furthermore, they often do not teach more than one semester during a year which would make an annual report problematic. Each part-time instructor is, however, required to distribute Student Rating Forms in all classes. The chair/dean of the academic unit receives the summary data for these evaluations.

Staff

Permanent (FTE). Staff are evaluated annually according to the criteria set forth in the Employee Performance Management System of the South Carolina Division of Human Resources. The same evaluation process is used for classified and unclassified employees. The Francis Marion Employee Performance Management System (EPMS) [36], which is approved by the SCDHR, is located on the Francis Marion Human Resources website. The three components of the EPMS are combined into a single document [37] which is explained to a new staff member at the time of employment by the HR manager:

Planning document – the supervisor and staff member discuss the Position Description and any changes which will be made during the ensuing year. Goals for the following year are also set when the Planning Document is signed.
Position description– Specific functions associated with the position are described and weighted according to their relative importance.
Evaluation stage—In addition to feedback which is given throughout the year staff members receive a written evaluation after 12 months of employment and on each anniversary date thereafter. A rating of 4 to 1 (4-substantially exceeds; 3- exceeds; 2- meets; 1- below expectations) is given for each function described in the Position Description. A weighted rating is calculated for overall performance.

Instructions which are sent to supervisors are also in the document that is explained to the new hire..

There are no grievance processes for a staff performance rating; however all performance appraisals which are conducted by employee’s supervisor (the rater), who has direct experience with or knowledge of the work being performed, are reviewed by the next higher-level supervisor (the reviewer) prior to the appraisal being discussed with the staff member.

The reviewer may attach additional comments to the appraisal, and in the attachment may take exception to any of the rater’s appraisal points. In addition, the reviewer has the authority to change the appraisal completed by the rater; however, this must be done before the employee signs the document. If the reviewer elects to change the rating, the change and associated justification are noted on the appraisal document.

A staff member may also attach a note of rebuttal to his/her evaluation.

Temporary (nonFTE). Inasmuch as temporary staff are not employed for periods longer than a year there is no formal annual evaluation of them.

Employment Policies

Faculty and Staff

Four policies–one informal and three formal—which help to ensure a faculty and staff who have a positive psychological and physical outlook which promotes optimal University operations are listed below:

All administrators maintain an open-door policy which may also be reflected by an administrator just stopping to have a chat with a member of the faculty or staff. Each year there are several events which are attended by faculty, staff, and members of the Board of Trustees.
Employee Assistance Program
Leave Policy
Employee Leave Transfer Program.

The three formal policies are consistent with the State Human Resources Regulations [38], approved by the SCHRD, and are posted on the Francis Marion Human Resources website. They are also referenced in the Faculty Handbook 2016 [39-scroll down the page]. These documents are summarized below. The first set of brackets refers to the website; the second set refers to the faculty handbook.

Employee Assistance Program

Francis Marion University, recognizing the dignity, value and contributions of all employees, establishes the Employee Assistance Program to ensure administrative support for any employee experiencing personal difficulties that may result in personal stress or problems that could impact job performance. The purpose of this policy is to provide confidential, professional referral assistance to employees experiencing personal difficulty which will help them continue to be productive employees. Every staff and faculty member is encouraged to call whenever need arises.

Goal

To enable employees to enhance productivity despite problems that arise, and to provide confidential assistance resources for supervisory referral at individual employee request. [40, 41].

Leave

All faculty and staff who work more than 50% of the work days in a month receive 1.25 working days of sick leave. Faculty and staff who work 12 months per year receive a minimum of 10 hours per month. After 10 years of service the amount accrued monthly increases annually until the faculty or staff member has been employed for 22 years. At 22 years the monthly accrual rate caps out at 20 hours per month.

Employees cannot carry over more than 180 days of sick leave or 45 days of annual. Excess leave can, however, be donated to the “Employee Leave Pool” as described in the next section. Other types of leave include: court, funeral, military, and family sick leave which is limited to 10 days annually [42-scroll down to p. 57]. When approved a person may also take leave-without-pay status [43].

Faculty may also apply for Reassigned Time and Sabbatical Leave [44].

Employee Leave Transfer Program

When a catastrophic illness or personal emergency occurs and a faculty or staff member does not have sufficient personal leave time to cover the absences, he/she may apply to receive up to 90 days of leave from the sick leave transfer pool or the annual leave transfer pool, respectively. A five-person committee composed of faculty and staff appointed by the President considers each application and makes a recommendation to the Vice President for Administration and the President [45-scroll down the page].

3.2.9 Personnel Appointment

3.2.9

Compliance Judgment

Narrative

Categories of Personnel

Recruitment and Hiring

Faculty and Staff

Faculty

Staff

Performance Evaluation

Faculty

Staff

Employment Policies

Faculty and Staff

Employee Assistance Program

Leave

Employee Leave Transfer Program

Documentation

APPLY

CONTACT

VISIT

DONATE

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