Direct Appointment Guidance

Overview

The general rule is that all faculty and administrative appointments require an advertised, open search of the required posting duration.  This guidance identifies certain exceptions to the general rule.  Per BOR Policy, it is the University’s responsibility to ensure that the direct appointment option is used judiciously. 

Whenever the discretion not to advertise is exercised in accordance with this guidance, care must be taken to ensure that there is no other faculty or staff member in the University, and in particular, the unit concerned, who could be deemed a suitable candidate for the position.  Where this may be the case, it is recommended that the role is advertised internally, allowing all faculty or staff to be equitably considered for the role, subject to approval for search process exemption, as defined below.

Click here if you are looking for information related to other appointment types outside of direct appointment. 

Applicability

All employees and units of the University of Georgia

Definitions

Direct Appointment– Direct appointment, also referred to as a search waiver or non-search hire, refers to the regular (i.e., full-time, permanent) appointment of a person, where the normal advertising and competitive selection process is not applied, and institutional business needs support this approach for an appointee whose unique skills and qualifications are documented. Direct appointments must be approved by the Equal Opportunity Office (EOO).  Direct appointment categories include:

1. Target of Opportunity: The candidate presents an unusual opportunity to hire a new faculty or staff member whose distinctive qualifications and extraordinary promise or accomplishments will contribute significantly to the excellence of the academic and public mission of the university.
2. Uniquely Qualified: The faculty or staff candidate possesses significant leading status; international recognition; or rare, exceptional skillset that will contribute significantly to the excellence of the academic and public mission of the university.
3. 3Principal/Co-principal Investigator: The faculty or staff candidate has been awarded research grants in their name or has been documented as “key personnel” on an approved research grant or contract, including principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and other key persons who play a critical role in the design, conduct, and reporting of the research.
4. External Candidate, Previous Applicant: The faculty or staff candidate is an external candidate who was a previous applicant for the same or similar position within the past 12 months.
5. Dual Career Hire: The scenario presents an opportunity to enhance the University’s ability to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and staff members who are part of a dual career academic or professional couple.
   1. Primary appointment refers to an external faculty or staff candidate being recruited by a unit, for whom a major condition of acceptance of an offer from the university is the employment of both members of the dual career couple; or a current UGA faculty or staff member being actively recruited for, holding a job offer from, or being preemptively retained from pursuing offers from another institution or organization.
   2. Associated appointment refers to the accompanying member of the dual career couple who may be considered for Direct Appointment in a faculty or staff position in the same or a different unit.

Direct Appointment Roles and Responsibilities

Initiation and Pre-Approval Documentation

Responsible Party: Hiring Unit

The hiring unit is responsible for initiating the direct appointment process and managing post-approval actions within UGAjobs. They submit required documentation to UHR for direct appointment nominations or recommendations via the Direct Appointment Smartsheet.

Required Documentation for Submission to UHR:

• Written rationale explaining how the appointment contributes to the institution's strategy and student success. All written rationale must be signed by the Vice President and/or Dean.
• Evidence that the proposed appointee meets qualifications and possesses necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• The candidate's CV or resume, qualifications, references, and current position details (if applicable).
• A PDF copy of the UGAjobs approved job description once the position request has been finalized in UGAjobs
• A completed Request for Salary Approval (RSA) or Advanced Salary Increase (ASI), if applicable.
• For faculty salary requirements, the hiring unit consults with the Office of the Provost.
• For staff salary requirements, the hiring unit also consults with UHR Compensation.
• The Request for Salary Adjustment (RSA) or Advanced Salary Increase (ASI) will be submitted for approval after the direct appointment has been institutionally approved.
• Note: The only exception is for a Senior Administrator Search, where the ASI is submitted prior to institutional approval.

Review and Approval Process

This phase involves multiple offices ensuring compliance and securing necessary approvals.

• University Human Resources (UHR):
• Plays a central role in ensuring compliance and managing the approval process for direct appointments.
• Ensures all requirements of the guidance are met and recorded for audit purposes.
• Manages the routing process to obtain necessary approvals for direct appointments.
• Receives direct appointment materials via email (hrweb@uga.edu).
• Validates the appointment type for staff positions.
• Ensures all employment policies, including background checks, are followed upon approval for a direct appointment from the CHRO and President.
• UGAjobs Actions For Staff Positions: Sends the internal posting link to the hiring unit once the posting has been initiated.

• Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA):
• Focuses on faculty direct appointments, ensuring adherence to specific faculty requirements.
• Ensures all faculty appointment and credentialing requirements are followed, including recommendation for appointment vote in the academic unit.
• Validates the appointment type for faculty positions.
• Ensures all employment policies are followed upon approval for a direct appointment from the CHRO and President.
• UGAjobs Actions For Faculty Positions: Sends the internal posting link to the hiring unit once the posting has been initiated.

• UHR Compensation Team:
• The salary for all faculty appointments must be reviewed by the Office of the Provost. The UHR Compensation team will give the final sign off on salary for faculty positions.
• The salary for all staff appointments must be reviewed and approved by the UHR Compensation Team.
• Exceptions, such as Advanced Salary Increases (ASIs), require approval from the University System of Georgia (USG).
• ASI Requirements: Cumulative fiscal year (FY) salary adjustments that are equal to or greater than ten percent (10%) above the annual salary adjustment authorized in USG’s salary and wage adjustment guidance, and result in a salary of $125,000 and above, require advanced approval by the Chancellor or Designee.

• Office of Research:
• For Research Positions Only: Reviews individual credentials to confirm their appropriateness for the given rank.

Direct Appointment Approval Chart

Post-Approval Actions in UGAjobs

Responsible Party: Hiring Unit

Once the direct appointment is officially approved, the hiring unit is responsible for the following within UGAjobs:

1. Initiate the internal posting.
2. Email the internal posting link, provided by OFA/UHR, to the candidate.
3. Initiate and submit the Hiring Proposal (HP).
4. Ensure all supporting documents are attached to the hiring proposal.

Additional Step for Faculty Appointments Only

• Conduct a faculty vote. This step is required only for direct appointments for all faculty positions, if applicable

Required Supporting Documents for Hiring Proposal:

• Faculty Appointments:
• Signed Offer Letter
• Transcripts (must be sent directly from the degree-granting institution to ofatranscripts@uga.edu)
• Request for Salary Approval (RSA) (if applicable)
• Direct Appointment Approval documentation
• Cover Letter (if applicable)
• CV/Resume
• Signed statement from the VP/Dean stating that a faculty vote was conducted

• Staff Appointments:
• Signed offer letter
• Request for Salary Approval (RSA) (if applicable)
• Direct Appointment Approval documentation
• CV/Resume

Annual Review and Compliance

Responsible Party: Equal Opportunity Office (EOO)

• The Equal Opportunity Office is responsible for participating in an annual review of the direct appointment process.
• This review will be conducted collaboratively with University Human Resources (UHR) and the Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA).
• Compliance Assurance: During the annual review, EOO will specifically assess the direct appointment process to ensure overall compliance with all applicable equal opportunity laws, regulations, and university policies. This includes, but is not limited to, reviewing data and processes associated with direct appointments.
• Note: In instances where the direct appointment process falls under the responsibility of UHR or OFA, EOO may serve in an oversight/review capacity for compliance.
• Recommendation Development: Based on the annual review findings, EOO will contribute to the development of recommendations for process improvements to enhance fairness, transparency, and compliance within the direct appointment process. UHR and OFA will implement the recommendations to improve the overall direct appointment process.

Direct Appointment Compliance and Related Policies:

1. The hiring unit and institution must ensure that all requirements of this guidance are met and recorded for audit, as requested by internal or external agency requests.
2. The justification materials for the direct appointment nomination or recommendation may also be used for the University System of Georgia Human Resources Administrative Practice (HRAP) Manual Advanced Salary Increase (PDF) request process when necessary.
3. Upon approval for a direct appointment from the university's CHRO and the university’s President all employment policies (including background checks) must be followed and adhered to.
4. An approved faculty Dual Career appointment may also qualify for job placement and limited salary support under UGA Academic Affairs Policy Manual (AAPM) section 08-7, Dual Career Academic Hiring Policy.
5. For direct appointments of faculty candidates, all faculty appointment and credentialing requirements as described in UGA appointment, promotion, and tenure guidelines, as applicable, and UGA AAPM sections 09 and 4.07-13 must be followed. This includes recommendation for appointment vote in the faculty member's academic unit, according to the appropriate faculty appointment and promotion guidelines.

References & Related Documents

• Policy on Employee Categories (PDF)
• BOR 2.1 Equal Employment Opportunity
• BOR Policy 2.18.2 Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment, and Outside Activities)
• 3.1 Faculty Employment
• HRAP on Advanced Salary Administration (PDF)
• HRAP on Equal Employment Opportunity (PDF)
• HRAP on General Criteria for Employment (PDF)
• USG ASA 4.2 Definition of Part-Time 
• AAPM 1.07-2.3 Counter Offers
• AAPM 1.08-7 Dual Career Academic Hiring Policy
• AAPM 04-1 Full-time
• AAPM 04-2 Regular
• AAPM 04-3 Limited-term
• AAPM 04-4 Visiting
• AAPM 04-7 Adjunct
• AAPM 17 Emeritus Status
• EOO Guidelines for Direct Appointment and Search Waiver Exception Requests for Faculty and Staff
• Dual Career Faculty Hiring
• Dual Career Assistance Program  

Other Appointment Types:

These appointments will follow the current, applicable University Human Resources (UHR) and Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) appointment processes as well as EOO exception/exemption approval. These appointments do not require Direct Appointment approval as noted in section 4 of this guidance. These appointments include:

1. Part-time: Staff or faculty. Part-time faculty are non-tenure-track/non-tenured, do not serve on annual contracts, and are budgeted at less than 100% of the time.

2. Limited-term: Staff or faculty (i.e., temporary, term, or visiting).  Limited-term faculty are non-tenure-track/non-tenured, do not serve on annual contracts, and are full-time (100%).  They typically be given a “term” appointment for one academic or fiscal year and may be reappointed, consistent with the governing policy.

3. Internal, acting, interim appointments: Typically for duration of less than 12 months. However, all search and employee recruitment rules are applicable if and when an interim is assigned to the role on a regular basis.

4. Promotions: Promotions within a unit or upline, including faculty rank promotion or staff career-ladder promotion (e.g., Director to Senior Director).

5. Administrative Add-on or Step-down: Addition or removal of administrative assignment or responsibilities to a faculty member’s position, typically up to 75% of total assigned effort.

6. Rank conversion, departmental reassignment, reclassification: These changes may be as a result of terminal or other degree attainment, additional credentials, retention, or change in duties.

7. Unpaid adjunct or emeritus faculty status.