JMU requires that searches for all Faculty and AP/Faculty positions be advertised on PageUp for a minimum period of 30 days. To request permission to conduct a search of less than 30 days, please complete this form.
Completed forms will be sent to our office for consideration. Please allow 3-5 business days for review and an email response, although some responses may be faster. A copy of the submitted form will be emailed to you, the Academic Unit Head, the Search Committee Chair and the HR Recruitment Specialist as identified on the form.
Search Exception Procedural Guidance:
James Madison University is an equal opportunity employer and a federal contractor committed to eliminating barriers to employment and improving opportunities particularly where there is underutilization. JMU makes good faith efforts consistent with federal and state laws to address underutilization as defined under the Affirmative Action Plan housed in the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO).
*In general, and based on nationally held best practices, faculty, executive and administrative searches should be a 30-day open and competitive national search when their specific qualifications and experience are not readily found locally. By doing so, we tap into a bigger pool of qualified candidates who may be interested in considering James Madison University as an employer.
- Concerns over a lack of interested and qualified applicants can also be remedied by designating searches for these types of positions as open until filled.
JMU recognizes valid situations that occasionally may differ from the standard search process.
Defining Terms
Full and open searches employ “good faith efforts” to cast the broadest possible net to recruit a diverse and qualified applicant pool. Full and open searches demonstrate the university’s commitment to and compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, university policies, affirmative action and equal opportunity principles and guidelines. Conducting full and open searches in the spirit of the law mitigates the university’s potential non-compliance with statutory obligations. Full and open searches should be conducted for Faculty and AP/Faculty positions.
Abbreviated Searches bypass the standard recruiting process.
The hiring department must submit a sufficient business necessity explanation, in narrative form, on the implausibility of conducting a full and open search to fill the position and documentation detailing:
- networking or other types of recruiting activities (including professional association and good faith attempts to identify qualified applicants including letters and emails sent to colleagues and professionals at other institutions requesting assistance in recruiting qualified applicants and a comment on the availability of qualified applicants.
Internal searches are conducted to only draw applicants from the internal university population and must be approved by the OEO before initialization. Positions filled through an internal search require specific and unique knowledge, skills or experience that could only be gained through working at the university. These positions perform business operations, crisis management or health and safety functions that are critical.
The hiring department must submit documentation:
- affirming that the position requires these specific skills, knowledge or experience;
- affirming that the concept of on-the-job training is unreasonable (not inconvenient); and
- describing any other existing factors to strengthen the argument that a full search is not conducive to the needs of the unit.
A sudden death, resignation, termination or long-term illness of an incumbent occupying a position that is both time-sensitive and critical to the institution’s mission and ability to deliver its curriculum and other programs may create an immediate and unexpected need to fill a position without advertising. Shortened advertising periods may also be considered under this category. Clarifications should be provided regarding the relevant time-sensitive and critical nature.
Direct appointments are search exceptions that bypass the formal recruiting and screening process but are for Faculty or AP/Faculty positions. These types of requests are very rarely submitted and approved as they jeopardize the university’s compliance with statutory and legal obligations. Faculty and AP/Faculty appointments must meet the definition of “pre-eminence”, with outstanding, unique and unparalleled research, scholarship, accomplishment or field of specialization; incomparable with potentially available applicants.
The hiring department must submit:
- comprehensive documentation supporting the preeminence of the appointment, noting achievements that have received national or global recognition and/or commenting on the appointment’s performance that is critical to the university’s goals
- CV/Resume of the candidate requested for the direct appointment
- Required qualifications listed when advertising the position
The Office of Equal Opportunity makes the determination to grant exemptions to the above general procedures on a case-by-case basis and may reach out to appropriate JMU partners.
Please contact us by emailing oeo@jmu.edu or by calling (540) 568-6991 if you have any questions regarding the above.
