Internal Personnel Search Policy

Approved by the Board of Trustees of Rockland Community College on March 2, 2026.

It is Rockland Community College’s policy to provide equal opportunity in all of its employment practices to all persons without unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, citizenship, color, creed, criminal history, disability, domestic violence victim status, familial status, gender identity, marital status, military status, national origin, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy-related condition, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, status as a nursing employee, or other legally protected status–(1) prohibit employers from relying on salary history of an applicant in determining whether to offer employment or in determining salary for any applicant or employee in determining wages/salary for such individual; (2) prohibit discrimination based on certain political activities; (3) prohibit discrimination based on legal use of consumable products, including cannabis, in accordance with state law and employer policies; (4) prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s legal recreational activities; (5) prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s membership in a union or with respect to any exercise of rights granted under Article 14 of the Civil Service Law; and (6) prohibit discrimination based on sexual and reproductive health decision-making.

The College seeks to attract and retain employees that share in its mission, is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and diverse workforce in accordance with applicable law, regulations and SUNY and College policies and values the professional development and advancement of current faculty and staff.

Definitions

External Search: the formal process of search, recruitment, and selection by the public posting of available positions.

Internal Search: the formal process of search, recruitment, and selection by the internal posting of available positions.

Equal Employment Opportunity: the concept of providing equal access to employment opportunities in compliance with federal and state laws. The College is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. The College prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, criminal conviction, domestic violence victim status, and/or military status.

The College benefits from a skilled labor force with employees that are prepared and qualified to assume greater responsibility and the College is committed to providing opportunities for internal mobility within the institution that are consistent with the College’s equal opportunity and affirmative action goals. It is desirable under limited circumstances to invoke an exemption to the Standard Personnel Recruitment Policy and conduct an internal personnel search to fill a new or vacant position, provided that the internal search is conducted consistent with the College’s equal opportunity and affirmative action goals.

The President will notify the Board of Trustees to request they invoke this exemption to the standard personnel recruiting procedures and conduct an internal personnel search under certain special circumstances such as the following situations:

  • a pool of current employees who are qualified in terms of education, skills and experience; or an employee who has been performing an administrative position on an acting basis the Board of Trustees has agreed to make that position permanent and the employee has met the relevant performance standards in the most recent formal evaluation by his or her direct supervisor.

To be eligible to participate in an internal personnel search, an employee must have initially been appointed to a position through a standard personnel recruitment search and be a full-time, permanent employee. Submission of an application for a position vacancy will not have an adverse effect on the status of the employee’s current position. Among the factors to be considered prior to appointing a current employee to a new or vacant position through an internal search is whether it is likely that a more qualified and diverse applicant pool may be found by conducting a standard personnel recruitment search. The President is authorized to establish certain procedures for internal personnel searches, as he shall determine, to be followed by those College employees responsible for recruiting and hiring employees, provided that all offers of employment must be approved by the Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to ensure compliance with the College’s equal opportunity and affirmative action objectives and approved by the President.

Procedure:

In order to invoke the Internal Personnel Search Policy, the following procedures must be followed.

STEP 1: Preparation of the Waiver Request

The hiring manager (the individual responsible for making departmental hiring decisions) shall submit a request for waiver of the standard personnel recruiting procedures and approval to conduct an internal personnel search to the Human Resources Office for preliminary approval of the President.

A waiver request shall include the following, if applicable:

  1. the Position Requisition identifying
    1. the name of the departmental hiring manager;
    2. the name of the relevant department;
    3. the position title and union position group;
    4. a description of the position, including the major job functions and responsibilities of the position;
    5. consistent with the relevant collective bargaining agreement, the minimum qualifications or skills required and any preferred skills that could be used to further refine the employment search if necessary;
    6. an analysis of the relationship of those skills to the position; and
    7. wage rate or salary range; and
  2. a description of the special circumstances involved that would justify an exemption to the standard personnel search policy.

Prior to submission to the President as part of the exemption request, the Position Requisition must have been approved by:

  • the Vice President in charge of the department hiring;
  • the Finance Department;
  • the Executive Director of Human Resources;
  • the Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • the Chief Financial Officer; and
  • the President.

The Human Resources Office shall ensure that all exemption request documentation is complete and deliver such documentation to the President for review and approval.

The President shall give each exemption request due consideration and inform the Board of Trustees that the standard recruiting procedures will be waived.

If approved by the President, he or she will then authorize the execution of an internal search.

STEP 2: Posting the Position Announcement

Upon authorization from the Board of Trustees to conduct an internal search, the Human Resources Office shall post a position announcement internally through campus wide email.

All position announcements shall identify the minimum qualifications needed to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position and any preferred skills. All position announcements shall state that the College will provide equal opportunity in all of its employment practices to all persons without unlawful discrimination on the basis of political affiliation, age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, arrest or conviction record, membership in any reserve component of the armed forces, or use or non-use of lawful products off College premises during nonworking hours, or any other status protected by applicable state or federal law. All position announcements shall comply with federal, state and local regulations pertaining to equal opportunity.

During the ten-day posting period, no interviews will be conducted nor a job offer extended to any candidate although applicants may be screened and evaluated.

STEP 3: Screening and Interviewing Process

The hiring manager with the assistance of the Human Resources Office shall appoint a search committee and select a chairperson.

The search committee shall screen applicants based upon the minimum qualifications needed for the position and the preferred skills, if any. Any applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications for the position must be eliminated from further consideration. The remaining applicants should be scheduled for interviews with the search committee.

The search committee shall recommend at least three (3) finalists, depending on the number of qualified candidates in the applicant pool, and provide an explanation for its decisions to the hiring manager and the Human Resources Office.

The hiring manager shall check the references and the personnel record for each internal candidate they interviewed. To the extent possible, all questions raised during reference checks should be consistent for all candidates. Questions during reference checks should be designed to elicit information about the candidate’s skills and qualifications for the position. Any comments which are unrelated to the candidate’s skills or performance must be disregarded.

Based on the search committee’s recommendations and the results of the reference checks, the hiring manager shall identify a proposed hire and notify the Human Resources Office of that decision.

STEP 4: Review of Proposed Hire and Process by Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Once a search is completed and a proposed hire is identified, the Human Resources Office must compile all the internal search documentation.

The internal search documentation consists of:

  1. the exemption request;
  2. copies of all position announcements;
  3. the Applicant Pool Report (identifying the demographics of the applicant pool);
  4. a complete set of resumes received for the position;
  5. an analysis of the proposed hire’s credentials that support the appointment;
  6. relevant reference check information;

The Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion shall review the internal search documentation to ensure that the search was consistent with the College’s equal opportunity objectives.

STEP 5: Proposed Hire Submitted to President for Approval

Upon approval by the Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, the employment of the proposed hire shall be submitted to the President for approval.

STEP 6: Proposed Hire Submitted to Board of Trustees for Approval

Following approval by the President, the employment of the proposed candidate shall be submitted to the Board of Trustees for consideration and approval in accordance with the most recently amended and approved resolution

STEP 7: Offer of Employment

Upon approval by the Board of Trustees, an offer of employment may be extended to the proposed hire by the Human Resources Office or by the hiring manager with the prior approval of the Human Resources Office.

All candidates must be informed of the outcome of the search.

The Human Resources Office must retain all recruitment documentation for at least four (4) years.