Academic appointments for IU Indianapolis, Columbus, and Fort Wayne follow established policies and procedures designed to support strong, fair, and successful faculty searches. This section draws on content formerly included in the Faculty Guidebook to equip HR professionals, deans, department chairs, and search committees with context and resources for navigating the appointment process.
Below you will find information about the steps required for full-time faculty searches, along with links to technical guidance primarily for HR staff. Additional details are provided regarding part-time academic appointments and other hiring or employment steps.
For student academic appointees (AC3s), please see the Graduate Student webpage. Post-doctoral fellows or “FLP” appointees are handled differently administratively and are not managed through the same faculty HR office as standard academic hires.
Successful searches start with clearly defined expectations and open, consistent evaluation practices. Academic leaders play a vital role in guiding search committees to use consistent and objective methods for assessing qualifications.
Data-driven insights into teaching, research, and service priorities help ensure hiring decisions align with departmental goals. Ongoing outreach through conferences, seminars, and scholarly networks helps build strong candidate pipelines.
An effective hiring plan should reflect the unit’s mission, identify instructional or research gaps, and prioritize candidates who enhance student success. Rather than relying solely on publication counts, strong hiring plans consider how each applicant will enhance and and strengthen the department’s academic profile.
Faculty searches begin with submitting a Full-Time Faculty Vacancy Checklist to ensure compliance and readiness. Search committees must include at least three committee members with varied ranks and appointment types, and department chairs may not serve as committee chairs.
Leadership is responsible for formally charging the committee by reviewing goals, timelines, evaluation standards, and confidentiality expectations. Open, external searches are preferred to attract broad applicant pools, while internal-only searches require special approval. Internal candidates must be treated equitably and confidentially, with clear boundaries regarding participation in evaluations and job talks.
Strategic recruitment requires a clear outreach and hiring plan. Once the vacancy notice form is approved, job postings are submitted through PeopleAdmin and should emphasize academic qualifications and departmental needs.
Position descriptions must clearly separate required and preferred qualifications and avoid overly narrow language that could limit the applicant pool. Advertising should use disciplinary outlets and professional networks that align with institutional priorities and reach a broad audience of potential candidates.
For international applicants, departments must consult the Office of International Affairs, as U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required for tenure-track positions. Active recruitment efforts should include professional networks, personal outreach, and targeted dissemination through academic associations.
Before applications are evaluated, committees should review whether outreach strategies were sufficiently broad and aligned with the goals of the search.
A fair and comprehensive candidate review process depends on consistent evaluation tools and equitable practices.
Search committees must use clearly defined rubrics that reflect the position description and departmental priorities, ensuring expectations for teaching, research, and service are applied uniformly to every applicants.
Interviews require submitting an interview request form and must use standardized, job-related questions. Questions about personal or legally protected characteristics are not permitted.
Campus visits should follow structured schedules, offer opportunities for collegial engagement, and apply consistent expectations for teaching or research presentations. Reference checks must be conducted with candidate consent, using uniform questions, and all credential verifications must comply with university policy.
Faculty offers require approval from the Office of the Provost.
Visa eligibility and dual-career support should be coordinated through the appropriate administrative channels. Once an offer is accepted, formal hiring procedures are initiated in accordance with university policy.
Effective retention and advancement planning begins with a strong onboarding process that equips faculty with clear work expectations, institutional procedures, and long-term career planning.
Departments should promote peer collaboration, provide transparent promotion pathways, and offer professional development that supports career growth. To strengthen faculty success, units should connect faculty with internal and external grant funding opportunities that strengthen scholarly productivity and advancement.
