Recruiting New Tenure-Track/Tenured Academic or Librarian Staff

On this Page Staffing Policy | Advertising Tenure-Track Positions | Selection Process | Discussion with the Dean | Discussion with the Associate Provost | Hiring with Tenure | Start Date | Offer of Employment | Terms of Appointment and Ranks | Acceptance or Refusal of Offer | Relocation Service | Submitting a Tenure-track Recruitment Dossier | Recruiting and Hiring Forms | Other Issues
NOTE: This page should be reviewed in conjunction with the Tenure-Stream Recruitment to Appointment Flow-Chart

Staffing Policy

The employment of academic and librarian staff at McGill University is the prerogative of the Board of Governors, which acts on the recommendation of the Principal as conveyed through the Provost, the Dean and the Chair.

1. No department or unit may begin recruitment until the Dean has justified the need for the position and written approval has been issued by the Provost. The formal approval for the staffing plan will include the Recruiting Licence to be used for the position.
2. Appointments are normally made at the most junior level. Any proposed exceptions must be brought forward to the Provost.
3. Approval for replacements resulting from negative decisions on reappointment or denial of tenure will be automatic. However, formal approval must be requested from the Provost prior to advertising for replacements. A new Recruitment Licence will be issued for each replacement.
4. Retiring staff members will not necessarily be replaced.

Advertising Tenure-Track Positions

For advertising requirements please refer to Advertising Academic Postions.

Selection Process

Applications should be screened by an appropriate departmental committee, and letters of reference sought. A short list of candidates is selected for interview. (See Employment Equity Guidelines regarding the selection of candidates from designated groups.)

Immigration requirements must be met. Refer to Immigration Procedures.

Discussion with the Dean

When a candidate has been identified, questions such as starting salary should be discussed with the Dean.

Discussion with the Associate Provost (Academic Staff & Priority Initiatives)

The Dean must discuss the recruitment with the Associate Provost (Academic Staff & Priority Initiatives).

The Dean must also submit a recruitment dossier, along with a covering memo giving specifics of the offer. See Required documents for recruiting tenure-track hires

Hiring with Tenure

The Dean must discuss the recruitment with the Associate Provost.

All recruitments with tenure must be approved by the University Tenure Committee for Recruitment (UTCR).

The candidate must not be given a formal written offer mentioning "tenure" until the Principal has approved the UTCR's recommendation.

For requirements for the recruitment dossier for hires with tenure, see Recruiting & Hiring Requiring UTCR Approval.

Start Date

Departments are advised to use August 1^st (or January 1^st) as the start-date for all new hires.

Offer of Employment

An offer letter may be issued to a candidate once written approval has been obtained from the Provost or the Principal. Letters may vary to suit the unit, however all letters must contain the core information relating to salary, duration of appointment and conditions of appointment. See our Offer Letter Template below. The following points must be covered:

• The letter must state that an appointment becomes official only upon approval by the Board of Governors.
• If the department wishes to make an offer to a candidate who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, the Immigration Procedures must be followed. The letter of offer must contain the following clause:
  "Please note that in accordance with Canadian and Québec law, this offer is conditional upon your obtaining the appropriate authorization to work from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Immigration Québec and, if applicable, Human Resources and Development Canada. While McGill University undertakes to assist you with the formalities, it cannot guarantee a favourable decision from the Immigration Authorities."
• "Alternative Compensation Arrangements"
  Deans, Chairs and Directors must be aware that, irrespective of the availability of resources within the unit, NO alternative compensation arrangements (e.g. payment of tuition or daycare, mortgages beyond the limits of our standard policy, etc.) are to be offered without the prior written consent of the Principal.

Terms of Appointment and Ranks

The term of appointment must conform to that specified for the rank as found in the Regulations Relating to the Employment of Tenure Track and Tenured Academic Staff or the Regulations Relating to the Employment of Librarian Staff.

Acceptance or Refusal of Offer

The Department and/or Faculty must send the Academic Personnel Office a copy of the candidate's acceptance or refusal of the offer.

Relocation Service

When corresponding with prospective new academic or librarian staff, Deans and Chairs must state that contributions towards moving expenses and travel are covered in accordance with the service outlined in McGill University Relocation Service.

The University will reimburse travel and moving expenses as long as the staff member has initiated and coordinated all aspects of the relocation via the Relocation Administrator in Human Resources.

Submitting a Tenure-Track Dossier

The following documents must be provided to the Academic Personnel Office for all new tenure-track and Special Category hires.

Stage 1: For the Dossier to be Approved by the Provost

• Dean/Director of Library's memo to the Provost recommending the recruitment and highlighting key points such as;
  -the approved recruiting licence as per the current Faculty Compact;
  -salary and start-up/research monies summary;
  -start-date;
  -rank (indicating if this will be a tenure-track or tenured recruitment),
  -department,
  -and description of the position being recruited into, etc -indication if the appointment is in more than one department or faculty, clear indication if it will be a Joint appointment or an Associate Member appointment
• Application for Approval of Recruitment form
• Employment Equity Data Report
• Chair's recommendation memo to the Dean recommending the recruitment
• Candidate's Curriculum Vitae (most recent version, with date it was produced appearing on it)
• Selection Committee Report addressing
  - confirmation that the candidate has demonstrated teaching ability
  - confirmation that credentials have been verified
• Three External Letters of Recommendation
  (The original or a copy of the signed original letter, dated and on letterhead must be submitted. Electronic signatures are not acceptable on the finalized document. Emails or extracts of email chains are not acceptable as the finalized document.)
  (If this is a recruitment with tenure, please see the UTCR Dossier Requirements and ignore this requirement)
• Minerva Academic Position Recruitment Report

Stage 2: UTCR Approvals

• NOTE: Stage 2 and Stage 3 procedures can be worked on simultaneously
• Recruitments with Tenure
  - the documents as listed on the UTCR Dossier Requirements page on this site must also be submitted.

Stage 3: After the Dossier has been Approved by the Provost

• NOTE: Stage 2 and Stage 3 procedures can be worked on simultaneously
• Letter of Offer (as signed and sent to the candidate)
• SIGNED Acceptance of the Offer Letter
• Advertisements as published for position (in their published context with publication titles and dates clearly visible), especially if a non-Canadian is being recruited into the position
• Letters or emails to Department Heads of at least 10 (if possible) similar departments in Canada

Stage 4: Acceptance or Refusal of Offer

The Faculty or Department must inform and send the Academic Personnel Office the final acceptance or refusal of offer by the candidate, so that the recruitment dossier can be finalized or closed.

Stage 5: Assistant Professor (Special Category)

• Written confirmation or a copy of the PhD, once received

Recruiting and Hiring Forms The following Recruitment forms are required for all tenure-track recruitments, accessible as external links, or downloadable to your computer, as appropriate to the form.
Document Type	Document
	Application for Approval of Recruitment (Template version 07 issued 2012.11)
	Minerva APRR Form (Log into Minerva using this link Then goto "HR Admin >> Tenure Stream Recruitment Tracking") In Minerva remember to (1) "submit" the MAPRR, (2) "generate" the report, and (3) send us a copy of the PDF which is generated
	Employment Equity Data Report (Link to Webpage containing forms)
	Offer Letter Template (Template version 35 issued 2013.04)

Other Issues

This page should be reviewed in conjunction with the Tenure-Stream Recruitment to Appointment Flow-Chart so that you may be sure not to miss any important steps from start-to-finish in this process.