Running head: Faculty Selection

Faculty Selection: JMU Psychology Professor

Brock Addison, Marcos Contreras, Kiana Dickinson, Olivia Szendey

James Madison University
FACULTY SELECTION
1

Introduction

To begin the recruitment process, the listing for the psychology professor position will be
posted on JMU joblink. In order to recruit a wide and diverse audience for the position the link to
the joblink posting will be on job search sites like Linkedin and Indeed. While word of mouth
will also be utilized, in order to promote an eclectic group of applicants the primary form of
recruitment will be job boards. In addition, we will be directly contacting Historically Black
Universities (HBUs) and The Association of Black Psychologists to garner more diversity in the
applicant pool.
We anticipate about 100 applicants for the current Psychology Professor job opening. Our
hiring process will include 4 steps that will evaluate candidates on their previous experience in
the field of psychology, their communication skills among multiple contexts, and their ability to
maintain a professional, yet approachable, attitude in our teaching environment.
Hiring Process Overview
Step 1: CV/Cover Letter/ References (100 applicants)
Applicants will be asked to submit a curriculum vita detailing their employment positions
as well as research publications, presentations and experiences. They will submit a cover letter
explaining their interest in the position and the qualities and experiences that make them a good
fit. In addition, each applicant is asked to submit 3 reference letters for this position.
Step 2: Skype Interview (50 applicants)
The skype interview is a good way to gather diverse information and achieve a more
complete view of a candidates qualifications. It will provide insight about the candidate's
qualifications for the less binary criteria of the job. These include intangibles like creativity,
social ability, personality, and how well candidates can articulate what they can do.
Step 3: In Person Interview (10 applicants)
The applicant will physically come on campus and interview with three current faculty members.
The interview will include questions constructed by the faculty members, three case studies, the
creation of a draft syllabus, and a formal essay regarding an ethical dilemma.
Step 4: Guest Lecture (3 applicants)
The candidate will prepare a 15-20 minute presentation on the topic for which they are applying
to teach (I.e. biopsychology, abnormal, learning, etc.). They will then attend a faculty members
class and give their presentation to the students, as well as two faculty members who are also
present.
Procedures
KSAOs we will be evaluating for: Approachable/Personable, Effective Communication,
Knowledgeable, Prepared, Provides Constructive Feedback, Professional, Accessible, Presents
Current Information, Realistic Expectations, Promotes Critical Thinking/Intellectually
Stimulating - KSAOs from job prep
 FACULTY SELECTION
2

Step 1: CV/Cover Letter

As a part of the application process applicants will be asked to submit a CV, references
and a cover letter. These documents will be scanned to see if the applicant meets criteria for the
posting. We will be looking for applicants that have multiple years of teaching experience and
express some form of passion towards teaching in their cover letter. The applicant must be
qualified (ie PhD) in the field in which they are applying to teach. This criteria ensures that the
applicant meets the knowledgeable KSAO; this is a criterion variable. They must have recent
publications, which have contributed to their field as well. This criterion is related to the KSAO
of presenting current information. If they have current research in their field, it will serve as a
predictor of the information they present. In addition, their references will be reviewed and any
applicants with negative evaluations will be discarded. All of their application materials will be
glanced over for accuracy/ grammar as well as professionalism in their forms of communication.
This consideration of their materials serves to make sure that the applicants are able to follow the
KSAOs of professionalism and effective communication. The way the applicants express
themselves on paper serves as a predictor to their ability to act professional and communicate
effectively if in the job situation.
KSAO 1: Knowledgeable
KSAO 2: Presents Current Information
KSAO 3: Effective Communication
KSAO 4: Professional

Step 2: Skype Interview

After the initial screening, the candidates will take part in a skype interview with one
current JMU faculty members in the Psychology Department. Throughout the interview, faculty
members will be assessing the specific KSAOs listed in the job analysis that a Psychology
Professor at JMU should possess. The interview questions will be the same for each candidate.
The questions will include a variety of biographical information, such as their education history,
job experience, service, research experience, and their wellbeing.
Candidates will be rated on a five-point scale (1=poor; 5= superior) to rate each KSAO and
how much the candidate fulfills the criteria. Sample Questions:
Biographical Sample
Tell us a little more about your professional experiences, particularly those not
mentioned on your resume/application.
Situational Sample
Imagine that a student visits your office hours the week before a test. They are asking the
right questions, but it is clear they have not done all the reading they need to do to be
fully prepared. Despite this, they are adamant that they have completed the reading. How
would you best help this student?
Experienced-Based Sample
 FACULTY SELECTION
3

Have you ever had a great idea but been told that you could not implement it? How did
you react? What did you do?

Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Superior

Responses display limited Responses show considerable Responses show high level
awareness and thoughtfulness thought and are based on of awareness and
reasonable thought processes. understanding

1 2 3 4 5

After the ratings are compiled for each candidate, the interviewers will select a small number of
candidates to further advance to the in person interview stage.
KSAO 1: Approachable/Personable
KSAO 2: Effective Communication
KSAO 3: Knowledgeable
KSAO 4: Professional
KSAO 5: Promotes Critical Thinking/Intellectually Stimulating

Step 3: In Person Interview

For the third step in the process, ten applicants will physically come to campus for an
interview with a panel of three current employees. One of the employees will be on an equal
level of the desired position (e.g. another professor), one will be the manager of the desired
position (e.g. the dean of the department), and the other will be the head of the HR/Recruiting for
professors at JMU. The first section of the interview will start with each of the employees asking
three questions that they feel would be the most important in evaluating whether or not the
candidate is qualified for the job. However, the three questions that are asked by each employee
must be the same three questions they ask to the nine other applicants. The answers from these
three questions will be objectively rated on a scale of 1 to 5 by each of the three current
employees, with 1 being poor and 5 being superior. Using three employees from various levels
of the department will allow for the discussion of different perspectives and further investigation
into whether the applicant will fit into the department as a whole. After the initial questioning has
concluded, the applicant will be given three case studies: one concerning a below average
student, one with an average student, and one with a student who exceeds expectations. The three
current employees will ask the applicant to come up with various strategies (e.g. holding study
sessions/extended office hours) to improve the ability of struggling/unmotivated students and
improve above average students desire to help the rest of the class. Once again, these case
studies and related questions will be held constant for each applicant. This will help the faculty
see which applicants can come up with effective and efficient solutions on the spot to promote
growth in their classroom. In addition, the applicants will be asked to create a draft syllabus for
the class they would like to teach. The answers provided for each case study and draft syllabi
will be objectively rated on a scale of 1 to 5 by each of the three current employees. Finally, the
last section of the in person interview will be a case concerning an ethical dilemma in the
 FACULTY SELECTION
4

classroom. Applicants will read the case and be asked to write a short, formal essay on their
reaction and solution to the dilemma. This section will assess how well applicants react to
difficult situations that may arise in the classroom. The formal essay will be objectively rated on
a scale of 1 to 5 by each of the three current employees. At the end of the in-person interview,
applicants will be granted the opportunity to ask any questions to each of the three employees.
KSAO 1: Provides Constructive Feedback
KSAO 2: Accessible
KSAO 3: Approachable/Personable
KSAO 4: Realistic Expectations
KSAO 5: Promotes Critical Thinking/Intellectually Stimulating

Step 4: Guest Lecture

During the guest lecture, candidates will be scored on array of skills that are necessary in
order to be successful in this teaching position. Candidates will be assessed on their ability to
maintain eye contact throughout the presentation, the clarity in their voice as well as the
information they present, clear knowledge of the topic they are presenting, and the ability to
answer any questions students (and faculty) have pertaining to the presentation. The applicants
lecture will be objectively rated on a scale of 1-10 in each of the four aforementioned areas. It is
essential for the candidate to be confident and knowledgeable about the topic they are teaching in
order to ensure they will teach students the correct material they need to advance in the field of
psychology. Likewise, it is important for the candidate to present the information in a clear and
concise manner, which allows students to grasp and understand what is being taught to them.
Additionally, the candidate must be able to answer any questions students may have and clear up
any misheard or misinterpreted information, which may lead to even greater confusion down the
road.
KSAO 1: Effective Communication
KSAO 2: Knowledgeable
KSAO 3: Prepared
KSAO 4: Professional
KSAO 5: Presents Current Information
KSAO 6: Promotes Critical Thinking/Intellectually Stimulating

Decision Making Process

While creating this application process, we decided it would be best to use a combination
of both the multiple-hurdle and multiple-criterion approach. First, multiple-hurdle would have to
be used in order to ensure that we are allocating a reasonable amount of time for the application
process. These hurdles start with broadest aspects of the applicant/the least amount of time for
consideration during Step 1 (e.g. CV/Cover Letter) and end with the most specific aspects of the
applicant/the most amount of time for consideration during Step 4 (e.g. Guest Lecture). Although
the applicants will have to pass each hurdle to move on to the next, there will be specific
criterion within each hurdle that will determine if they have the overall score to make it to the
next. During step one, applicants must have at least five years of experience teaching, have a
FACULTY SELECTION
5

Ph.D. in their respective field of study, and at least two research publications. During step two,
the applicant will have to score at least an average score of 4 out of 5 from the evaluation of the
skype interview. During step three, the applicant will have to obtain at least a mean score of 4 out
of 5 from the average of the three faculty members in each criterion (e.g. average of answers to
initial questions, average of answers to each case study, score of the draft syllabus, and score to
the formal essay). During step four, the applicants with the overall best scores from the guest
presentation will be selected for employment, based on the number of professors desired at the
time.
In this process we are worried more about false positives. It would be upsetting to hire a
faculty member that seemed as though they would excel in the process and turn out to not meet
the department's standards. At James Madison University, we want our students to have the best
possible resources. With our tough application process, it is inevitable that good applicants may
accidentally fall through the cracks. However, we are confident in obtaining a surplus of good
applicants that will meet the criteria and losing 1-2 good applicants over hiring a poor one is a
risk we are willing to take.