"Banking" Open Positions

September 12, 2003

In my letter to the community earlier this week, I outlined our intention to bank most positions that become vacant this year. I write now to provide more detail about this process.

Effective immediately, the college will begin to bank all regular and limited term staff positions as they become vacant. This process, designed to hold positions open over the course of this year, will challenge us to determine new ways to streamline and distribute work should an employee leave. In the context of the reductions that we must make, I believe this policy provides the college with the best opportunity to increase our ability to eliminate and/or reallocate positions that are vacant and maximize possible job opportunities for staff whose positions are affected by staffing reductions.

Although the intent of this program is to bank all vacant positions, a review process has been established to provide for the possibility of posting positions that are determined to be at once central to the ongoing operation of the department and of strategic importance to the mission of the college.

In order to make a persuasive argument that a position should be posted, department heads must demonstrate to their Senior Staff member that all options to cover the work over the coming year with current or temporary staff have been exhausted.

To secure an exception to the policy of banking vacant positions, the department head must first show the Senior Staff member in charge of the unit that the position in question meets the criteria above.

The Senior Staff member will then determine if a request for exceptions to this policy will go forward to a review committee comprised of Rick Myers, Charles Staelin, and Lianne Sullivan-Crowley. The committee will review all requests and forward its recommendations to me. Jobs that are not banked will be posted internally and, if not filled, advertised externally. Jobs that have already been advertised externally are not subject to this review process.

Sincerely,

Carol T. Christ