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Training and Resources

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Training

Committee training 

The Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs (OVPFA) arranges training workshops each academic year. The workshops are jointly delivered with the Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association (TFA) and include instruction on the hiring/appointments committees’ obligations and duties under the Collective Agreement and university policies, including the values of equity, diversity and inclusion. 

Any hiring/appointments committee member who does not attend the workshop shall not be eligible to be a member of the hiring/appointments committee. Committee members  who miss the training should inform their Chair/Director, Dean and OVPFA. Members of the Library Appointments Committee (LAC) should inform the Associate Chief Librarian, and members of the Counsellor Appointments Committee (CAC) should inform the Executive Director, Student Wellbeing or designate. 

The training schedule and registration information for the workshops can be found on the Committee Training page.

Not sure if you or your colleagues on the committee require training? Please email us at vpfa@torontomu.ca to find out. 

Equity Advocate training 

Each hiring/appointments committee is expected to select or elect an Equity Advocate from within its membership, in accordance with the TFA Collective Agreement. The Equity Advocate is expected to attend additional training offered by the university. 

The training schedule and registration information for the workshops can be found on the Committee Training page. Recordings and presentations from past workshops (external link)  are also available. 

Resources

Hiring/appointments committees must conduct themselves in accordance with the rights and obligations stipulated in the following form. Each committee member is required to review and ensure that they have fully understood the rights and responsibilities outlined in this form.

The following checklist is provided as a guide to hiring/appointments committees.

The following job ad templates (external link)  are available and must be used when submitting job ads for approval to facultyads@torontomu.ca. If you do not find a suitable template for the vacancy you are recruiting for, please email us at vpfa@torontomu.ca for sample job ads. 

In tandem with reviewing best practices for screening candidates, hiring/appointments committees may find it helpful to use and customize the following template rubric to guide their evaluation process.

The rubric should be used to develop appropriate interview questions. A few  (google doc) sample interview questions (external link)  can be found here and in the Recruiting and Hiring Diverse Faculty Guidelines available on the Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI) website. A few  (PDF file) additional sample questions mentioned in this document may also be of assistance. 

Based on the criteria established in the rubric and information collected though the interview process/campus visit, committees can use the following worksheet to assess each candidate.

Hiring/appointments committees may use the following form when collecting feedback on candidates from colleagues (e.g. from public presentations of faculty candidates). The various sections in the form (e.g. area of evaluation) should be modified to reflect the vacancy that is being filled.

Hiring/appointments committees may use the following worksheet when conducting reference checks. The questions in the worksheet should be modified to reflect the vacancy that is being filled.

If your committee is conducting any parts of the process virtually, the following checklists will assist with getting organized and staying on track.

During the search process, the committee will need to communicate with candidates at various stages. A few sample emails/scripts and tips are provided in the document below.

If recommending a foreign candidate, please consult with Zenab Pathan, Director, Faculty Recruitment and Development at zenab.pathan@torontomu.ca to better understand the options available for facilitating the foreign candidate’s work authorization in Canada. During your consultation, your hiring/appointments committee will be advised if the foreign hire form below and the documentation stipulated within it are required from your committee. If required, please make a copy of the form and complete it.

Check out some helpful tips offered by colleagues with prior experience serving on hiring/appointments committees.

Using the Harvard Implicit Association Test

Advertising and interview timelines

Recruiting foreign candidates

Recruiting Indigenous scholars

Importance of good record keeping for international hires

Confidentiality during candidate screening and assessment

Conflicts of interest during candidate screening and assessment

Unique interview questions

Campus visit for Indigenous candidates

Records retention obligation

Tools for hiring recommendation