Posting Procedures and Hiring Checklists

Required hiring procedures and paperwork by type of hire

• Definitions
  1. Regular Full-time Staff -employees who are regularly scheduled to work full-time (100%) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months.
  2. Part-time Staff - Employees who are regularly scheduled to work less than full-time (less than 100%) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months.*
     *Employees who are regularly scheduled to work one-half time or more (50% time or greater) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months are benefits eligible. Employees who are regularly scheduled for less than one-half time (49% or less) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months are not benefits eligible.
• Recruitment
  1. Positions must be filled by posting on the MSU Online Employment System or by submitting a waiver request (See Exceptions to the University's Recruitment and Selection Process).
  2. See link for Advertising Procedure for steps to advertise outside of the MSU Online Employment System.
• Posting Requirements by Type of Position (through the MSU Online Employment System)
  1. Executive/Administrative/Managerial and Other Professional (non-faculty)
     1. HRM procedures must be followed when establishing a new position or changing a vacant position. (Please see Requests for Salary Adjustment Procedure.)
     2. Department is responsible for creating the Position Approval Request Form (PARF) through the MSU Online Employment System, which includes the job description.
     3. Positions must be posted for a minimum of 15 calendar days.
     4. Executive/Administrative/Managerial positions – applicant materials may be submitted online or by hard copy. An application (Personal Data Information Form) is required for applicants. If materials are received by mail without submission of an online application, applicants must be contacted and asked to apply online to ensure complete search records. Applicants will not be considered without an online application.
     5. Other Professional (non-faculty positions) – A professional application is required. Applicant must submit cover letter and resume by online attachment.
  2. Support Staff
     1. HRM procedures must be followed when establishing a new position or changing a vacant position. (Please see Requests for Salary Adjustment Procedure.)
     2. Department is responsible for creating the Position Approval Request Form (PARF) through the MSU Online Employment System. Job description templates are available through the system.
     3. Positions must be posted for a minimum of five (5) business days.
     4. A support staff application is required. Applicants will submit a cover letter and/or resume by online attachment, if requested by hiring department.
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Copy of electronic Position Approval Request Form (PARF) or approved waiver and routing form
  3. Signed Offer Letter
     1. Offer Letter - Executive, Administrative, Managerial, and Other Professional Staff (contract employees) (PDF) or (Word)
     2. Offer Letter - Executive, Administrative, Managerial, and Other Professional Staff (non-contract employees) (PDF) or (Word)
     3. Offer Letter - Research Non-Contract Professionals-External Funded Projects (PDF) or (Word)
     4. Offer Letter - Support Staff Employee (PDF) or (Word)
  4. Salary offer approval documentation from HRM, if applicable
  5. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  6. Personal Demographic Form
  7. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  8. Online Application
  9. Resume or Curriculum Vitae, if appropriate
  10. Official transcript(s) (if the position requires a bachelor's degree or above)
  11. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization
      1. Related Policy: University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens
  12. PERS 4A Non-Covered Employment Acknowledgement Form (only if the employee's FTE is less than 50%) - unless the employee is employed and contributing to the Public Employees' Retirement System with another covered employer.
  13. Direct Deposit Form

• Definitions
  1. Regular Full-time Faculty - employees who are regularly scheduled to work full-time (100%) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months.
  2. Regular Part-time Faculty - Employees who are regularly scheduled to work less than full-time (less than 100%) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months.*
     *Employees who are regularly scheduled to work one-half time or more (50% time or greater) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months are benefits eligible. Employees who are regularly scheduled for less than one-half time (49% or less) and whose positions are expected to be active for more than four and one-half months are not benefits eligible.
  3. Please see AOP 13.22 - Guidelines for Adjunct Faculty, Visiting Faculty, Visiting Scholar and Visiting Executive Appointments for procedures on these types of appointments.
• Recruitment
  1. Positions must be filled by posting on the MSU Online Employment System or by submitting a waiver request. (See Exceptions to the University's Recruitment and Selection Process.)
  2. In order to allow departments to be proactive in identifying potential faculty members, a second Position Approval Request Form (PARF) process has been developed. This process may be used if a department does not have identified funds to hire a faculty member. The process allows a department to post and advertise a position. Once funding is identified, convert the "advertise only" pool into a qualified applicant pool from which you hire. Note that no formal interviews can take place before funding is identified by the hiring department and approved by the appropriate Dean or Director. Further, no offer letters will be approved if funding has not been clearly identified and indicated on the printed copy of the online PARF. See link for the Faculty Advertisement Only Posting Procedure Chart.
  3. Please note that tenure-track faculty positions must be advertised in a national professional journal. Effective July 2011, an electronic or web-based national professional journal may be used. See link for Advertising Procedure for procedures advertising outside of the MSU Online Employment System.
• Posting Requirements
  1. Department is responsible for creating the Position Approval Request Form (PARF) through the MSU Online Employment System, which includes the job description.
  2. Positions must be posted for a minimum of 15 calendar days.
  3. Applicant materials may be submitted online or by hard copy. An application (Personal Data Information Form) is required for applicants. If materials are received by mail without submission of an online application, applicants must be contacted and asked to apply online to ensure complete search records. Applicants will not be considered without an online application.
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Copy of electronic Position Approval Request Form (PARF), Position Approval Request Form (PARF) paper version (if Visiting Faculty), or approved waiver and routing form.
  3. Signed Offer Letter
     1. Offer Letter - Faculty Positions
     2. Offer Letter - Research Faculty (Contract) (PDF) or (Word)
  4. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  5. Personal Demographic Form
  6. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  7. Online Application (Personal Data Information Form)
  8. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  9. Two (2) Letters of Recommendation
  10. Official transcript for each degree earned (The official transcripts must be issued by the degree-granting institutions directly to the MSU hiring department.)
  11. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization
      1. Related Policy: University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens
  12. PERS 4A Non-Covered Employment Acknowledgement Form (only if the employee's FTE is less than 50%) - unless the employee is employed and contributing to the Public Employees' Retirement System with another covered employer.
  13. Direct Deposit Form

• Definition
  Full-time or part-time positions expected to be active for a specified period of time - more than four and one-half months but not to exceed one year.
• Posting Requirements
  A "Blanket PARF" must be submitted by each college via the MSU Online Employment System for each fiscal year. Applicants will apply online or directly to the college.
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Position Approval Request Form (PARF) paper version
  3. Signed Offer Letter
     1. Offer Letter - Faculty Lecturers, Rehired Retiree Lecturers
  4. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  5. Personal Demographic Form
  6. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  7. Online Application
  8. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  9. Two (2) Letters of Recommendation
  10. Official transcript for each degree earned (The official transcripts must be issued by the degree-granting institutions directly to the MSU hiring department.)
  11. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization
      1. Related Policy: University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens
  12. PERS 4A Non-covered Employment Acknowledgement Form – unless the employee is employed and contributing to the Public Employees' Retirement System with another covered employer.
  13. Direct Deposit Form

• Definition
  Appointment to a position by an individual who has received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path. Appointment to a Post-Doctoral position is for a limited period of time, normally not exceeding three years.
• Recruitment
  1. See link for Advertising Procedure for procedures for advertising outside of the MSU Online Employment System.
• Posting Requirements
  1. Departments are not required to advertise positions on the MSU Online Employment System; however, if the department/unit chooses to advertise, the hiring department is responsible for creating the Position Approval Request Form (PARF) through the MSU Online Employment System, which includes the job description.
  2. Positions, if posted via the MSU Online Employment System, must be posted for a minimum of 15 calendar days.
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Copy of electronic Position Approval Request Form (PARF) (if the position was advertised on the MSU Online Employment System)
  3. Signed Offer Letter
     1. Offer Letter - Executive, Administrative, Managerial, and Other Professional Staff (non-contract employees) (PDF) or (Word)
  4. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  5. Personal Demographic Form
  6. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  7. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
  8. Official transcript for each degree earned (The official transcripts must be issued by the degree-granting institutions directly to the MSU hiring department.)
  9. Salary offer approval documentation from HRM, if applicable
  10. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization
      1. Related Policy: University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens
  11. Direct Deposit Form

• Definition
  Employees who are regularly scheduled to work full-time or part-time on an intermittent or sporadic basis and whose positions are expected to be active for a period up to, but less than, four and one-half months or 720 hours in a fiscal year. This category includes those hired to work on temporary basis for the same period of time. Please note that if the individual is already in a covered position under the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), either with the same or other covered agency, they will be covered by PERS.
• Posting Requirements
  Positions are not required to be posted.
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Online Application (Required for non-exempt positions)
  3. Resume (Required for exempt positions)
  4. Salary offer approval documentation from HRM, if applicable
  5. Signed Offer Letter
     1. Offer Letter - Intermittent (PDF) or (Word)
  6. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  7. Personal Demographic Form
  8. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  9. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization
     1. Related Policy: University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens
  10. PERS 4A Non-covered Employment Acknowledgement Form – unless the employee is employed and contributing to the Public Employees' Retirement System with another covered employer.
  11. Direct Deposit Form

• Definition
  Individuals who have retired from Mississippi State University or other State of Mississippi service.
  Related Policy - Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi Regulation 34, Reemployment After Retirement
• Posting Requirements
  1. Department is responsible for creating the Position Approval Request Form (PARF) through the MSU Online Employment System, which includes the job description (not required for Lecturers).
  2. The position will not be posted online. The link to apply to the position will be sent via the hiring department to the PERS Retiree so that an application can be submitted online.
  3. After the initial hire of the rehired retiree, if the employee is continuing employment, the hiring department is only required to send the PERS: 4B Certification/Acknowledgement of Reemployment of Retiree by the beginning of each fiscal year (July 1).
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Copy of electronic Position Approval Request Form (PARF) or Position Approval Request Form (PARF) paper version
  3. Online Application (Required for non-exempt positions)
  4. Resume/Curriculum Vitae (Required for exempt positions including Lecturers)
  5. Two (2) Letters of Recommendation (Required for Lecturers)
  6. If Faculty, official transcript for each degree earned (The official transcripts must be issued by the degree-granting institutions directly to the MSU hiring department.)
  7. Salary offer approval documentation from HRM, if applicable
  8. Signed Offer Letter
     1. Offer Letter - Faculty Lecturers, Rehired Retiree Lecturers
     2. Offer Letter - Rehired Retiree - Non-Lecturer (PDF) or (Word)
  9. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  10. Personal Demographic Form
  11. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  12. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization
      1. Related Policy: University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens
  13. PERS: 4B Certification/Acknowledgment of Reemployment of Retiree - using the approved title and salary listed on the PARF must be completed and submitted at hire and each fiscal year.
  14. Direct Deposit Form

• Definition
  An individual holding an assistantship through the Office of Graduate Studies, including teaching, research, and service assistantships.
• Posting Requirements
  none
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel) (must be signed by the Office of Graduate School)
  2. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  3. Personal Demographic Form
  4. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  5. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization (Does not pertain to all Graduate Students, please see University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens)
  6. Direct Deposit Form
• Resources
  For additional information and forms, please contact the Office of the Graduate School.

• Definition
  1. Employees whose work assignments are secondary to their pursuit of academic goals or objectives and who are enrolled as either undergraduate or graduate students of Mississippi State University, including students in a work study program and students in a co-op program.
  2. A high school graduate who has not yet enrolled at MSU must be hired as an intermittent employee, but not as a student worker. However, an MSU student who was enrolled during the spring semester and for the following fall semester may be hired during the intervening summer months as a student worker.
  3. For graduate students to be hired as a student worker during the summer months, they must be enrolled in the fall semester.
• Posting Requirements
  none
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. I-9 with corresponding documentation
  3. Personal Demographic Form
  4. Tax documents, Form W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate and Mississippi Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate
  5. Kroll Form - Background Screen Authorization(Does not pertain to all Students, please see University Policy, HRM 60-122, Pre-employment Criminal Background Screens)
  6. Direct Deposit Form

• Definition
  Circumstances may require filling vacant positions on an interim basis. Such interim appointments shall not exceed twelve (12) consecutive months without approval of the President.
  1. Employees selected for interim appointments must meet the minimum qualifications of positions.
  2. Salaries for interim appointments are determined by responsible administrators in consultation with the Department of Human Resources Management for staff appointments and Academic Affairs for faculty appointments. See Requests for Salary Adjustment Procedure for submitting requests. At the end of the interim assignment, affected staff employee salaries will be reduced to the original level plus any performance related salary increases received during the interim assignment. Faculty salaries will be reduced in accordance with terms and conditions defined at the beginning of the interim appointment in consultation with Academic Affairs.
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Signed Offer Letter (Interim appointments may require additional approvals by the President and/or the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) Board of Trustees. Please see Employment Requiring IHL Approval.)
     
     The appropriate offer letter template should be used and modified to include the following information:
     1. Description of the interim appointment, including title and pay
     2. Duration of the interim appointment, including start date and anticipated end date
     3. Conditions affecting employment at the end of the assignment, including title and salary
     4. Conditions affecting tenure, if applicable
     5. A statement indicating whether the employee is eligible to apply for the position and participate in the search process to fill the position.
  3. Copy of approved request with Routing Form - Request for Salary Adjustment: Staff Position
  4. Direct Deposit Form

• Definition
  1. Summer appointments (which include teaching summer school) correspond to work performed during the summer months (beyond the normal employment contract). Only 9-month employees are eligible for a summer appointment.
  2. In certain instances and with prior approval through the Provost, a 12-month employee may also teach summer school. 12-month employees receiving additional compensation during the summer must be addressed via the Request for Other University Employment Activity Form that requires approval through the Provost. These payments cannot be processed as a summer appointment. For additional questions, please contact Budget Office in the Office of the Controller and Treasurer or the Office of the Provost.
  3. Summer school corresponds to classes taught during the months of June and July. Classes taught in June are referred to as first (5 week) term summer school and classes taught in July are referred to as a second (5 week) term summer school. Some classes are offered as a 10-week term course.
• Required Paperwork
  1. Employment Action Form (EAF) - (PDF) or (Excel)
  2. Summer Appointment Request Form (must have the approval of the appropriate Vice President (s) and Provost, if appropriate)
  3. Direct Deposit Form
• Other Information
  Additional information on the guidelines for summer school appointments will be provided annually by the Office of the Provost.

• About MSU Jobs
• Posting Procedures and Hiring Checklists
• Screening and Selection
• Advertising Procedure
• Exceptions to Recruitment and Selection Procedures (Waiver Process)
• Employment Requiring IHL Approval
• International Employment
• Resources