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POLICY 06:12:05

PERSONNEL TRANSACTIONS AND RECOMMENDED FORMS

This policy is consistent with Tennessee Board of Regents Guideline P-010 and the PellissippiState Recruitment Guidelines. Purpose The purpose of this guideline is to supplement provisions of the Tennessee Board of RegentsGeneral Personnel Policy (No. 5:01:00:00) and Pellissippi State Community College Policy General Personnel Policy (No. 06:01:00), as it relates to personnel transactions, procedures for college appointments, budgetary and position considerations, required forms for implementation procedures, processing of forms, employment agreements, contracts, letters of agreement, records and reports.Consistent with the general personnel policy, any exceptions to this guideline are subject to approval by the President. Policy/Guideline
  1. Personnel Transactions
    1. The President is expected to follow Board policies, and fair employment practiceswhen making appointments.
      1. Appointments requiring the Chancellor’s approval will be reviewed in light of these expectations.
      2. All appointments, regardless of salary, including promotions and transfers, must be reviewed and certified by the Executive Director, Institutional Compliance prior to action.
      3. Other appointments not requiring approval of the Chancellor will be reviewed periodically by the TBR System Equal Employment Opportunity Officer or AssociateVice Chancellor for Human Resources or designee to ensure compliance.
    2. Appointments Requiring Approval by the Chancellor
      1. No offer of employment can be made for positions requiring the Chancellor’s approval until the appointment form has actually been signed by the Chancellor or designee and the monitor, where required.
      2. The college must submit the following positions for approval: 1. All vice presidents (academic, business, external, student affairs, etc.) or other executives reporting directly to the President including all interim appointments. 2. Directors and chairs of the centers of emphasis and excellence, including interim appointments. 3. Any other positions which may be designated by the President.
    3. Appointments Not Requiring Approval by the Chancellor
      1. All appointments not listed in I.B. may be approved at the college by the President, or any properly approved designee.
      2. The hiring procedures outlined in the following sections will be followed with the records being maintained at the institution. Records must be maintained as described in Section VI, A.2. of this guideline.
      3. The president shall be responsible for assuring compliance with the guideline.
      4. The Executive Director, Institutional Compliance shall be responsible for monitoring the recruiting and employment process to assure compliance to assure compliance with applicable law and policy.
      5. All promotions and transfers not requiring approval of the Chancellor must be approved by the president and reviewed and certified by the Executive Director, Institutional Compliance in compliance with TBR Policy 5:01:00:00, General Personnel Policy and PSCC Policy 06:01:00 General Personnel.
    4. Minimum Requirements for All College Appointments
      1. The following actions or procedures are mandatory, to:
        1. Develop appropriate recruitment and selection procedures to ensure fairness in employment.
        2. Prior to taking any recruitment action, the person directing the hire and/or the search committee must submit to the office of Human Resources and Institutional Compliance a written recruitment plan.
        3. There may be a standard plan for any EEO category which has been approved in advance.
        4. EEO categories 4, 5, 6, and 7 may be more easily standardized.
        5. There may be a need for occasional modification to this standard plan, depending on the nature of the position and the availability data.
        6. The plan includes, but is not limited to:
          1. The proposed job description, which has been reviewed by the Executive Director, InstitutionalCompliance;
          2. Method of directing the hire, i.e., individual supervisor or search committee;
          3. Composition of the search committee and responsibilities of the members, i.e., direct contacts, references, interviews, etc.;
          4. An advertising plan, which provides the following:
            1. Advertisement of the position on bulletin boards, and/or in appropriate publications, and/or newspapers and/or professional discipline-specific journals and/or the Tennessee Employment Security Office; and/or the internet; and
            2. Requests for nominations, from professional organizations, discipline-related groups, and organizations devoted to leadership training for the position.
            3. Approval of the recruitment plan must be granted by the Executive Director, Institutional Compliance prior to the commencement of the recruitment process.
            4. The Tennessee Board of Regents and Pellissippi State Community College believes that it is important to check references to limit employer liability verify information and reduce cost of rehiring and retraining. Checks will produce authenticity of information as it relates to such areas as work history, credential problems and criminal backgrounds.
            5. The college shall conduct appropriate and timely checks in conjunction with each employment offer.
              1. As an option, the college may choose to participate in a system wide contract with a third party vendor who conducts background screening and checks.
              2. The college is required to develop procedures which will include the specific types of checks and specific positions included.
              3. The college is required to forward the procedures to the system office for review and approval prior to implementation of the program.
              4. When using the third party vendor, the college shall notify the applicant that a background check will be conducted prior to conducting the background check.
  2. Budgetary Considerations
    1. Pursuant to Section II.A. of the General Personnel Policy (5:01:00:00), where a transfer of funds is necessary for appointments with compensation in excess of funds available, the transfer is subject to confirmation by the Chancellor.
      1. No approval is necessary unless the transfer of funds is from one functional area to another; adjustments of line item salary amounts within a functional area may be made by the president if sufficient funds are available, subject to applicable guidelines and limitations.
      2. Where a transfer of funds between functional areas is necessary, the president is to submit a letter of recommendation to the Chancellor identifying the amount and source of transfer.
    2. Pursuant to Section II.C. of the TBR General Personnel Policy (5:01:00:00), any new administrative positions and major changes in administrative organization must be approved by the Chancellor.
      1. If the proposed position or organizational change is submitted as part of the proposed operating budget or October 31 revision, it should be identified, justified, and documented, but separate approval is not required.
      2. If the proposed position or organizational change does not coincide with the budget cycle, it should be recommended by the president in the form of a letter to the Chancellor which includes a full description, justification, fiscal implications, and other pertinent information.
  3. Required Forms for Implementation of Procedures for Approvals
    1. Information to support transactions that require the approval of the Chancellor or designee is requested in Forms A-1 and A-2.
    2. Approval for the certification of the search pool for upper level administrative vacancies is shown on Form A-1 (processed through DocuSign, at this link: https://www.tbr.edu/hr/paperless-workflow-forms).
    3. Search committees i for a college administrator at the level of dean of higher.
      1. Where a search committee is formed, candidates for hire must first be screened by the search committee before an offer can be extended.
      2. The Chair of the search committee must certify that each candidate considered by the committee meets or exceeds the criteria published in the job description. (See Form A-1).
      3. Supporting documentation for Form A-1 vice presidents and upper level academic positions must be submitted to the System Equal Employment Opportunity Officer.
    4. Approval for an appointment recommendation is shown on Form A-2 (processed through DocuSign, at this link: https://www.tbr.edu/hr/paperless-workflow- forms).
      1. Assurance by the EEOOfficer that an approved process has been followed and the qualified other-race applicants have been contacted and fully considered is mandatory.
      2. Supporting documentation for vice presidents must be submitted to the Assoociate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources. Upper level academic positions requiring approval must be submitted to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
  4. Transaction Forms, Employment Agreements, Contracts and Letters of Agreement
    1. Transaction Forms
      1. Section V.B. of this guideline provides recommended transaction forms to be used for all personnel transactions, unless alternate forms have been approved by the Chancellor.
      2. The college may develop internal personnel transaction forms for administrative purposes. These forms may relate to management information system and contain fiscal and personnel data deemed necessary by the institution.
    2. Employment Agreements, Contracts and Letters of Agreement
      1. Pursuant to Section II.B. of the General Personnel Policy (5:01:00:00), the Chancellor must approve employment agreements, contracts, and letters of agreement used in the appointment and employment of college personnel.
        1. Approved provisions for personal, professional, consultant, and dual service agreements are addressed in TBR System Guideline G-030.
        2. The college may modify the forms or develop alternative and additional forms; however, any forms with provisions substantially different from the recommended forms should be submitted for review and approval by the Office of the Chancellor.
      2. The EEO tagline must be included on all forms.
      3. The language concerning the Drug Free Workplace Act must be included on all initial employment contracts.
      4. In order to comply T.C.A. § 49-7-133 the following sentence must be included on all contracts: 1. “It is a Class A misdemeanor to misrepresent academic credentials.”
    3. The college is advised to exercise extreme caution in connection with employment letters to personnel and any cover letters which are used to transmit personnel transaction forms, to ensure against inconsistent statements or commitments. Moreover, all personnel transactions at the college shall comply with the principles and provisions of the Board policy on equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (5:01:02:00).
  5. Immigration Expense Allowance
    1. New employees may receive reimbursement for immigration expenses when considered to be in the interest of the college and when such payment is a part of the employment negotiation with a new employee or the relocation of a current employee from another employer or institution.
    2. Reimbursement/fee allowance for immigration fees must be approved in advance by the President or designee.
    3. This provision applies only to candidates who are required to pay immigration fees to work and live in the U.S.
    4. No TBR and/or PSCC employee may receive reimbursement more than once.
    5. No payment shall be made unless the employee agrees in writing to remain in the service of the college for a period of twenty-four (24) months following the effective date of the employment agreement, unless separated for reasons beyond their control and acceptable to the college.
    6. The service agreement statement should be maintained in the employee’s personnel file. In case of a violation of such an agreement, any funds expended by the college for such allowance shall be recoverable from the employee as a debt due to the college in the same manner as educational allowance payments.
    7. Reimbursement shall be in the maximum amount of $4500 and shall not exceed the employee’s actual, documented expenses. The allowance cannot be used to defray non-immigration-related costs or any costs not associated with theindividual employee’s immigration expenses.
    8. Reimbursable fees include:
      1. Fees charged by a licensed immigration attorney retained in connection with the application;
      2. Filing fee;
      3. Permanent residence fee;
      4. Fee for any application to enter the U.S.;
      5. Fee for application to remain in the U.S.; and
      6. Associated fees required in the application process, such as medical examinations, fingerprinting, photo identification, postal/courier fees, and costs of evaluating foreign academic credentials or translations of foreign documents.
    9. The employee is responsible for making arrangements for representation, completion of paperwork, assistance in the immigration process, and submission of all bills and/or invoices for which reimbursement is sought.
    10. Faculty may submit a claim for reimbursement by sending a request with original receipts to the Chief Academic Officer.
  6. Transaction Records and Reports
    1. Transaction Records
      1. The college shall develop and maintain adequate records to document all personnel transactions, including transactions which do not require the approval of the Chancellor.
      2. As provided in Section IX.A. of the TBR General Personnel Policy (5:01:00:00), all transaction records for an employee must be maintained as provided in TBR Policy 1.12.01.00 Records Retention and Disposal of Records (Formerly G-070).
    2. Transaction Reports
      1. All college personnel transactions shall be incorporated as part of the college’s proposed operating budgets and October 31 budget revisions.TBR Board staff shall determine the appropriate form and medium for the information.
      2. Current personnel information may be reported periodically to the staff by the college for administrative purposes relative to the maintenance and operation of management information systems.
      3. Current personnel reports may be requested from the college at any time in response to requests for information for the Board staff, Board, Legislature, etc.
    3. Sources: TBR Guideline P-010; T.C.A. § 49-8-203; T.C.A. § 49-7-122; T.C.A. § 8-42-101
Adopted by TBR: July 2, 1976 and August 19, 1976 Revised by TBR: September 16, 1980 Revised by TBR; July 1, 1984 Revised by TBR; August 16, 1984 Revised by TBR: July 1, 1985 Revised by TBR: February 16, 1988 Revised by TBR; May 15, 1990 Revised by TBR; September 21, 1990 Revised by TBR: November 13, 1990 Revised by TBR: November 11, 1991 Revised by TBR: November 12, 1996 Revised by TBR: August 5, 1997 Revised by TBR; February 16, 2000 Revised by TBR: May 21, 2001 Revised by TBR; February 13, 2002 Revised by TBR: November 5, 2003 Revised by TBR; November 8, 2006 Revised by TBR: February 13, 2007 Revised by TBR: August 19, 2008 Revised by TBR: May 12, 2009 Revised by TBR: May 18, 2013 Revised by TBR: August 20, 2013 Reviewed/Recommended: President’s Council, November 27, 2023 Approved: President L. Anthony Wise, Jr., November 27, 2023 Review/Recommended: College Council, March 3, 2025 Approved: President L. Anthony Wise Jr., March 3, 2025 Anthony Wise, Jr., November 27, 2023

Pellissippi State Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, pregnancy, disability, age (40+), status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or any other class protected by Federal or State laws and regulations and by Tennessee Board of Regents policies with respect to all employment and education programs and activities. View the nondiscrimination policy. For questions or concerns, please contact George Underwood.