Managing Search Budgets

For Tenure-Track And Three-Year Positions

Each department conducting a search is to manage its own search budget using funds transferred from the dean's office to the department for that purpose. In consultation with the chair, the administrative assistant fills out two Search Budget Worksheets, the first (Search Budget Worksheet I [pdf] ) to be submitted shortly after Search Report I and the second (Search Budget Worksheet II [pdf] ) to be submitted shortly after Search Report II. Once these budgets are approved by the Associate Dean, the total amounts allocated are transferred to the department. The department must also submit copies of all receipts associated with the search to the Associate Dean at the end of the search.  If the department should spend more than the budgeted amount, the additional expenses will come out of the department budget. Once the search is over, the department submits to the Associate Dean a final budget that accurately reflects the actual expenditures related to the search.

Remember that the college's recruiting budget is used exclusively for  

  • advertising
  • recruiting trips by faculty search committee members
  • campus visits by candidates

Departmental budgets are expected to cover the costs of

  • stationery
  • postage
  • telephone calls
  • photocopying

The following are guidelines for preparing and managing just such a customized budget.

Advertising

An advertising budget must be submitted as part of Faculty Search Report I to the Associate Dean for approval before the ad is placed.

  • Whenever possible use the minimum-size ad. Because the college posts the full job descriptions on its "Faculty Employment Opportunities," you can use abbreviated web-based ads to refer the potential candidates to the full ad on the "faculty job" website.
  • Immigration law requires that one of the advertisements be placed in a print journal. You must indicate in Search Report I where your print ad will appear.  The printed ad should be submitted to the Dean's Office.

Recruiting Trips by Faculty Search Committee Members

Most searches involve interviews conducted by search committee members at the annual professional meeting for the discipline in question. The college recruiting budget is designed to cover transportation, lodging, and meals for 2 faculty members and the 1 outside reviewer of the search committee who attend such a professional meeting for this purpose.

It is essential that you:

  • Book all flights far enough in advance to get the lowest fares.
  • Book all rooms far enough in advance to be able to take advantage of special conference rates.
  • Investigate the options for interviewing space and pick the most economical one. The college will cover the cost of a suite or interviewing room, whichever is less expensive. If a suite turns out to be the best option, it is expected that as many members of the search committee will use the suite for lodging purposes as there are bedrooms in the suite.

You should also investigate ground transportation options (airport to hotel and back) in advance and inform all committee members about them. Usually the hotel operates a shuttle.

Note:

  • The search committee chair should brief the search committee members prior to the meeting regarding the budget and its limitations.
  • If guests accompany search committee members, they are responsible for paying their own way. If, for example, a committee member brings a spouse or partner and the rate for a double room is higher than that of a single, the guest is responsible for the additional cost. If a guest occupies a room in a suite that might otherwise have been used by a committee member, the guest in responsible for the expense of the displaced committee member's room.

Campus Visits by Candidates

Under normal circumstances, three candidates are invited to campus for each search. Flight and lodging arrangements should be made immediately after the dean has approved the top three candidates for campus visits. A typical campus visit lasts two days and thus requires three nights of lodging.

Additional information:

  • Lodging: if Sumner House is full (call Candie Putnam, ext 74020), the candidate should be lodged at the Doubletree Claremont (626-2411), which offers rooms at a flat rate (plus tax) for the Claremont Colleges.
  • Food: it is expected that most of the meals during a candidate's visit will be hosted by members of the department or other college personnel.
     
    • For those meals that are not hosted, the candidate is responsible for submitting original receipts to the department administrative assistant.
  • Food: Only $350 will be allotted for meals for each candidate (3 x $350 = $1,050)
  • Candidates are responsible for
     
    • any long-distance phone charges and the like incurred while they are in Claremont.
    • the costs associated with the lodging, food, etc. of any guest accompanying them.

If a candidate's schedule changes, it is the department's responsibility to make the appropriate cancellations (Sumner House or the Doubletree) as soon as possible but at least 48 hours in advance.

The recruiting budget does not cover:

  • local transportation: Department members (faculty) are responsible for getting the candidates to and from the airport. The search budget does not reimburse candidates or departments for gas, rental cars, or taxis.
  • departmental receptions. These are to be covered by the departmental budget.