VII. Prior Approval Requests

Before a formal offer of employment is made to any faculty candidate, the hiring unit must be formally granted permission to make that offer. The process of vetting faculty candidates by all required parties at the department, dean, and provost level is known as the Prior Approval Request (PAR) system.  Part of the PAR system is the PAR packet which is comprised of specific items used for evaluation.

Only after final approval of the PAR, which is reflected in the signatures on the PAR packet AND final approval in the electronic PAR (FP*) document, may the hiring unit send out the official contract agreement letter (“Offer Letter”) to the faculty candidate for their signature. (Excerpt from the PAR Handbook)

Before You Begin

Create new faculty PAR folder in UT Box: 

• • *Department of Neuroscience > Faculty > PARs

Download appropriate CNS PAR checklist of supporting documentation

• • Tenure-Track Faculty Checklist
  • Tenured Faculty Checklist
  • Ad Hoc Tenure Assessment
  • Add appropriate checklist to candidate's PAR folder

Update Candidate Info:

• • Ask candidate to update the Faculty Candidate Contact Info (in Smartsheet) with their birth date and birth city

Forward the following English proficiency form to the candidate:

• • Attachment A - Primary Language Determination
  • Move document(s) to PAR folder when complete

If English is not the candidate's primary language:

• • Forward the following forms to the Recruitment Committee Chair:
    • Attachment B - Descriptions of Levels of English Proficiency
    • Attachment C - Assessment of English Proficiency
    • Upload to PAR folder when complete
  • Forward the following form to the Department Chair:
    • Attachment D - Appointment Status Recommendation
    • Upload to PAR folder when complete

Create draft documents for the Department Chair's approval:

• • Department Chair's Recommendation Letter (assign to Susan Cushman)
  • Department Chair's Teaching Assessment (assign to Susan Cushman)
  • Move documents to PAR folder when complete

Request a draft offer letter from CNS Faculty Affairs:

• • Tenure-Track Offer Letter Request Form
  • Tenured Offer Letter Request Form
  • Move letter to PAR folder when complete
  • Note:  It’s recommended that you don’t start the PAR until you have the draft offer letter in hand, since it will include necessary information on the candidate’s start date, rate, any additional compensation, relocation, courses, etc.

Move the following materials from the candidate's recruitment folder into the new PAR folder:

• • CV
  • Letters of recommendations (3)
  • Interfolio EEO report (aka "App Stat Tbl")
  • Interfolio job posting

Ensure you’re on an authorized desk:

• • This can be found on UT Direct’s Electronic Office Management (EOM) page.
  • To see which desk views you have, click “Change Authorization Profile.”
  • If you’re not on an authorized desk, your EOM manager will need to add you to the appropriate desk before you can create the PAR.

Instructional Unit Code:

• • To find your unit code, go to the View Contacts by Contract Type page and click the magnifying glass button.
  • You can then search for your department’s unit code; for the PAR, you will enter the first four digits of this code.

Job Code:

• • To find this, please see the PAR Handbook or, for PTF job codes, please see the PTF Titles and Contracts document.

Candidate’s EID:

• • This was likely created by the department during the recruitment process if any in-person interviews were conducted and vouchers were created.
  • However, it is important to verify that the candidate does/does not already have UT EID by entering a question mark in the field provided for EID.
  • This will bring you to an EID lookup screen.
  • You can also find EIDs in Define by using the AL2 command and entering the candidate’s last name, first name in the misc. section. If the candidate does not have an EID, they should create one using the UT EID Self-Service Tools.

Fiscal Year and Start Dates:

• • Fiscal year should be determined by the candidate’s start date.
    • For example, if a tenure-track candidate is beginning August 18^th, 2023 or September 1, 2023, the FY should be 2023 (for 2023-24).
    • If the candidate is starting January 16, 2024, the FY should be 2023 (for 2023-24).
  • Note that all tenured and tenure-track positions beginning in the Fall will have a start date ten working days prior to September 1^st (the PAR will audit for this).
  • If an assignment starts in the Spring, the start date will be January 16^th.
  • PTF positions should have a start date of either September 1^st or January 16^th during the long session, and June 1^st or July 1^st for summer assignments.
  • Only in rare circumstances should there be any variation from these dates.

Job Requisition:

• • This is what links the PAR to Workday.
  • The job requisition should be created and finalized in Workday before you create the PAR.
  • For information on how to create a faculty job requisition, see the Create a Job Requisition for Faculty WIG.