UPDATE: March 16, 2020
Based on the latest guidance, moving forward all interviews must be conducted by video or telephone. No in-person interviews are to take place. In the alternative to conducting interviews via video or phone, interviews may be postponed until usual operations resume.
On Sunday, March 8, 2020, the University issued travel guidance in response to COVID-19. The following guidance was included in the message:
- All non-essential, non-athletic faculty staff and student international university travel is suspended until further notice. (See CSU definitions of essential and non-essential travel.)
- All non-essential, non-athletic faculty, staff and student university out-of-state travel within the United States is strongly discouraged, with the recommendation from the university that alternatives to this travel be identified and pursued.
- Travel within Colorado is not restricted.
- Any campus community member who returns to campus from a destination where there is sustained COVID-19 outbreak should prepare to self-isolate or be quarantined per CDC guidelines in place at the time of their return to campus.
- Anyone traveling to a CSU facility or campus from a CDC alert level 2 or 3 country must self-isolate for 14 days after arrival before conducting business with the university or being allowed in a university facility. This protocol applies to students, faculty, staff, visitors and guests.
- Please be aware that anyone who chooses to engage in essential university travel may risk exposure to COVID-19 and may also risk being subject to travel delays returning home, as well as mandatory quarantine or self-isolation at their destination or upon returning home.
Travel in connection with interviews conducted during search processes should follow the above listed guidance. The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) encourages search committees to employ alternate solutions to vetting and recruiting finalists during the next several months as travel restrictions are in place.
A helpful option is using video conferencing to hold interviews between the search committee and a candidate as well as other university constituents invited to participate in the interview process with finalists. Options for video interviews may include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Blue Jeans. The Information Technology representative for your unit may be able to assist committees to set up video interviews. If a candidate is reticent to travel or indicates they cannot or will not travel, video interviewing is an option that can be extended to the candidate.
Travel within Colorado is not restricted. If all finalists are candidates that reside in Colorado, in-person interviews can proceed. If any candidate does not reside in Colorado and the Hiring Authority and Search Chair have determined that video interviews will be the alternate means of vetting finalists, all finalists should participate through video interviews to afford a similar opportunity to all candidates. To meet with some candidates in person and others by video results in different experiences for the candidates and the members of the University community participating in the interview process. It is preferable to afford a similar experience for all involved in final interviews.
The ideal is for all candidates participating in finalist interviews to have the same experience. Nonetheless, OEO recognizes that there may be a mix of in-person and video participation. We encourage search committees to construct interview experiences that allow the use of video for exchanges to afford as similar an experience as possible for all candidates being interviewed. For example, this may mean that an open forum may not be an option and an alternate approach of meetings with specific constituents may be best.
There are several resources available to share what an amazing institution Colorado State is with candidates who will not be able to travel to Fort Collins or the interview destination. One of these resources is a virtual tour of campus hosted on the website of the Office of Admissions which can be found at https://www.youvisit.com/tour/colostate?pl=v. A user will be asked to register an account, but this is not necessary. By simply clicking the X, the tour will begin.
Do not hesitate to contact the Office of Equal Opportunity with questions or to seek specific guidance for your search.
Thank you for your flexibility as we navigate unchartered space. Additional messaging will follow as needed.