The information on this page is specific to lecturer pools that utilize the pool recruitments features launched in January 2025 and should be used to supplement the information in the search guide and checklists. Those managing other types of pool recruitments (e.g., postdoc pools) may also find the guidance on this page helpful. Please refer to the Non-Senate Search Guide for a comprehensive list of academic recruitment policies.
Hiring Guidelines
All units that hire lecturers are strongly encouraged to have an open area lecturer pool open at all times to accommodate hiring needs as they arise. Lecturer pools can remain open for up to one calendar year at a time, and units may continue to hire out of them for six months after the final date if no current, qualified lecturers are available. However, once a new lecturer pool is opened, the old pool should no longer be used for new hires. Applicants from the old pool should be encouraged to apply to the new one and only the new pool can be used for new hiring needs.
For questions regarding the Unit 18 contract, or reappointment and break-in-service guidelines, contact the Academic Personnel Office (appolicy@berkeley.edu).
Creating the Search Plan
Lecturer pools are generated using AP Recruit, and must comply with the academic recruitment policies in the Non-Senate Search Guide and the Non-Senate Search Plan Checklist. Verify that all items on the checklist have been completed before submitting search plans for approval.
Enabling Pool Recruitment Features
All lecturer pool recruitments must be set up as pool recruitments in AP Recruit.
The “Pool recruitment?” option is in the Position tab under Position details. Once this is set this to yes, the recruitment will have pool-specific features enabled.
Managing Dates in AP Recruit
Proactive management of review dates is an essential part of running a successful search. The initial review date must be 14 days after the open date and the final date must be one year (365 days) after the open date. After the initial review date passes, we recommend that analysts set additional future review dates in advance of the search committee’s review of applicants (rather than retroactively) to provide prospective applicants the chance to complete their application before a stated deadline. Review dates should not be set too far in the future (we recommend no further than two weeks). Note that new review dates can always be added up to the final date. We strongly recommend that review dates and final dates are on days that the university is open. Once a review date is set it cannot be moved to an earlier date.
Applications will only be visible to committee reviewers if they are completed before a review date (deadline is 11:59pm PST the night of the review date). If an application is completed after a review date and there is not an additional review date, the application will remain hidden from reviewers.
If an applicant submits their application in the period of time between a past review date and future review date they will be visible to the search committee, but will not appear in a search report until the future review date has passed. If a search committee reviews any given applicant in a specific review window, they must review all applicants who have submitted in that window. This ensures that all qualified candidates who apply before a set review date receive fair consideration for employment.
Search reports only include applicants who have submitted an application by the selected review date for each report. Only review dates that have passed can be selected for Search Reports.
Review Timeline
This field is intended for lecturer pool recruitments that need to communicate planned review timelines at the outset of searches so applicants know when to apply for consideration for specific semesters (e.g., “Applications are typically reviewed for summer session course needs in April, fall course needs in May, and in November for spring course needs.”)
This field should not be used to communicate internal hiring processes/timelines (for example, do not include statements such as “the search committee will begin reviewing applications after the initial review date,” etc.). Any information put in this field will be displayed in the public job advertisement, so it should only be used for the intended purpose stated above.
Specializations
The specializations feature in AP Recruit is a helpful tool for managing lecturer pools. Units can list courses or areas of study as specializations. Applicants will select from the listed specializations when they apply to the recruitment. When search committees review the applicant pool, they can filter by applicants who have selected the specialization(s) the unit is searching for in each round of review. All applicants who do not have the desired specialization can be easily filtered out and deselected for that round.
Reviewing the Pool of Applicants
Keeping track of applicants in the AP Recruit system on an ongoing basis allows units to be prepared to create batch rounds and submit search reports as hiring needs arise. Units must submit a Search Report and receive approval prior to hiring all candidates. Units will likely need to submit multiple search reports as they fill department needs for instructors during the year.
Create batch rounds to review individuals who submit by the Initial Review Date (IRD) or additional review dates (as needed)
Once a hiring need arises, batch rounds will be used to indicate the hiring need, review applicants, identify proposed candidates for hire, and submit a search report. Set the round number as the batch round name (e.g., "Round 3") and add the course names and semesters for the hiring need in the additional information section of the batch round. Batch rounds are linked to review dates, and bring in all applicants submitted before the selected review date.
Batch rounds use review dates in the same way that search reports do in standard searches. To create a new batch round, the chosen review date must be in the past, it must have applicants in it, and it cannot be before the review date used in the last batch round. All of these constraints are displayed in the batch round creation modal.
Individuals who have submitted after the IRD will be hidden from committee reviewers and will not appear in a batch round unless an additional review date is added and selected. If there is a need to review individuals who applied after the IRD, an additional review date can be added and used in a batch round. All applicants who submit their application from the start of the search up to the new review date should be reviewed, with the exception of those who are unqualified or who were permanently deselected in a previous round.
Review each individual for meeting (or not) the basic qualifications as established in the advertisement
It is recommended that on a regular basis the analyst assess the basic qualifications of new applications by reviewing their CVs in AP Recruit. Assign a disposition reason or disposition comment to individuals who do not meet the basic qualifications that explains which basic qualification they do not meet. They will remain in the "unqualified" section and should not be considered further.
Determine the specific course needs for a lecturer
When a need for a lecturer arises, it may be for a course that requires specific expertise and/or experience. The specializations feature makes it efficient to quickly find applicants who have the desired experience in a specific area/field. Analysts and search committee chairs can also edit applicants' chosen specializations if the applicant's submitted materials reflect different expertise than those selected by the applicant.
Deselect applicants with the wrong specialization using the disposition reason "Other," and state that their area of expertise was not considered for the particular round of review. If a future need arises requiring different expertise, these deselected individuals may be considered at that time.
The flag feature in AP Recruit can also be used to indicate more specific fields/areas of expertise listed in applicants' CVs (for example, "developmental psychology," or "ceramics.").
Applicant Statuses and Disposition Reasons
After interviewing applicants, you must create a batch round in order to assign disposition reasons/comments and statuses for applicants. You can have as many batch rounds as you need over the course of a recruitment, but can only have one active batch round at a time.
For each lecturer pool search report the following information needs to be clear for every applicant:
- The individual’s status at the time the Search Report is submitted
- The reason for selection or deselection for the current batch round
Statuses
Keep the statuses of those being considered for the position up-to-date. If applicants are interviewed use the "interviewed" status. If they are selected, move their status to "Proposed Candidate." Do not move any applicant beyond Proposed Candidate until after the search report is approved by OFEW. When a new batch round is created, applicants with statuses between “Applied” but before “Proposed candidate” will get reset to “Applied”.
- Withdrawn (applicant no longer wishes to be considered for the position; will not appear in the list of applicants in subsequent rounds)
- Permanently deselected (minimally qualified, reviewed, deselected – will not be considered again; will not appear in the list of applicants in subsequent rounds). If the unit determines an applicant is not suitable for hiring for any position that might arise from the recruitment, please update their status to "Permanently deselected" and provide a reason for deselection in their disposition reason/comment section.
- Applied (minimally qualified, reviewed, incorrect specialization/expertise, deselected for current hiring need, will be reviewed again next time)
- Interviewed (minimally qualified, reviewed, interviewed, not proposed candidate, will be reviewed again next time)
- Alternate (minimally qualified, reviewed, interviewed, will be selected if the proposed candidate declines)
- Proposed candidate (minimally qualified, reviewed, interviewed, selected)
Alternate Candidates
Alternate candidates are applicants that the committee would like to hire if the proposed candidate(s) withdraws. It is critical that units clearly label alternate candidates using the “alternate for position” disposition reason and provide information in the disposition comment that explains the strengths that make them suitable for hire in the event that the proposed candidate withdraws, but also why they were not chosen as the proposed candidate. Candidates must be interviewed to be put forward as alternates for the position.
For pool recruitments, candidates who are deselected for a specific hiring need cannot be put forward as the proposed candidate for that same hiring need at a later time, unless they were labeled as alternates.
Creating the Search Report
Once a top candidate is selected, and all candidates in the batch round have a disposition reason, a search report for the round can be created. Use the search report name to indicate the name(s) of the proposed candidate(s). Review the search report PDF in AP Recruit and ensure that it is clear who is being put forward and that all applicants have the correct statuses and disposition information. Verify that all items on the appropriate search report checklist for pool recruitments have been completed before submitting the search report for approval.
Once the search report is approved by the final approver, the round is considered “completed”. In order to begin a new round of review, you will need to start a new batch round.