Comments on: Papers, please

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:36:16 +0000

As”certifications” have become the standard by which candidates are judged on the bureaucratic side of institutions, especially in IT departments, it’s not surprising that the HR departments would look for equivalent paperwork for all job candidates. This thread also brings to mind the creepiest new word I’ve seen HR using recently: “onboarding” – the process of orienting a new employee. It’s no coincidence, I think, that it sounds like waterboarding.

By: olaf

olaf — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 23:02:29 +0000

Given the job market crunch, I think there are more people applying outside their subfields and (even) fields. Transcripts help to substantiate the CV/letter and what people say the can do in terms of the training they’ve received.

But yes, onerous and silly. As are initial letters of rec, in my opinion. It’d be better if they made an initial cut based on CVs and cover letters and took letters for the long-short list people (though I understand wanting all the materials the SC needs on hand from the start).

By: Pat Galloway

Pat Galloway — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:15:58 +0000

Audit culture yes–plus with OCR getting as good as it is, maybe a computer will be the first filter, as has been the case in the business sector for years.

By: Gregory Starrett

Gregory Starrett — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:07:29 +0000

Transcripts for all candidates is certainly overkill, but there are also increasing numbers of places who want letters of recommendation–not just names of references–for all applicants. And just wait till your institution gets around to expressing its trust in its employees and potential employees by requiring criminal background checks on all the folks on your short list. That’s when the real fun begins.

By: Jason Baird Jackson

Jason Baird Jackson — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:56:35 +0000

Right. I was not asserting a real problem occurring in great quantities, just the organizational effect of a small number of high profile problems–usually occurring at the administrative rather than faculty level, I would add. The recent pop culture instance is the old resume padding Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson. Public universities in my corner of the world are under unbelievable political pressure and have adopted strategies at all levels to avoid fiascos, big and small. Sadly, all this policing is a factor that drives up admin costs which are passed on to students and are felt by frontline staff faculty and staff.

By: Barbara Piper

Barbara Piper — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:05:50 +0000

Rex: I think you’re right about the audit culture thing, but the problem is not that so many people are presenting bogus credentials, but that institutions have become obsessed with insulation from liability, especially in hiring. It only takes one failed job candidate who sues for discrimination to lead a university to require a full set of documentation of all credentials for every job candidate for years. When I served on the diversity/equity/affirmative action advisory committee at my university a few years ago I was surprised at the volume of complaints, including lawsuits, that flow into that office annually. CYA is the new catch-phrase in HR offices…

By: Rex

Rex — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 03:05:38 +0000

The audit culture thing I believe. The costs of ordering transcripts is of course yet another wealth transfer out of graduate students and into their institutions. But bogus credentials? Is that really a large problem? Are people claiming they have a Ph.D. when they’ve defended but not deposited or are they just making up degrees wholesale?

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 02:27:05 +0000

I think too many colleges and universities have been embarrassed by appointees claiming bogus credentials.

By: Matt Thompson

Matt Thompson — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 02:07:25 +0000

I see it as a reflection of tight funding. If the committee needs to make an expedited decision before the plug gets yanked on the money then having letters of rec and transcripts reduces the amount of time they have to wait on the actions of others.

By: Mark Busse

Mark Busse — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:12:58 +0000

I agree with Tony Waters. I suspect that this is part of the general creep of audit culture in the academy.

By: D Nakassis

D Nakassis — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:49:47 +0000

I’ve noticed the same trend in my field, Classics, and it strikes me as an odd document to ask for too.

By: Tony Waters

Tony Waters — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:10:58 +0000

My guess is that this may have something to do with HR offices who are stressing “due diligence” or some such thing. We required transcripts on the last search we did–I don’t remember doing this before. The request for transcripts was at the behest of HR. In the search committee itself we were much more interested in teaching experience in the particular classes we needed taught, and research program.

By: SANTIAGO GIRALDO

SANTIAGO GIRALDO — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 22:19:16 +0000

Alex,

I was as nonplussed as you were, especially now that there seem to be more jobs available than in the past 4 years. A transcript? What the hell?

By: JAW

JAW — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:52:58 +0000

I recently had to submit both graduate AND undergraduate transcripts for an adjunct teaching gig. Actually, the transcript for the doctoral degree was optional. It was the ones for undergraduate and Master’s degrees that were required. Go figure.

By: Kristina Killgrove

Kristina Killgrove — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:49:41 +0000

My impression is that the transcript shows that you are where you say you are in the program – many universities will note on the transcript if you’ve completed your qualifying exams, and all should record the degree(s) granted on your transcript.

With anthro jobs increasingly going to people who have already finished, I think requesting a transcript is a simple way to ensure that you are interviewing someone who’s actually done. And most places (in my experience) will take unofficial transcripts during the application, with official ones needed before a job offer is signed.

Curious to hear others’ experiences, though.