Internal Promotion

8160.1 Purpose:

Wright State University values its employees and is committed to providing opportunities for professsional development, succession planning and advancement in a manner that supports and encourages fairness, accountability, and engagement.  Hiring managers are encouraged to use both a build from within, i.e., internal promotion, and buy, i.e., competitive search of talent strategies within their units and be consistent and compliant with applicable federal and state regulations.

In order to fully utilize its available human resources, the university attempts when circumstances permit:

  1. to fill vacancies by promotion from within when practicable and consistent with its commitment to affirmative action;
  2. to promote on the basis of skills, knowledge, ability, and performance; and,
  3. to provide job experiences, training and educational opportunities to help employees perform better and prepare for advancement or new job opportunities.

8160.2 Eligibility:

An internal promotion may be made with or without a job posting.  A promotion is when an employee moves to higher pay range or to a position with a higher salary where pay ranges do not exist.  The following are ways promotions typically occur:

  1. Application via a job posting
  2. Reorganization
  3. Job Audit
  4. Valid succession planning process
  5. Successful interim appointment

Employees serving a probationary period must successfully complete the probationary period prior to an internal promotion.

Request for promotion outside of these options should be approved by Human Resources and the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

8160.3 Procedure (Non-competitive):

  1. A department/college/division shall request the position be filled through a non-competitive internal promotion.
  2. A department/college/division consults with Human Resources to discuss the business case, determine the appropriate classification and compensation of the postion and evaluate the workforce planning options available.
  3. The appropriate Vice President, Vice Provost, Dean or designee will make a decision whether or not to continue with the non-competitive process.
  4. If the continuing with non-competitive, the following documentation shall be submitted:
    1. A list of eligible employees in the same department/school/college/unit who are qualified and were considered for the position.
    2. A summary of the selected employee's credentials that document that the individual meets the established minimum qualifications for the position and has the skills and experience at least equal to other internal candidates.
    3. The reasons for selecting the designated employee for the position.
  5. A review shall be conducted by both Human Resources (HR) and the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) in collaboration with the department to determine if this is the most appropriate process to fill the position and grant approval for selected candidate.  If agreement cannot be reached, no promotion will occur or a competitve search will commence.
  6. If the recommendation is approved by OEI and HR, the unit recommending the promotion will submit a request for internal promotion via Wright State University's on-line employment system.  (Note: Approval by OEI and HR does not imply approval by any other office which may choose to deny the request, e.g., Budget, Provost.)

8160.4 Procedure (Competitive):

  • A department/college/division identifies a new or vacant position for which they want to consider an existing Wright State University employee.  (The following groups are not considered employees: student employees, graduate assistants, interns, retirees and former employees.  Adjunct Faculty are only eligible if teaching in the same term in which they apply.)
  • The appropriate Vice President, Vice Provost, Dean or designee shall authorize via the on-line applicant tracking system that the position is to be filled by interal promotion.
  • The position may be posted to the Wright State University workforce or only within the department/school/college/unit.
  • The following documents are compiled and submitted via the on-line applicant tracking system:
    1. Updated job description including required qualifications
    2. Memo outlining the reasons why an external search would not result in a more qualified candidate
    3. Proposed salary range
  • All eligible, qualified candidates who apply are given consideration for the position and applicable university employment procedures are followed.
  • The hiring manager or designee shall complete the relevant information via the on-line applicant tracking system.

8160.5 Adminstrative Offices roles:

  • HR consults on workforce planning strategy and policy interpretation.
  • OEI reviews the impact of the proposed internal promotion on Wright State's Affirmative Action Plan.
  • Provost office evaluates the metrics and how the position will be funded.
  • HR Compensation evaluates the salary range (and appropriateness of proposed salary).
  • HR Employment supports the internal posting process.