Recruitment Policy + Procedures Review

Introduction

The university began reviewing the Recruitment Policy and Procedures in 2025 in order to address identified shortcomings in the previous policy suite that maintained barriers and potential inequities in the hiring process. A working group was established to oversee this work, jointly led by the Offices of the Associate Vice-President (Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment) and the Vice-Provost (Access, Community and Belonging) and in consultation with internal subject matter experts and members of both the academic and administrative community.

The updated Recruitment Policy was approved by the Board of Governors on March 27, 2026 and is now in effect.

With the Policy approved, the university is now continuing with the  review and refresh of its recruitment-related procedures and practices. This work is underway, with all existing recruitment procedures remaining in effect. A timeline of key dates is provided below.

As this work continues, the university remains committed to ongoing dialogue and learning to ensure recruitment procedures and practices reflect institutional values and support fair access to opportunities.

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Goals of the refresh

The goals of the refresh are:

1. To ensure consistency with the outcomes in Changing the Story: An Integrated Action Plan for transforming our vibrant and interconnected university community, and a shift to actionable language. 
2. To consolidate and streamline policy and procedure documents, improve clarity, ensure the appropriate policy and procedure elements are included and reflect current practice, and standardize document structures wherever possible.
3. To identify and support the implementation of best practices across the university that advance our strategic goals.

Ultimately, a suite of refreshed policy and procedures, along with community-informed practices enables consistent application of the university’s obligations and strategic commitments across the recruitment process and addresses shortcomings in the previous policy suite that maintained barriers and potential inequities in the hiring process. The shift to actionable language is intended to clarify expectations for hiring managers and committees as well as prospective employees.

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Additional Context

The recruitment policy, procedures and practices do not stand alone; they are part of a larger legal and strategic landscape. This includes mandatory compliance with applicable federal and provincial law (i.e., Human Rights, Employment Standards, etc.), requirements of federal research funding agencies, and university collective agreements and the non-union employee handbook. It further includes the university’s commitments to fairness, human rights and inclusive excellence as articulated in a number of strategic documents, including:

• Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact
• Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan
• Changing the Story: An Integrated Action Plan for transforming our vibrant and interconnected university community
• Forward Together: The University of Alberta People Strategy
• Forward with Purpose: A Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation

The recruitment policy then sets out the high-level, guiding principles, or the ‘what,’ procedures outline ‘how’ the policy will be operationalized and practices/guides provide wise or promising practices for practical application, or ‘how to do this well,’ which continually evolve.

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CONSULTATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

COMPLETE - Recruitment Policy

IN PROGRESS - Recruitment Procedures + Supporting Guides/Practices