Creation or Modification of EPA Non-Faculty Positions

To establish a new EPA non-faculty position or propose reclassification of an existing SPA position to EPA non-faculty status, departments must submit a Create Position action using the Position Management menu in the EPAWeb Personnel Action System. Please note, the previously used NF-001 and NF-002 paper forms have been replaced by the Position Management function within EPAWeb and are no longer accepted. The position creation process must be used both for permanent full- and part-time positions and temporary positions, regardless of FTE. All position requests will route to the appropriate next level Dean/Division office and then to the EPA Non-Faculty Human Resouces unit in the Office of Human Resources.

Departments should consult the EPA Non-Faculty Classification Guidelines to assist in determining whether a proposed position satisfies basic EPA non-faculty classification guidelines. If not, the SPA classification process should be pursued instead of the request process described in these guidelines. Click here to view these guidelines.

 

Due to a previous change in UNC General Administration guidelines for EPA position classifications, any existing and vacant EPA Non-Faculty positions, full- or part-time, last approved prior to March 1, 1999 must also receive a mandatory re-review of the EPA classification prior to proceeding with recruitment. You can determine the date your EPA position was last reviewed and approved by consulting the most recent EPA position approval letter which was sent at the time of this approval by either the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Chancellor, or the University General Counsel's Office. If you do not have this letter in your files, contact EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources at 962-2897.

For pre-March, 1999 positions, submission of a modify position action using the EPAWeb Position Management function is required to initiate a review of the position to assure it still meets EPA non-faculty guidelines.

The EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources unit will review any submitted position creation or modify position actions in EPAWeb to determine if it satisfies EPA non-faculty classification guidelines.

Requests for certain Research Associates, Librarians, and other pre-authorized categories by the EPA Classification Committee may be directly approved by the above noted office. In these instances, you will receive an FYI notification in EPAWeb notifying you of the approval. The EEO/ADA Office also has access to EPAWeb and will confirm the position approval on-line prior to  allowing commencement of the recruitment process which begins with the preparation of the Equal Opportunity Plan (EOF-1). All other requests including all positions potentially classified as Senior Academic and Administrative Officers (SAAOs) are forwarded to the campus EPA Non-Faculty Classification Committee for review.

The EPA Non-Faculty Classification Committee has responsibility for reviewing and approving EPA non-faculty position requests not otherwise pre-approved as noted above. The outcome of the Committee's review is communicated to the requesting department by Academic Personnel (or the Office of the Chancellor) and will indicate their decision and for approvals the assigned non-faculty category (e.g., "Instructional" or "Research"). If the position has been approved by our campus committee as a Senior Academic and Administrative Officer (SAAO), it is then routed for approval to the UNC General Administration (GA) EPA Classification Committee which must issue a final level of approval for SAAO positions on our campus. In these instances, Academic Personnel will notify the requesting department when the request is first routed to GA. Final position approval or disapproval will be communicated via an FYI notification to the base department in EPAWeb.

Any changes to the position working title, reporting relationship, duties, or education/experience requirements of an existing vacant or filled EPA non-faculty position must be reviewed to assess any impact to the assigned EPA status. Significant changes such as no longer requiring a specific degree and/or substantially altering or eliminating experience requirements may affect the position's continued eligibility for EPA non-faculty status.

Proposed changes must be initiated using a modify position action from the EPAWeb Position Management menu. This action requires the electronic attachment of an updated organizational chart. Proposed changes to vacant positions which are deemed to significantly impact the positions continued qualification for EPA non-faculty status by the EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources unit may be referred for re-review by the full EPA Non-Faculty Classification Committee to determine if the position may still be filled as EPA non-faculty. In such cases, current EPA non-faculty classification guidelines in effect at that time will be used to make such determinations.

When a currently filled SPA position is approved to move to EPA status, the affected SPA employee must first meet with a member of the Office of Human Resources to complete an Employee's Option to Maintain Current Status form. The EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources unit (962-2897) is responsible for conducting this meeting and will make arrangements directly with the affected employee.

When a department implements changes to an existing EPA non-faculty position that make the position substantially different from the time it was last approved, it is possible the position may no longer qualify for EPA non-faculty status.

When this occurs for an occupied position, the position incumbent retains his/her EPA employee status. However, upon the position being vacated, it must be resubmitted for SPA classification to the Office of Human Resources or the position duties must be adjusted to satisfy currently in-effect EPA classification guidelines.

A position that was originally approved for EPA status and is later vacated may be recruited again as EPA if the position duties, title, minimum education/experience, and reporting relationships are substantially unchanged from the time the position was last approved as EPA non-faculty even it does not meet EPA current guidelines. Such a position will be "grandfathered" as far as retaining its EPA status. However, any substantive changes to the position will require a mandatory re-review to determine if it meets current EPA guidelines. Once such a mandatory re-review is undertaken, the ability to retain EPA status under the guidelines in effect at the time the position was last approved is forfeited.