University of West Georgia Office of Career and Graduate School Connections adheres to The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Principles for Professional Practice for Career Services and Employment Professionals and expects employers to do the same. These principles are available on the National Association of Colleges and Employers  website.

The principles presented here are designed to provide practitioners with three basic precepts for career planning and recruitment:

  • Maintain an open and free selection of employment and experiential learning opportunities in an atmosphere conducive to objective thought, where job candidates can choose to optimize their talents and meet their personal objectives;
  • Maintain a recruitment process that is fair and equitable;
  • Support informed and responsible decision making by candidates.

Employers are expected to maintain a positive, collaborative working relationship with UWG staff. That includes cooperation with policies and procedures, meeting necessary deadlines to ensure smooth operation of on-campus interview visits, providing the job / company information and data requested, providing hire data as requested, complying with the legal obligations of recruiters, and maintaining the confidentiality of student data as outlined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Please feel free to call or e-mail the UWG Office of Career and Graduate School Connections if you have any other questions.

  • Codes of Practice

    Neutrality Statement
    Neither employment professionals nor their organizations will expect, or seek to extract, special favors or treatment that would influence the recruitment process as a result of support, or the level of support, to the educational institution or the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections in the form of contributed services, gifts, or other financial support.

    EEO Compliance
     Employment professionals will maintain equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance and follow affirmative action principles in recruiting activities in a manner that includes the following:

    • Recruiting, interviewing, and hiring individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability, and providing reasonable accommodations upon request;
    • Reviewing selection criteria for adverse impact based upon the student's race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability;
    • Avoiding questions that are considered unacceptable by EEO guidelines for fair employment practices during the recruiting process;
    • Developing a sensitivity to, and awareness of, cultural differences and the diversity of the work force;
    • Informing campus constituencies of special activities that have been developed to achieve the employer's affirmative action goals;
    • Investigating complaints forwarded by the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections regarding EEO noncompliance and seeking resolution of such complaints.

    Employment professionals recruiting for international operations will do so according to EEO and U.S. labor law standards. Employment professionals will advise the the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections and students of the realities of working in the foreign country and of any cultural or employment law differences.

    Solicitation Policy
     All employers agree to follow the Sales & Solicitation Policies as defined by the university. 

    Third-Party Recruiting Policy
    In the past, it has been appropriate and advantageous to University of West Georgia students and alumni for the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections to work on their behalf with third-party recruiters.

    In providing services for third-party recruiters, University policy requires that:

    • Third-party recruiters operate in congruence with the university policy of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action and do not discriminate based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, or national origin. An employer or agency using the services offered thought the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections understands that compliance with all related federal and state statutes and regulations is required for initiation or continuance of services.
    • Third-party recruiters will abide by the Principles for Third-Party Recruiters as described in the NACE Principles for Professional Practice. These principles can be found online at http://www.naceweb.org/principles/#thirdparty.
    • All positions listed by third-party recruiters with the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections are fee paid by the employer.
    • Third-party recruiters will provide information about their operations and services to the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections for candidate review.
    • It will be the responsibility of the candidate to contact the third-party recruiter. Candidate names and/or information concerning candidates will not be released to third party recruiters unless candidates provide a written release, signed and dated by the candidate, for that specific agency. Federal law requires that confidential letters not be shared with candidates.

    The Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will promote the job and pertinent information through normal channels, which may include the website, posting on bulletin boards, referral to faculty and/or staff, and/or direct referral to candidates. The third-party recruiters will be listed as the contact and identified as an employment agency.
    If a third party-recruiter wishes to interview candidates on campus, or attend career fairs, that recruiter will agree to abide by the above policies and to identify the represented employer(s) to both the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections and potential university interviewees. Third-party recruiters who elect to interview on campus should understand that the candidate information provided by the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections is to be used exclusively for the employer(s) so identified.

  • Policies for Student Interaction

    Confidentiality & Privacy Expectations for Student Information
     Employment professionals will maintain the confidentiality of student information, regardless of the source, including personal knowledge, written records/reports, and computer databases. There will be no disclosure of student information to another organization without the prior written consent of the student, unless necessitated by health and/or safety considerations.

    Photos or videos should not be used as part of the selection process. Exceptions will be made for use of video conference facilities on campus for those employers unable to conduct on-campus interviews. Social security numbers should not be used during the hiring process.

    Employers should know that disclosure of student information is prohibited. In other words, employers who receive students’ resumes and educational information may use it only for the original purpose for which disclosure was granted. Thus, employers may not transmit (or disclose) student information to any other employer or third party, nor to others within the employing organization for any purpose other than employment purposes. If an organization improperly discloses student records, federal law prohibits that party from obtaining student records for a period of at least five years.

    Scheduling
    UWG Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will make every effort to customize interview schedules to accommodate recruiters’ needs; similarly, UWG Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will make every effort to ensure that only students who match the employer’s stated qualifications and work authorization are able to interview. Please note that all interviews should be planned to conclude by close of business at 5 p.m.

    Alcohol Policy
    Serving alcohol should not be part of the recruitment process on or off campus. This includes receptions, dinners, company tours, etc.

    Assessment Tools
     Those engaged in administering, evaluating, and interpreting assessment tools, employment screening tests, and technology used in selection will be trained and qualified to do so. Employment professionals must advise the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections of any test/assessment conducted on campus and eliminate such a test/assessment if it violates campus policies or fair employment practices. Employment professionals must advise students in a timely fashion of the type and purpose of any test that students will be required to take as part of the recruitment process and to whom the results will be disclosed. All tests/assessments will be reviewed by the employing organization for disparate impact and position-relatedness.

    Extending Offers
     Employment professionals will refrain from any practice that improperly influences and affects acceptances. Such practices may include undue time pressure for acceptance of offers and encouragement of revocation of another offer.

    Exploding offers and bonuses put enormous pressure on our students to make a decision before they have completed the interviewing process. Most students are not ready, nor should they be, to make a final decision before completing all their interviews. Furthermore, students with exploding offers are calling other employers in an attempt to arrange early interviews, thus greatly inconveniencing those firms as well. Regrettably, pressuring a student to accept quickly makes it harder for us to enforce our policy against reneging offers.

    We strongly discourage employers who put pressure on students to accept offers within a very short time period or attach bonuses that “explode” if an offer is not immediately accepted. This method of recruiting students does not benefit the employer and contributes to an ineffective and stressful experience for our students. We ask that if there is a sign-on bonus, it be honored whenever the student accepts the offer.

    Please respect the commitment that students have for their academics as well as other previously scheduled interviews and refrain from recruiting tactics like this. We appreciate your cooperation in the past, and ask for your flexibility in the future.

  • Career Fair Policies

    Participation and Attendance
     The Career and Internship Fairs are hosted by the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections are solely for employers to recruit student and alumni candidates, and for students and alumni to meet employers to discuss career and internship opportunities.

    The Office of Career and Graduate School Connections events are not for employers to solicit employer business contacts. If an employer is found to be conducting business other than recruiting students and alumni for possible positions, that employer will be asked to leave the event immediately. In addition, that employer forfeits any fees associated with the event and will be subject to the "Denial of Service" policies.

    Table Assignments

    • the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections assigns tables using a complex formula that takes into account display needs, electrical needs, number of recruiters present, and competition.
    • Tables cannot be shared by employers. One table per company/business/organization
    • Table assignments are final. If an open table is available on the day of a fair, an employer may request to move. The Director of the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will facilitate such discussions and all decisions are final.

    Extra Tables and Special Table Set Up
     On occasion, employers request extra tables or a special table arrangement. Requests are processed by sequence and by payment.

    Payment
    the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections can only process credit card payments, money orders and check payments. Checks and money orders are to be mailed to:

    Office of Student Accounts & Billing Services
    ATTN: Office of Career and Graduate School Connections
    1601 Maple Street
    Aycock Hall, Room 101
    Carrollton, GA 30118-4770

    Cash payments are not accepted, as we cannot process cash.

    the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will process payments in a timely manner and will make available receipts when requested, and will fax payment confirmations for Career Fair activity, when requested.

    When an employer or agency is assessed a fee by the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections, if not already existing, an account for that entity is established. The employer is responsible for charges posted to this account. When the account is past due after 90 calendar days (after the paid event), the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections has the right to send the account to Collections and assert for immediate payment. While the account is in collections, the employer and its agents will be denied service.

    No-Shows & Cancellations
     On occasion, an employer may for whatever reason decide not attend a career fair for which they have paid and registered. If that employer "no-shows," that is, does not come to the fair and does not notify the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections prior to the event that they are not coming, the full fee for the fair (or fairs) is assessed. If the account has already been paid, then those monies are forfeited. University

    the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will make available the table spaced rented to that employer to the first-come, first served "walk on" registrant. the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will wait 30 minutes after a career fair opens to the students and alumni as the cut-off time to determine a "no-show."

    Late arriving employers must inform the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections of their late arrival time. Late arriving employers who fail to notify the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections in advance may forfeit their table space.

    Refunds

    • Requests for registration cancellation must be made in writing to the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections. Event expenses are incurred based on the number of registrants; therefore, NO request for release of obligation or refund will be granted if received by UWG less than 14 days prior to the event. A full refund will be granted if the request for cancellation is received at least 30 days prior to the event and a refund of 50% will be granted if the cancellation request is received 15-29 days prior to the event.
    • No refunds will be given for "no-shows" to the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections events. Fees paid are forfeited.
    • No refunds are given to any company/business that has violated a Office of Career and Graduate School Connections policy and is denied services. Fees paid are forfeited.
    • Please understand that the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections does not write refund checks; instead, the University's Controller's office does this. Refunds will take some time to process.

    Walk-on Registration
     On occasion one or two tables may become available for walk-on registrants. These tables become available because of 'No-shows." If such a table becomes available, the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will release that table 30 minutes into the fair to the employer who made the first walk-on request (and a second table to the second request, etc.). The fee for that table will be the regular rate plus the late fee. That employer must have payment in hand (check, money order, credit card; no cash). The Office of Career and Graduate School Connections does not encourage walk-on registrations, as we cannot guarantee table availability.

  • Job Posting Policies

    Usage Agreement
    All users of the University of West Georgia Office of Career and Graduate School Connections Virtual Tools, whether UWG students, alumni or employers, agree that the information contained within the software is for the purpose of job-related activities only. Personal and company information provided is voluntarily submitted and is solely for the purpose of connecting students and alumni with employers. In no circumstances is the information contained within the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections systems to be used for non-job-seeking activities or non-applicant-seeking activities. Violation of the above policy will result in removal from the system. We ask that all users respect the privacy rights of each registered user.

    Employer Release of Information
    Our system is designed to help you connect with potential UWG student/alumni. When you register, you agree to provide personal and company information that is common to any job board. The registered student/alumni will have access to your submitted information. The information you provide will help potential employees review your job postings.

    They will use the information you submit to make the decision to apply to your posting. Please be sure that your submitted information is accurate and information you want to make public to registered students/alumni.

    By agreeing to the above statements and by submitting your information, you voluntarily agree to make your information available to students/alumni for their review. If you want to make any changes to your information, it is your responsibility to make those changes.

    Posting Guidelines

    • All postings should adhere to EEO compliance standards
    • Internship postings should meet the NACE definition and criteria for internships. (See “A Position Statement on U.S. Internships: A Definition and Criteria to Assess Opportunities and Determine the Implications for Compensation.”)
    • Job postings must be actual, current openings for internships, cooperative education assignments, and/or traditional, W-2 or 1099 full-or part-time employees.
    • Your job postings or e-mails must contain sufficient detail to convey clearly to the user the nature and basic requirements of the job opportunity.
    • The Office of Career and Graduate School Connections will review the employer’s website and each job description (whether a job listing or for an on-campus interview) for appropriateness. Opportunities suitable for other majors will be shared with the relevant Office of Career and Graduate School Connections office on campus and the employer will be referred to the appropriate contact.
    • Co-op and intern employers should clearly specify the nature of any housing or relocation assistance in any interview information, posted job listings, and company profile. It is not appropriate to expect a student to relocate out of state without financial assistance or assistance locating appropriate, safe, affordable housing. ECS and ECIP reserve the right to insert alerts in any posted information for those employers that do not provide assistance to ensure that students are able to make informed decisions.
    • Your job postings or e-mail communications may not contain anything that is sexually explicit, obscene, libelous, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, or hateful; or anything that is embarrassing or offensive to another person or entity.
    • You may not use your job postings or e-mail to post advertisements or solicitations for employment in the pornography industry; the gambling industry, or post pyramid schemes. You may not use your job postings or e-mail to post false, inaccurate, or misleading information.

    Denial of Service
    The Office of Career and Graduate School Connections reserves the right to refuse services to employers due to any of the following: dishonesty; discrimination; breach of confidentiality; reneging on established agreements between the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections and the employer (verbal or written);reneging on a job offer to a student; fraud; failure to pay for billed services; misrepresentation; harassment of UWG students, alumni, staff or faculty; failure to adhere to the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections policies and/or any other violation of UWG rules and regulations.

    When a company has been denied service, the company must cease the identified behavior/action, rectify the situation both in writing and in deed to the Office of Career and Graduate School Connections and other individuals involved, and withdraw from the University for a period of one year from the date the rectification occurs. Withdrawal from the University includes, but is not limited to, participating in the Career Fairs, On-Campus Interview program, job posting boards, informational sessions, or working with colleges, departments, faculty or students.