Procedure No. 10.010
Classification Procedure
Date Issued: 06/17/91
Date Effective: 07/01/91
Issued By: Human Resources
Purpose: To outline definitions, procedures and responsibilities for the administration of
the State System of Higher Education Classification System at Clarion University.
Policy:
Classifications of positions are based upon the duties, responsibilities and reporting
relationships inherent in a given position. The Human Resources Department is
responsible for administering the state system's classification system; however, since the
classification process affects all departments to some degree, familiarity with and
understanding of the system is necessary. The nature of the position (permanent,
temporary, full time, part-time, etc.) is determined by the Human Resources Department in
conjunction with the administrative authority of the employing department. The
responsibility of the Human Resources Department is then to determine the appropriate
classification within the system based primarily upon departmentally defined and
ultimately delegated duties and responsibilities.
Duties and responsibilities of a position evolve or change in time, which warrant a
reexamination of the appropriateness of the assigned classification. Usually, duties change
as a result of changing operational needs or the dependency upon the incumbent being
called upon to use higher levels of knowledge, skill and ability. Employees, department
heads or the Human Resources Department may request a review of a position based
upon a significant increase and/or change in the responsibilities, required skills or
organizational level of the position in question.
Normally, the employee making the request to have the job reviewed should fill out a Job
Description Form (Attachment A) in consultation with the immediate supervisor. The
Human Resources Department is available to provide assistance in this process. The
employee should sign and submit the form to the immediate supervisor. At the same time
the employee should send the Request for Job Review Form (Attachment B) to the Human
Resources Department. The Human Resources Department will date stamp the Request for
Review Form. The immediate supervisor should sign the Job Description Form attesting to

the accuracy of the identification of necessary duties and responsibilities. The immediate
supervisor then forwards the document to the appropriate managerial level for review,
comment and incorporation into departmental planning. The form is then sent to the
Human Resources Department. The Human Resources Department will then schedule a
position interview involving at least the employee, the immediate supervisor and any other
individual necessary to ascertain accuracy, completeness and understanding of the
position. The position is then reviewed in conjunction with the State System of Higher
Education Classification Specifications to determine what classification is the most
appropriate for the position being reviewed.
The incumbent in the position, the immediate supervisor and the next appropriate level of
management will be notified in writing as to the determination of the review and the
resultant classification.
Appeal Process: Should the employee disagree with the classification determination he/she
will have the opportunity to meet with the Human Resources staff to discuss the rationale.
Ultimately, the employee may exercise their right to file a grievance in accordance with the
appropriate labor-management contract.
At times, when a position becomes vacant, the hiring department will use the opportunity
to update the job description and submit the job description form to the Human Resources
Department for appropriate classification determination and posting of the vacancy.
Completing the Job Description Form
Whoever initiates the position description form should indicate whether or not it is being
done for an update, a request for classification review or that it is a job description for a
new position.
Section 1 should indicate the name of the incumbent in the position.
Section 2 identifies the incumbent's social security number.
Section 3 indicates who initiated the job classification request.
Section 4 identifies the department in which the position is located.

Section 5 identifies the current classification title of the position and would remain blank if
it is a new position.
Section 6 should reflect the normal or usual work schedule of the employee in the position
with respect to hours and days worked.
Section 7 should include a description of the major duties and responsibilities and also: the
working title; the purpose and scope of responsibilities; reporting relationships; and the
percentages (%) of time required to perform duties. Additional sheets of paper may be
attached to complete Section 7 of the form. Statements should be comprehensive, but
general in nature.
The certification section is signed and dated by the employee, attesting to the accuracy,
completeness and understanding of the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Section 8 should identify the style and type of supervision exercised over the incumbent of
the position.
Section 9 reflects the reporting relationships of the position to other positions within the
department or work unit. This section should also identify other positions which report to
the job being identified.
Section 10 should indicate the type of working relationships with or over others.
Section 11 should indicate that the supervisor has seen and had the opportunity to review
the position description form with the incumbent in the position. In this section the
supervisor has the opportunity to amend, delete, add to, etc., items to the job. Additional
pages may be used. The intent of this section is two fold. First, in every instance,
management is responsible for defining the job. Secondly, in completing this section, there
is an excellent opportunity for the supervisor and the employee to reach mutual
understanding as to not only the content of the job, but also as to the level of performance
and expectations of the incumbent. In signing the form, the supervisor is attesting to the
accuracy and completeness of the job description. In the instance of a request for
classification review, the supervisor's signature in no way reflects support or denial for the
incumbent to be reclassified. It attests to the accuracy of the job documentation.

The position description form should be forwarded to the next higher level of supervision
and subsequently sent to the Human Resources Department for audit and proper
classification.
Time Sequence
In order to insure orderly and timely classification of positions at Clarion University, the
following time schedule should be referred to as appropriate for the processing of the
request for classification review of a position. The time sequence begins from the time
either the employee or the immediate supervisor (in the case of new or vacant positions)
has completed their portion of the form.
The immediate supervisor should spend no more than two weeks reviewing and updating
or modifying the form job content and reaching mutual understanding of the position with
the employee. As a result of vacation, leaves of absence or operational emergencies, it may
be appropriate to extend this time period.
When the form is submitted by the supervisor to the next higher level of supervision or
management, no more than two (2) weeks should be required to make this level of
management aware of the request and to incorporate such activity into their overall
planning operations and to have the opportunity to review with the immediate supervisor
and provide any additional insight into issues regarding the position.
After the form has completed review by the higher management level, it is forwarded to
the Human Resources Department. Every effort will be made to respond within four (4)
weeks. The Human Resources Department will respond in writing to the employee, the
immediate supervisor and the next level of supervision, as to the results of the
classification review.
The effective date of any classification change will be two weeks following the date the
Human Resources Department received and date stamped the Request for Review Form
from the employee.