When a large snowstorm hit Haverford’s campus last year, some faculty couldn’t get to campus—a problem not just for teaching, but because a number of dossiers necessary to prepare for an Academic Council meeting the following Monday were being stored there. In the past, faculty would come to campus to pick up dossiers prior to committee meetings. When faculty called to ask what they should do, Georgia Davidis, the Faculty Dossier Coordinator in the Office of the Provost, was able to reassure them that they could stay home and review everything online. “When Monday rolled around they were able to get right to work,” she said. “It convinced a lot of people that Interfolio is worth it.”
Streamlining Review
In the 2014 hiring season, hundreds of reference letters were individually emailed to Davidis—a huge logistical challenge that was solved by Interfolio. Now, confidential letters are requested, received, and reviewed with an online environment dedicated for that purpose. The ability to receive, store, and review documents online in Interfolio Faculty Search has, in Davidis’s words, “streamlined the whole process and made things instantly accessible” at Haverford. Newer faculty at Haverford especially are pleased to use Interfolio because they are accustomed to having instant access through online tools in the majority of work, at home and on campus. Now, committee work is no exception.
Confidentiality
When Haverford decided to adopt Interfolio Review, Promotion & Tenure module, Academic Council worried initially about confidentiality, especially in the external evaluation process. How could they be sure that only the appropriate individuals, at the appropriate times, would have access to evaluations? Ultimately, Interfolio put their fears to rest. While some committees still want to use hard copies—an option that remains possible with Interfolio—the ability to send and receive confidential external evaluations within the platform has, if anything, made security less of an issue than before. Now evaluators can communicate directly with the committee through Interfolio, and upload their materials directly into a candidate’s dossier. “This has revolutionized our whole search process,” says Davidis. “It’s made our confidentiality more rigorous since we don’t have to send emails back and forth, and saves us a lot of time and aggravation.”
Reporting
Interfolio’s reporting capabilities help with visibility and committee communication, an unexpected benefit. For instance, administrators in the Biology department create reports of every faculty applicant, along with their degree date and granting institution, and then assign numbers to each applicant to aid committee confidentiality. These reports also help to make visible at a glance the source of Haverford’s applicant pool. The ease of diversity reporting has also improved with Interfolio; every search includes compliant EEO data-gathering, which replaces a less consistent process of sending and receiving postcards.
“It’s made our confidentiality more rigorous since we don’t have to send emails back and forth, and saves us a lot of time and aggravation.”
From HR to Faculty Technology
“Excellent client service is the component that sets Interfolio apart from its competitors. The fact that I can instantly contact someone at Interfolio, who will either solve my problem or refer it to a team of engineers, has helped me more times than I can count.”
Georgia Davidis, Faculty Dossier Coordinator, Office of the Provost
Support
Being able to rely on Interfolio’s support team has been key for Haverford. During a busy fall semester, Haverford administrators can refer questions from applicants and committee members to Interfolio. In addition, Haverford administrators have direct access to a Client Success manager who responds personally and solicits suggestions for product improvement. “The #1 thing I like about Interfolio is the client service. Every time I call Sunny or Julie, they get right back to me; they always have an answer for me. We’ve been very pleased with the support.”
About Interfolio
Conceived by academics for academics, Interfolio is an education technology company headquartered in Washington, DC, USA and in Cambridge, England, UK. Founded in 1999, Interfolio operates the acclaimed Faculty Information System, the Researchfish impact assessment platform, and the widely used Dossier service. Over 400 clients based in 15 countries choose Interfolio’s technology for hiring and recruitment, academic appointments and timelines, activity data reporting, faculty reviews and promotions, and research impact analysis. For more information about Interfolio, please contact us below.