The electronic dossier must meet three essential criteria:
- It must be bookmarked;
- It must be password-protected; and
- It must be searchable.
Bookmarks
The bookmarks in the dossier form a table of contents for the included materials. The items which are to be bookmarked are listed at the bottom of the transmittal form, in the appropriate order. Not all of the listed materials will appear in every candidate’s dossier. If an item is not present in the dossier, there is no need to create a bookmark for it.
Password Protection
The dossier must be password-protected to ensure the confidentiality of the materials within. The Office of Faculty Affairs will let you know what the password should be at the beginning of each AEP cycle.
Searchable Text
The text in the dossier must be searchable so that committee members can easily move around within the dossier and confirm various elements of the content. Contact the Office of Faculty Affairs if you have concerns about this step. Non-searchable dossiers will be returned to the units that created them.
Candidate Verification Page
The candidate is required to sign and date several documents in the dossier. Both physical and electronic signatures are acceptable. The candidate may sign each individual document, or a candidate verification page may be used, where the candidate initials next to each document and then signs one time. A combination of signature and date on individual documents and the candidate verification page is also acceptable. A verification page template is available on the Office of Faculty Affairs website, and there is an example in the Appendix. If the Department/College chooses to use the Candidate Verification page, it should be placed immediately after the transmittal form. Be aware that the candidate must sign and date the CV and the personal statement directly on those documents, regardless of whether they have submitted a Candidate Verification Page.