The Virtual Academic Interview: Using Videoconferencing to Add Value to the Selection Process of Universities Seeking to Fill Positions

Dr. Deanna S. Cross and Peter N. Mastopoulos
Armstrong Atlantic State University

Each year at thousands of colleges and universities, search committees are organized to find the best candidate for faculty, staff and administrative positions. These committees spend many hours sorting and reviewing curricula vitae, calling references and checking information about the applicant before issuing an invitation to visit the campus for an interview. Except when preliminary interviews are handled at regional and national meetings, most of the candidates arrive on campus and meet the committee for the first time on the day of the interview. Because job searches have budget limitations, (some of them increasingly severe), the use of videoconferencing can add value to the process by allowing real time, face-to-face interactions without the costs associated with physically transporting candidates to the campus.

This past year the president of Armstrong Atlantic State University formed a search and screening committee to find a vice-president for academic affairs for the university. This search, nationwide in scope, was directed to produce a list with a minimum of five candidates for recommendation to the president, who would make the final decision. From the beginning it was clear that the committee needed a mechanism, beyond the resumé and reference checks, to review candidates. An original plan included bringing a number of the candidates to a central site, an airport in a close metropolitan city. Another thought was to ask the candidates to make a videotape of themselves while responding to a list of predetermined questions. As is often the case, the original plans had to be modified to fit budgetary and logistical limitations. It was realized, in this case, that significant financial resources would be needed to conduct a successful search and screening. The committee considered various approaches for cost containment.

One approach that seemed viable was to use the university's videoconferencing technology. Since the campus is equipped to transmit academic classes via video and had been doing so for about eight years, the possibility of using this technology for interviewing appeared an obvious extension. The fee for using this technology is affordable, and usually the videoconferencing sites are convenient for the candidate. Thus, the committee agreed that the preliminary interviews would be held by videoconference. The committee also decided videotape the interviews in case all committee members could not attend.

Videoconferencing Sites
Videoconferencing facilities ranging from those owned by a chain store such as Kinko's to those owned by a company's corporate headquarters to those owned by an educational facility were used for the interviews. The task of locating a videoconferencing facility near each candidate was completed using a variety of techniques.

The first technique was to ask the candidate if he/she had access to a videoconferencing facility that was acceptable for use in this situation. Some of the candidates had access to facilities at their respective colleges or universities, but felt it inappropriate to use those facilities in this situation. However, some of the candidates were able to suggest a suitable videoconferencing facility, and these suggestions were followed-up successfully in several instances.
If the candidate was unable to suggest a location, the next step was to search two of the large videoconferencing facility databases. As the demand for videoconferencing facilities has increased, some national and even international networks of videoconferencing facilities have emerged. Just since September 11, 2001, the Digital Connections Videoconferencing Firm in Omaha, Nebraska, has seen the use of its facilities increase by twenty-five percent. These networks provide a variety of services including site location and technical support. Two of the larger networks are Proximity and Kinkos. While Kinko's sites are actually owned by Kinko's, Proximity sites are contracted with businesses, hospitals, educational facilities, etc. Fees for videoconferencing services are standard among Kinko's sites, but fees charged by Proximity vary according to the contractual arrangement that Proximity has with each site. The mean hourly videoconferencing rate for sites used by the university was $225. This fee did not include Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) long distance line charges that were paid directly by the university.
These searches often resulted in locating a nearby facility. However, some of the more remote areas were not within an hour driving time of a videoconferencing facility, the limit that was set by the committee. If no usable results were revealed in a database search, the next step was to determine if there was a university or large corporation likely to have a videoconferencing facility within the predetermined distance. This type of search was the most time consuming and difficult as it often involved random Internet searches of city and town names and making numerous telephone calls. Often one telephone call led to many others before a site could be located and confirmed.

Preparation and Planning
The Armstrong experience has shown that planning and preparation are critical for a successful video interview. A great deal of planning was required before the interviews were held. To gain the full advantage of the convenience of a video interview, a location near the participants was selected. In the case of Armstrong Atlantic, participant travel was limited to a fifty-mile one-way trip distance.
Videoconferencing sites across the United States were contacted to determine compatibility and cost. For videoconferencing, most sites support either the ISDN, Internet Protocol (IP). Although the direct cost to the university for ISDN service is greater than that for IP service, the quality of ISDN service is guaranteed, while the quality of IP is not.

After the list of semi final candidates was established, permission to videotape was obtained from each of the candidates. Each candidate was assured that the videotapes would be seen only by the committee members. Time zone differences, availability of the university's videoconferencing facilities, and availability of the remote videoconferencing facilities had to be considered when scheduling. Further, the interviews had to be scheduled at a time when a majority of the search and screening committee members could be present. Each interview was scheduled for approximately fifty-five minutes. After each candidate indicated his/her willingness to participate and agreed to the site location and time for the interview, a master schedule was developed and transmitted to committee members, so that they were fully aware of the times for all interviews.

Interviews
To start the interview, the committee chair provided a brief overview of the format that was to be used. The overview included an introduction of the committee members, a reminder about the amount of available time and an announcement that notice would be given when the interview was nearing its end. Providing this information at the beginning enabled the interview to flow with fewer interruptions. Since videotaping was needed to permit committee members who were unable to attend the live broadcast to observe the candidate in this setting, each candidate was asked for permission to videotape the interview. Committee members asked predetermined questions of each candidate, but time was also allotted for each candidate to ask questions to members of the committee. Each committee member's name was printed on a large tent card to allow the candidates to easily identify individual committee members. Throughout the interviews, the technology director was on site to operate the videoconferencing system making sure to focus the camera on committee members as they asked questions.

Advantages and Disadvantages
The benefits of an initial interview via video appeared to outweigh the disadvantages. Among the benefits are convenience, reduced travel costs, less time away from the office and the opportunity to videotape the interview for screening committee participants who might not be able to attend the interview. Foremost among the disadvantages are technical difficulties resulting from one or more of the following: software, hardware and network failure. Although advance testing could often identify technical trouble, the unexpected, spontaneous problem sometimes still arose minutes before or even during a videoconference. However, no problem that we encountered was so severe that the interview had to be rescheduled.

Another disadvantage was the lack of personal interaction during the videoconference. For example, a handshake that is considered by some to be an essential part of a successful interview was an action not allowed by a videoconference. Further, the camera position at some sites was not properly positioned for the participants, thus eye contact appeared not to be direct. Occasionally ambient noise became problematic during a videoconference. Unannounced construction, air conditioning units and the like sometimes impaired audio quality.

On some occasions the absence of technical support personnel created difficulty for participants who were unfamiliar with the videoconferencing environment, making them appear ill at ease.

Since Armstrong Atlantic State University has used videoconferencing for two searches, all members of both search committees were asked about the advantages and disadvantages from their perspective. They provided the following responses:

Advantages

• Cost savings in candidate travel, lodging, etc.
• An opportunity to meet the candidates before narrowing the list
• Time savings
• The opportunity for candidates to ask questions about the university and the position.
• An opportunity to see and converse with candidates, evaluate their responses to questions and gauge their interest in the position.