Employer Recruiting and Hiring Guidelines

The University of Cincinnati College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies (CCPS) is committed to diversity and inclusivity in all hiring and employment practices. CCPS aims to create an environment in which students are educated and supported to make informed employment decisions, and in which all employers have equitable and balanced circumstances to conduct recruiting.

All employment professionals who are recruiting and hiring are expected to adhere to ethical and legal recruiting, interviewing, selection and offer practices as outlined by the NACE Principles for Ethical Professional Practice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

All employers must be legitimate organizations and provide verifiable information such as business name, physical address, contact name, email address, phone number and website.

Approved employers who use CCPS’s services must agree to the following policies.

The University of Cincinnati forbids discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, arrest record, or disability and will comply with EEO, ADA and Civil Rights Laws.

We expect the employer to make reasonable accommodations for a disabled person so that they may participate in the recruitment process.

We expect employers to honor all offers made to students. We expect our employer partners to communicate with students about offers and provide reasonable time for students to make informed decisions. All offers must be made in writing. Written offers can be in electronic or hard copy form.

Employers must not put excessive pressure on students to accept an offer. The University of Cincinnati does not allow the use of exploding offers. An “exploding offer” is one that requires a candidate to decide on an offer within a very short time or provides incentives (diminishing bonuses, location preferences) to accept the offer early.

CCPS adheres to the NACE policy, which states that serving alcohol should not be a part of the recruitment process. Therefore, all recruiting activities, including all student engagement events, will be alcohol-free.

CCPS prohibits commercial selling or solicitation on campus that is not sponsored or sanctioned by the university.

In compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, interviews must be made available to all interested students who meet the permanent work authorization requirements, regardless of their citizenship. If United States citizenship is required by your company, please indicate this in every job description for which you are recruiting. See Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers from the U.S. Department of Justice for more information and guidance.

CCPS will not accept any job or position that requires a financial investment from our students or alumni. Your postings cannot require any employment fees or purchases (for example, supplies or training kits, fee-based placements or training, etc.). In addition, the employer will not charge the university or student any fee for services.

All materials received from our students (letters, resumes, transcripts, via email or hard copy), will be shared only with those persons who are involved in the hiring process.

CCPS follows the direction of the university for inclement weather. When University of Cincinnati offices are closed, CCPS is closed, and events are canceled. The Employer Relations team will work with employers on the best strategy to reschedule canceled events. 

Third-party recruiters who wish to post opportunities in the CCPS job database, Handshake, must agree to the following terms and conditions:

• The third-party recruiter must disclose the employer's name and position description. The client’s name must appear in the title of the position.
• Students and alumni will not be charged a fee for the third-party recruiter’s services.

This agreement will remain in effect for all positions posted through the third-party recruiter. We reserve the right to refuse or remove any postings that do not adhere to these terms and conditions. Any violation of these terms will result in the loss of access to CCPS Handshake.

University of Cincinnati students and alumni seeking employment can connect to employers with employment opportunities by using Handshake. Use of this tool is limited to career-related activities; under no circumstances is the information submitted by students, alumni or employers to be used for any purpose other than job/applicant seeking activities. Violation of this exclusive use policy will result in removal from the system.

At the University of Cincinnati, we strive to provide our students with meaningful and valuable internship and cooperative education experiences. To ensure the quality of these opportunities, we reserve the right to deny Handshake postings and campus recruiting requests that contain false or incomplete information or do not meet our standards for bona fide experience.

Handshake requires companies to have a legitimate email address associated with their employer/organization website domain (no Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.), a functioning website (Facebook or other social media sites cannot take the place of a website), and an address that is easily identifiable as a place of business. Addresses cannot be an employer’s personal residence.

All opportunities posted to Handshake must be for full-time, internship, or cooperative education and require a college degree or active student status/pursuing degree, unless permitted elsewhere in this policy.

CCPS reserves the right to decline positions that do not match the mission and goals of the co-op program. Examples include:

• Work in private homes such as childcare, tutoring, nanny, moving, maintenance, etc.
• Opportunities outside the United States (company/organization must be headquartered in the United States to be able to post opportunities)
• Positions that pay for work in cash or other informal work/pay arrangements, including commission-only positions (students MUST receive a W-2 or Form 1099)
• Teaching English abroad
• Summer camp positions (unless located within the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana tri-state area)
• Unpaid positions (unless specified as non-profit volunteer positions or Service-Learning opportunities)
• Fast food, catering, bartending, or other food service

The following organizations are not eligible to use CCPS services:

• Organizations involved in the production or promotion of cannabis
• Adult industry, escort services, or similar organizations
• “Network,” “matrix,” or “pyramid” marketing organizations
  

Positions with sales-related job descriptions must include a form of guaranteed compensation (base salary, hourly wage, or stipend). If compensation consists of a stipend, it must be received by the student no later than the start date of the co-op or internship.

A commission-only compensation package will not satisfy this policy. Commission is defined as monetary compensation that is not guaranteed and typically depends on meeting a performance standard that may or may not be realistic. Professional development perks such as conferences, workshops and training provided by an employer are not valid substitutes for guaranteed compensation.

Companies hiring 1099 or independent contractor positions are not eligible for on-campus recruiting activities. They may, however, post positions on Handshake and must include the following disclaimer in the posting:

"This is a 1099 position. Persons paid on a 1099 basis are considered self-employed independent contractors. Independent contractors (you) are required to pay self-employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare), quarterly estimated income taxes, worker's disability compensation and health or other insurances. These will NOT be withheld or paid by the client for which you work. Independent contractors do not receive employment benefits from the client for which you work. For more information, refer to www.irs.gov or talk with a tax professional."

CCPS reserves the right to exclude any employer from recruiting activities and to edit, delete or refuse any employer profile or job posting at any time.

The hosting of employer, job and internship information in our Handshake database should not be considered an expressed or implied endorsement by CCPS or the University of Cincinnati.

The views, information or opinions expressed by employers participating in career events are solely those of the employer(s) involved and do not necessarily represent those of CCPS or the University of Cincinnati.

If you have questions regarding employer policies or procedures not addressed here, visit www.hireuc.com or contact us at engagement@uc.edu.