Staff Affirmative Action Compliance Officers

Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs

As Staff Affirmative Action Compliance Officers (AACO), you play an important role in monitoring compliance with and disseminating information about Penn's affirmative action policies and procedures. Together, we can help ensure that search, selection and other employment activities fulfill the letter and spirit of the University's commitment to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.

Staff AACO Responsibilities

The Dean of the school or the head of center appoints Staff Affirmative Action Compliance Officers (Staff AACO) to monitor the recruitment and selection processes for staff positions. The Staff AACO's primary responsibility is to ensure compliance with the University's affirmative action program and human resources policies and procedures at the school and center level.

The Staff AACO assists the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs (OAA•EOP) in the nondiscrimination and affirmative action monitoring and oversight function.

The Staff AACO also provide assistance to hiring officers, as appropriate, in the filling of non-faculty position vacancies.

The specific duties of the Compliance Officer include the following:

  • Providing hiring officers and search committees with information on affirmative goals, policies and procedures;
  • Interfacing with Staffing and Recruitment in the Department of Human Resources and the OAA•EOP to assist hiring officers in identifying recruitment resources and strategies to attract women, minorities, person with disabilities, special disabled veterans, Vietnam era veterans, and other eligible veterans (the groups covered under federal affirmative action legislation);
  • Monitoring and reviewing the search and selection processes to ensure compliance with the affirmative action program and human resources policies and procedures;
  • Reviewing all compliance forms for his/her respective school or center to ensure accuracy and compliance with affirmative action and human resource policies and procedures;
  • Notifying OAA•EOP of violations and/or allegations of violations of affirmative action and/or human resource policies and procedures;
  • Signing the compliance form, before an offer of employment is extended, indicating compliance with University policy and that a good faith search has been conducted; and
  • Attending regularly scheduled Compliance Officer Meetings and training sessions.

Information for Staff Compliance Officers

Workday Learning: Equal Opportunity Policies and Procedures for Hiring Staff and Faculty

As part of the University’s ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with its responsibilities as an equal opportunity employer, Penn provides training to those who serve in the role of AACO or DSA. A Workday Learning training module entitled “Workday Learning: Equal Opportunity Policies and Procedures for Hiring Staff and Faculty,” has been developed to provide an overview of relevant University policies and procedures. The training module is required and can be accessed through Workday Learning or the following link: 

Go To Workday (PennKey required)