Visual observation may be used when there is personal contact with the applicant. Every applicant must be assigned to a gender and ethnic or racial category. When applicants do not volunteer that information and it cannot be inferred from other sources, you should count them as male and non-minority. The list may be generated from a computerized database and appended to the form rather than being retyped on it. To conduct federally mandated analyses, the University must have a mechanism for identifying the gender and race or ethnicity of applicants.
Federal law states that self-identification is the preferred method of collecting that information.
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, therefore, provides search committees with stamped EEO Postcards with a return address to the Office. Although voluntary, your assistance in completing and mailing the enclosed applicant data request postcard will help us achieve these objectives. Your cooperation will be sincerely appreciated. As applications are received, the search committee compiles a list of candidates and assigns an Applicant Number to each. These numbers ordinarily commence with 001 for the first applicant and continue consecutively through the last applicant for each search.