Alabama A&M University
Procedure No. 6. 19
Staff Career Ladder Procedure Page 3 of 5
V. INITIATING A CAREER LADDER
Step 1: There are eligibility requirements for Staff Career Ladders, which must be met before
the initiation of a program can be approved. These requirements are listed on Section II of the
Career Ladder Request Form. Once the supervisor has verified eligibility and the employee
and the supervisor have mutually agreed that a Staff Career Ladder plan is appropriate, they
will work together to develop an action plan for attaining all education and experience
requirements and acquiring the specific competencies that the employee will need to be
successful at the higher responsibility level.
Supporting documents needed to request a Staff Career Ladder are:
a) A completed Staff Career Ladder Request Form
b) A department organizational chart
Step 2: Once step 1 is completed, the supervisor will enter an estimated date for completion of
the Career Ladder onto the Staff Career Ladder Request Form. The supervisor may also
include a proposed salary increase for the employee upon completion based on the Staff Salary
Schedule. The signed Staff Career Ladder Request Form should be sent to the appropriate Dean
(if applicable), Vice President, Vice President for Business and Finance and the President.
Step 3: Forward the approved Staff Career Ladder Request Form to the Office of Human
Resources for review and final approval.
Step 4: Once the supervisor has been notified by the Office of Human Resources that the
Career Ladder is approved, the employee can begin working on the development plan.
VI. DURATION AND COMPLETING THE CAREER LADDER
The minimum time period for a Staff Career Ladder Plan is six (6) months, from
initiation to completion.
However, Staff Career Ladders may last longer depending on:
1. The time it takes to attain the qualifications, knowledge, skills and abilities required to
perform the higher level of responsibilities.
2. The time it takes to complete all the elements of the action plan outlined on Section V
of the Career Ladder Request Form
3. The time it takes to demonstrate a satisfactory degree of competence in the
performance of the higher level responsibilities.