DeKALB | The Blagojevich administration announced Wednesday plans for a new electronic hiring system for state employees and NIU officials say the shift will have little effect on the university’s hiring practices.

The announcement comes while the governor’s office is under federal investigation for its hiring practices. Blagojevich’s proposal would apply to state code agencies, said Steve Cunningham, NIU’s associate vice president and director of human resources.

“In terms of its applicability to the university, it appears to be more toward state agencies, but university application processes would be independent,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham said NIU already uses an online application process for civil service positions, which would include NIU’s building service and food service employees, accountants, secretaries, clerks and police officers.

“The use of online application systems is most prevalent for positions that are well-defined, in terms of job content,” Cunningham said. “Civil service jobs are typically well-defined in scope and job qualifications.”

The hiring for faculty, staff and administrators is usually done by committee, Cunningham said.

“Universities have a much broader scope of professional and academic-type positions,” he said. “Searches conducted by committee allow the candidate to present different qualities and characteristics. An electronic system puts all of those in the same format, so it’s less common.”

The Blagojevich administration announced in a press release Wednesday that the new hiring procedures will “reduce the potential for human error as well as internal manipulation.” Central Management Services, the state’s hiring agency, hopes to have the new Web-based system in place by the end of the year.

“Once it’s up and running, we will have a system that’s more accessible, more transparent and more accountable than ever before,” Deputy Gov. Sheila Nix said in a written statement released Wednesday.