Provost & Academic Vice President

Offering Letter Templates & Instructions

Offering Letter General Format/Alterations to Letters

There are several offering letter templates available on the Provost web page. These are subdivided into two categories, for Faculty and Administrators. The templates provided have the minimum language required for specific categories of employment. Additional information may need to be inserted, but the core should not be altered. An offering letter serves as the legally binding contract between the future employee and the University, thus its contents must be correct and precise. Temporary appointments require a letter each appointment period.

Occasionally after an initial offer is made, it needs to be superseded by a letter with updated conditions of employment. In this case, the second superseding letter should have a sentence added, “This letter supersedes the previous offer dated mm/dd/yy.” 

Mailing the Offering Letter & Notification of Acceptance

  1. When the department has received notice that the Employment Offer Approval form has been approved, preparing the offering letter is the next step.
  2. Questions regarding the appropriate templates or special alterations should be directed to Human Resources at (309) 298-1971.
  3. A draft letter should be prepared by the department and submitted electronically to Human Resources for approval. After the department has received notification of approval, the dated letter should be printed on university letterhead, signed by the appropriate authority, and submitted to the Provost's Office for mailing. The prospective employee is asked to sign and return the letter to the Provost's Office within two weeks.
  4. The department will be notified when the letter is mailed to the prospective employee, as well as when it has been received. 

Reference Documents

The following documents are included for your reference in preparing Offering Letters.

Available Templates

The following types of appointments have corresponding offering letter templates on the Provost website. If you are unsure of which letter to use, please contact Human Resources at (309) 298-1971 to determine which letter suits the category of appointment you are offering to a prospective employee.  (See also Offering Letter Guide.)

The forms are provided in Microsoft Word. If you have difficulty accessing these documents, contact the Provost's Office by phone at (309) 298-1066 or by email at provost@wiu.edu.