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[frequent flyer]

I live in the lower 48 and received an invitation for an on-campus interview at a University in the lower 48.  The search chair said the university might only be able to pay for half of my airfare.  Is this highly unusual?  Does this raise red flags?  Any insights will be appreciated.

[Anon]

For a CC, this would not be unusual (paying even half the fare might itself be unusual).

For a one-year or non-tenure track position, sometimes there is little or no money for travel associated with a search, and so the search committee will purposefully screen candidates geographically (in part because if you have to fly in for an interview, you'll also have to make a major move for what will only be a 9 or 12 month position).

But a University interviewing for a tenure track position which can't even promise to pay half the fare (you wrote "might only be able" imply that there is strictly speaking no assurance even of that) would raise all sorts of red flags.  Proceed with caution, and unless you're desperate, I'd decline.

[asst_prof]

It depends on the type of school.  As the previous poster said, that situation would not be unusual for a community college.  Many CCs simply don't have the funds to pay candidates' travel & lodging expenses.  

It you're talking about a university, however, I think it would be unusual for them not to cover your travel/lodging expenses.  

I would be apprehensive since your situation likely indicates a school with limited financial resources or a school run by a bunch of fiscal tightwads.  If they won't cover your travel expenses to the interview (when they're supposed to be wooing you), are they going to provide you with funds to attend conferences, research, and so forth?

[Zarkov]

I think cheapness should generally raise a red flag, although the CC practice of not paying for travel would not be quite the same....  If a school is cheap about paying for airfare, then will they be cheap about paying the going rate for a prof in your field and region, compared to similar schools?  (I'd bet yes.)

As an alternative to them paying half the airfare, ask what the budget is for your trip, and find a cheap airfare yourself, perhaps even if it means staying an extra day, say. (That is, they pay the whole cheap ticket.)  It is possible they recently got burned by another interviewee with an expensive ticket.

[frequent flyer]

Just to clarify, the position is tenure-track at a 4-year school.  Thanks for the helpful comments thus far.

[PF]

From my own experiences, this does seem quite unusual.  I've always had my travel expenses covered completely.

[avoid]

Any institution that won't pay (or reimburse) your meals, airfare, mileage, hotel isn't worth your trouble.  

The interview should cost you nothing but time.  You've "paid" your share by getting the degree.

[avoid2]

It is inappropriate for the university to expect a candidate to help pay for the interview costs.

If they cannot pay the interview expenses, I would not accept the interview.

The university may well attract some desperate candidates willing to pay, but they are unlikely to be the best candidates possible because the university's demand raises many red flags.

It would be best for all current and future candidates in academe (cc's may be an exception) if candidates declined to interview without full reimbursement.  If requiring candidates to pay to interview approaches anything close to a norm in academe, it will be bad news.

[%sig%]

[John Proctor]

All I can say is I've never heard of anything like that.  In my experience, they normally pay for air and hotel, but also all meals there, cab or millage to and from the original airport, and meals on the road.

I'm not talking about elite, wealthy or R1 programs.  Mid-tier slacs and state universities.

Smells hinky.  I'd think very hard about it and look over your other options.

[Professor 7/7]

I agree that it is unusual for a 4-year to not provide interview expenses in full.

However, the school may be in a budget crunch this year, and soft money may not be available for travel, especially this late in the school year.

That does not necessarily mean that the school is unable to pay you what you are worth or even that it will be unable to provide soft money for conferences, etc.  It could be that faculty salaries are hard-budgeted, and interview expenses come out of a soft account.  It might simply be that, in late April, they have run low on funds.

I would agree that you should proceed with caution.  If you take the interview, ask diplomatically about conference travel funding and research support.   Try to get a real sense of the school's financial situation.  You might be going into a situation where the school has enough money, but it dries up early in the academic year.  This might not be so bad, provided you are proactive about securing those funds early.

[Artsearch]

From what you say, the real red flag for me would be that they didn't bother to explain WHY they aren't paying for all of it. If indeed it is because of the lateness in the year, so be it, but they should at least be forthcoming about that.

Years ago, UVA had a very late opening (midsummer) for a well--paying part time job in my field; as soon as they got my file, they called me and started to negotiate a potential interview, and they asked up front if I'd be willing to cover my own airfare. I had just been feeling "toyed with" due to an AA hiring situation in another interview, so my reply to UVA was that I'd consider it if there were a real chance of my getting the position. It never happened anyway; I think they eventually got profiles closer to what they were seeking, and it did not come to an interview.

[Seeker]

As others advise, definitely proceed with EXTREME CAUTION. If the chair can provide a legitimate explanation for why they can't pay for ALL of your expenses, and can assure you that the institution/department isn't in the red, you could still consider going for the interview. Another consideration might be how expensive this trip would actually be. But my strong inclination would be to turn this down. I have never heard of a 4-year institution forcing candidate to pay any part of their expenses, even late in the game.

[Sibyl]

The question is why.  I know someone in HR at a very prestigious institution that says that her institution has adopted a policy that they will only reimburse half of the expenses because it helps to separate out the people who are really interested in the school.  They have so many applications from so many outstanding candidates, she says, that they can afford to do this.  

And I suppose she's right.  Her school is so prestigious that I think I might be willing to interview there even if she only covered half of my expenses.

But that's very much the exception rather than the rule.  I can think of only a handful of institutions where that might be true -- and I know from personal experience that most of those institutions do pay full expenses.

[lang guy]

Red flag to me.  A 4-year tt search almost always pays candidate expenses.  If not, the only way I would ever accept such an interview would be if I were desperate for job and planned to stay just a short time.

Heck, sometimes we all need jobs.  If that's your case, go for it.  If you take that job, know that your salary will be increasingly compressed over time as they don't even have the, say, $400 to pay the other half of your interview expenses.

If you're new to academia, you might go and take the job.  Get the experience, publish widely, and move on.

Otherwise, red flag.