Some of us do that because it is a way to guage
> what an individual knows and has learned.

Do you include anything for actual years of experience on the job?  I
have found that while an education is very beneficial the actual job
experience really pays off.

As a public
> institution, the law won't let us interview folks to see
> what they know and make judgements about that, it requires
> that we advertise standards and requirements, and that we
> hire people who meet those advertised standards.

Must be a very unique law in SD.  What's written on an application
can't possibly cover everything that an actual face to face interview
does.  Having worked at a public institution in Nebraska, we not only
interviewed individuals, but all were required to take an exam written
specifically for that position and were then rated on the basis of
that exam.


I suppose
> we could write a test for all our applicants to take, but
> isn't that what the schools do for us???

Yes, it is possible.  No the schools don't.  I know from personal
experience.

To automatically eliminate someone with years of experience but
lacking an MA seems short sighted to me.  An education is invaluable
but so is experience.

Greg