Office of the Provost

Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook
Chapter 4 -- Faculty: Benefits, Responsibilities, and Specific Requirements

Personnell Files

Academic Records Policy for Unclassified Personnel

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide a statement of designation of personnel files for unclassified faculty and staff. The University acknowledges the existence of a number of personnel files which exist at the University. These files are designated as:

Departmental Evaluation Files
College General Personnel Files
University Official Personnel Files

This policy attempts to define the location, availability, and basic content of personnel files found at the University. It is the intent of this policy to provide information to unclassified faculty and staff and administration regarding the existence of personnel files and their maintenance.

Types Of Personnel Files

Departmental Evaluation Files

Departmental evaluation files should contain information associated with unclassified faculty and staff evaluations for appointment, merit, tenure, and promotion. The file would include self-appraisals, colleague appraisals, summaries of student course evaluations, advisor evaluations, summaries of professional development activities, and documentation of committee and other service activities. In addition, files should include leave reports and annual agreements of expectations and responsibilities.

College General Personnel Files

College files should consist of initial letters of employment; records of professional development revealed by annual reports; evaluations for tenure and promotion conducted by department, chair, college committee, and dean; conflict of interest statements; unclassified faculty and staff development plans; and agreements of expectations and other matters of concern at the college level.

University Official Personnel Files

This file is designated as the official file for personnel purposes and should contain all information which summarizes the appointment, salary, evaluation, merit adjustment, and tenure and promotion decisions of unclassified faculty and staff. In addition, this file contains letters of recommendation, formal resume, official transcripts, personal data information, annual contracts, appointment and acceptance letters (originals), and other confidential materials pertaining to the role of the individual as an unclassified faculty or staff.

Access to Personnel Files

Unclassified faculty and staff will have access to their personnel files at all levels. Only those officials who have direct-line responsibility for the supervision of a particular unclassified faculty or staff member will have access to the personnel files. The access by administrators is governed by a need-to-know basis. The Official Personnel file will be kept confidential and will be available for confidential use only. Unclassified faculty and staff will have access under the supervision of the Provost’s Office. Other individuals may be authorized in writing by the unclassified faculty or staff member to have access to his/her file. A fee will be assessed to the unclassified faculty or staff member for copying of file materials.

Consistent with our “need-to-know” philosophy in the decision processes, evaluation files are open to the following:

1. Individual unclassified faculty or staff member
2. Department chairperson or unit director
3. President, Provost, and Vice Presidents
4. Dean
5. Merit, tenure, promotion, and sabbatical leave committees
6. Others who may be approved in writing by the individual unclassified faculty or staff member

Right To Add Material

The unclassified faculty or staff member has the right to review his/her file and add material to the file in response to any item in the file or to enhance and update material contained therein.

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