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APP
1-11, Academic Personnel Records
Defines
records--including confidential and non-confidential review
records--and sets out an appointee's rights to access those
records under universitywide policies in the Academic Personnel
Manual.
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GENERAL
INFORMATION
1-11.
Academic Personnel Records
A.
BACKGROUND - PUBLIC INFORMATION AND INDIVIDUAL PRIVACY
Under
the California Public Records Act, records maintained by the University
generally are considered public records and are subject to inspection
by any person upon request unless the records are confidential
and, therefore, exempted under the law from disclosure. However,
to preserve each person's right to privacy, there are strict limits
on access to information about individuals.
Academic
Personnel Policy 160 is intended to protect academic employees
from unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy, as well as
to specify their rights of access to their own personnel records;
and their right to make corrections, deletions, or additions
to these records. In this way the need for access to information
is balanced by the need for privacy and confidentiality.
Recent
amendments to the Information Practices Act have altered or deleted
the three categories of information: confidential, personal, and
non-personal information. However, in order to clarify access
rights of the individual to whom records pertain and third party
disclosure rights, University policy continues to classify information
as confidential, personal, or non-personal. In addition, University
policy establishes a special category of confidential academic
review records.
B.
TYPES OF INFORMATION AND ACCESS TO IT
With
the implementation of revised APM academic personnel policies
on access to records, previously "confidential" academic review
records have now been divided into two categories; "confidential"
and "non-confidential," with revised access rights allowing the
candidate to have more complete information, some in redacted
form, than was previously available.
1.
Non-personal Information
Non-personal information regarding an employee is limited
to that information which could not, in any reasonable way,
reflect or convey anything detrimental to an individual's
rights, benefits, or privileges, and includes:
-
Name
- Date
of hire or separation
- Current
position title
- Current
rate of pay
- Current
department, office address and phone number
- Full-time,
part-time, or other employment status
- Certain
other employment information required to be released to
the public
Non-personal
information is public information and is available upon
request to any person or entity without limitation. Normally,
any questions about faculty salaries should be directed
either to the Director of Public Information in the Office
of Communications (if the request comes from outside the
University) or to Academic Personnel (if the request comes
from a University employee).
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2.
Personal Information
Personal
information includes any information not designated as confidential
or non-personal and the disclosure of which would constitute
an invasion of privacy.
Members
of the public do not have access to personal information;
however, all personal and non-confidential records concerning
an individual are accessible by the individual.
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3.
Non-Confidential Information
Non-confidential
academic review records include:
a.
A departmental letter setting forth a recommendation in connection
with an academic personnel action concerning the individual,
such as appointment, promotion, merit increase, mid-career appraisal,
reappointment, or nonreappointment.
b.
Individual evaluations of the candidate and recommendations
from the dean, the Committee on Academic Personnel, the Executive
Vice Chancellor, and the Chancellor in connection with an
academic personnel action.
4.
Confidential Information
Confidential
information includes any medical, psychological, or health care
information about an individual and academic personnel review
records that contain the following:
a.
Letters of evaluation received by the University with the understanding
that they were confidential and not to be shown to the candidate
(and any other document which would disclose the identity of
a correspondent);
b.
The chair's letter setting forth a personal recommendation
in connection with an academic personnel action concerning
the individual, such as appointment, promotion, merit increase,
mid-career appraisal, reappointment, or nonreappointment;
and
c.
Reports, recommendations, and other related documents from
campus and departmental ad hoc committees concerning evaluations
in connection with an academic personnel action.
d.
Information placed in the review file by a department
chair that provides reference to the scholarly credentials
of individuals who have submitted letters of evaluation or
their relationship to the candidate. (UCI-AP-11, Identification
of Outside Evaluators.)
Members
of the public do not have access to such confidential information.
Access by University officers and employees to academic confidential
or personal records is strictly limited to those who need access
in the performance of their duties. Governmental agencies have
access to confidential and personal information when required
by state and federal law.
| Requests
for Access to Non-Confidential Academic Personnel Files (excluding
ongoing personnel actions) |
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The
following guidelines are to be observed on this campus with
respect to requests to inspect non-confidential material
in academic personnel files:
a.
Each academic unit will devise its own procedures to permit
access by an individual to nonconfidential material maintained
on that individual by the unit. Access should be possible
within a reasonable period of time after each request. (If,
for example, confidential and nonconfidential material are
filed together, a reasonable time may be allowed for the
separation of the two.)
b.
A request by an individual to see non-confidential material
in the individual's file in Academic Personnel (the official
file of record) should be made directly to Academic Personnel.
Three working days should be allowed between receipt of
the request in Academic Personnel and the time the material
will be ready.
c.
In all cases, the academic appointee must inspect the
record in the office where the file resides. An individual
has the right to receive a copy of nonconfidential material
in the individual's file.
d.
See APM Policy 160-20-c(6) for a list of all affected
academic titles.
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| Requests
for Access to Confidential Academic Personnel Files (excluding
ongoing personnel actions) |
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Effective
August 1, 1992, an individual may request
access to the confidential review material in his/her
file in redacted form.
The
definition of "redaction" is to include only the removal
of name, title, institutional/organizational affiliation,
and relational information contained below the signature
block of a letter of evaluation.
When
an individual requests access to confidential academic review
records (as defined in APM 160-20-b(1)), the records shall
be subject to redaction as follows:
a.
For a letter of evaluation or statement from an individual
evaluator, redaction shall consist of the removal of name,
title, organizational/institutional affiliation, and relational
information contained below the signature block of the letter
of evaluation.
b.
For reports or recommendations of an administrative ad
hoc committee, redaction shall consist of the removal
of the names of individual members of the committee.
c.
For information that references the scholarly credentials
or relationship to the candidate of the authors of letters
of evaluation, no access shall be provided to the individual.
d.
Note: For confidential documents (including individual,
department, and administrative letters, as well as committee
reports and recommendations) placed in an academic personnel
review file prior to September 1, 1992, campuses may either
(a) redact such documents to remove the identifiers such
as name, title, date, and organizational/institutional
affiliation, or any relational statement or comment that
would serve to identify the author(s) of the comment,
or (b) prepare a comprehensive summary.
For
all personnel reviews prior to August 1, 1992, the individual
has the opportunity to receive, upon request, a comprehensive
oral or written summary of the substance of confidential
documentation about that individual in the aggregate. This
summary may not disclose the identities of persons who are
the sources of confidential information and may not identify
separately the evaluations and recommendations in an academic
personnel action by any of the confidential levels of review.
Written summaries (except summaries written by the chair)
are submitted to the Committee on Academic Personnel for
review before being provided to the individual.
Requests
for Summaries of or Access to Confidential Material
All
requests for access to confidential material in academic
personnel files, except those mandated in APM Policy 220-80-d
(i.e., redacted copies provided in the course of review
at the department level), should be made to the Executive
Vice Chancellor by use of Form
UCI-AP- 51. This applies to all files, wherever
they are maintained. The completed form should be forwarded
via Academic Personnel.
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C.
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST THE MISUSE OF CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS
Some
individuals have understandable concerns that the use of confidential
documents may sometimes produce unjust results. Various elements
in the personnel review process provide safeguards against potential
injustice from the use of confidential documents, while still
retaining the benefits of their use. These elements are:
1.
An academic personnel process in which final administrative decisions
are based solely on the personnel review file;
2.
The opportunity for the individual under review to contribute
to the personnel file;
3.
The opportunity for the individual to receive a comprehensive
summary (for reviews prior to September 1, 1992) of the substance
of confidential information in the review file; or a redacted
copy of all confidential materials (for reviews after September
1, 1992);
4.
A multi-tiered process typically involving two or three different
faculty review bodies and two or three different administrative
review levels; and
5.
Clearly defined grievance procedures.
D.
DEFINITION OF THE ACADEMIC REVIEW FILE AND OTHER ACADEMIC PERSONNEL
RECORDS
APM
Policy 160, Appendix B- Additional Academic Personnel Policies
Pertaining to Academic Records
Final
administrative decisions concerning appointment, promotion, merit
increase, mid-career appraisal, reappointment, and nonreappointment
are based solely upon relevant materials contained in an individual's
personnel review file.
1.
Personnel Review File
The personnel review file is that portion of an individual's academic
personnel record which is maintained by the University for purposes
of considering personnel actions under the relevant criteria,
and shall contain only material relevant to these purposes. (See
also APM 200-30.)
NOTE:
The official University file of record is normally that file
which is kept in the Office of Academic Personnel. Files for
volunteer clinical appointees and housestaff in the College
of Medicine are exceptions. (Section 721-11 of the Campus Policy
and Procedures Manual contains a listing of categories of records
and the Office of Record for each record.) All other files pertaining
to academic personnel appointment, merit increase, etc., are
"working" or unofficial files.
2.
Other Academic Personnel Records
Other
academic personnel records pertaining to the individual as an
employee of the University may include the following material:
Miscellaneous correspondence
Leave records
Documents relating to administrative appointments
Employment history other than that contained in the personnel
review file
Retirement documents
Payroll documents
Academic Senate correspondence concerning the individual
Other similar information.
Such
materials shall not be referred to or considered in connection
with a recommendation or decision in a personnel action involving
an individual unless they are made part of the individual's
personnel review file by an appropriate administrative officer.
E.
OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT OR DELETE
See
University Policy: APM Policy 160-30
An
academic appointee may request, in writing, to the appropriate
officer:
1.
That a statement of fact in an academic personnel record pertaining
to that individual be corrected;
2.
That material be deleted if it was improperly included; or
3.
That a statement by the individual, in response to material
in the academic personnel record of the individual, be included
in that record.
Within
a reasonable time period (not more than 30 calendar days),
the administrative officer will, with advice from the Committee
on Academic Personnel, determine whether the requested correction
or deletion will be made. In any event, the individual has the
right to have inserted in the appropriate record any statement
the individual wishes in response to or commenting upon the
challenged material.
Requests
for Amendment of Academic Personnel Files
All
requests from appointees that files be amended (other than routine
updates, etc.) should be put in writing and should include a
clear statement of the change desired and the reason for it.
The statement may be sent directly to the Office of Academic
Personnel or be given to the head of the academic unit. If the
latter, the head of the unit should forward the request, at
once, along with a recommendation on the request, to the Office
of Academic Personnel.
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References
- University Policy
- APM
158, Rights of Academic Appointees, Including Rights
Regarding Records
- APM
160, Maintenance of, Access to, and Opportunity
to Request Amendment of
- APM
160, Appendix A - "Supplemental Information Regarding
Academic Policy 160, including Interpretive Material
Regarding the Need for "Confidential" Academic Records
and Provisions for Procedural Safeguards Designed to
Assure Fairness in the Academic Process"
- APM
160, Appendix B - Additional Academic Personnel
Policies Pertaining to Academic Records
- APM
220-80, Recommendations and Review - General Procedures
References
- Other Campus Procedures
- APP
1-12, For confidentiality in the review process
Campus Policy and Procedures Manual Section 720-11,
Privacy of Access to Information
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