3.12 Faculty Personnel Records
Records for faculty are maintained by the Provost's Office and by the Human Resources Office. The Provost's Office maintains a personnel file and a teaching evaluation file. The Human Resources Office maintains a personnel file and a medical file. This document gives guidelines concerning the contents of these files. It also outlines the rules concerning access to records in these files.
3.12.1 Personnel File (Provost's Office)
The Provost's Office maintains a personnel file for each faculty member. The personnel file consist of records that are used or have been used relative to the faculty member's qualifications for employment, promotion, additional compensation, or disciplinary action except for such records that are held in the confidential file. The personnel file may include the following:
- Application for employment (previously, personal data form).
- The most current C. V. available.
- Transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate coursework, including official certification of degrees.
- Appointment and reappointment letters including attachments concerning special conditions (for example, start-up funds or unusual tenure schedule)
- Recommendations of the department chair, dean and PSC for reappointment and/or promotion.
- Applications for leaves of absence (both paid and unpaid).
- Leave of absence forms (outlining conditions for such leaves).
- Faculty member report on paid leaves of absence (such as sabbaticals).
- Faculty member post-tenure review documents.
- Documentation of any disciplinary action.
- Numerical summaries of all teaching evaluations.
- Signed statement of compliance with faculty membership requirements.
- Notices of awards, commendations, grants and the like.
- Signed letters of complaint.
- Letters of resignation or retirement.
The personnel file may not include:
- Any medical information (medical information documenting a change in employment status is kept in the Human Resources medical file).
- Any unsigned letters such as anonymous student complaints.
- Any signed documents solicited by the college and submitted by persons under the presumption that the document will be treated as confidential (such as letters of evaluation written by colleagues at the time of reappointment).
- Any documents that refer to the employment status of persons other than the faculty member.
Access to the personnel file in the Provost's Office is limited to those persons who need access for the purpose for which the file is maintained. This normally includes the president, provost, deans, and their authorized representatives. Access to appointment and reappointment dossiers is discussed later in this section.
The faculty member may request, in writing, to review the contents of her or his personnel file. The file may then be examined at the Provost's Office but may not be removed. Copies of the file may be made at the faculty member's request. The faculty member may question the accuracy of any document in the record. If the provost and faculty member agree, such a document may be removed or corrected. If the provost and faculty member do not agree, the faculty member may include in the record a statement reflecting the faculty member's position.
3.12.2 Teaching Evaluation File (Provost's Office)
The Provost's Office maintains a file of completed student evaluation forms for each instructor. These forms are completed by students with the expectation of anonymity. They are usually unsigned. Completed forms are reviewed by the Dean soon after the semester in which they are completed. Then they are sent to the chairs, various program directors, and the faculty member for their review. They are then returned to the Provost's Office and are kept on file for at least five years. At that time, they are returned to the faculty member.
Access to the teaching evaluation file for the purpose of evaluation of a faculty member for appointment, reappointment or tenure is described below. Access to this file at other times is limited to the president, provost, deans, department chairs, program directors, faculty member and any person with written authorization from the faculty member. Each person with access to evaluations must treat them as confidential.
3.12.3 File Maintained in the Human Resources Office
The Human Resources Office maintains a personnel file (for the purpose of administering faculty salary and benefits) and a medical file. Policies concerning access to these files are available from the Human Resources Office.
3.12.4 Appointment, Reappointment, and Promotion Dossiers
Dossiers are constructed by the department chair at the time of appointment, reappointment or promotion. Each such dossier is kept in the Provost's Office as an "active" file until the Board of Trustees has taken its action. Before the chair submits the dossier to the dean, the group formed by the department to make the personnel decision has access to the dossier.
The dean and each member of the Professional Status Committee have access to the dossier. The dossier must remain in the Provost's Office or committee room and may not be copied. Each person with access to the dossier must treat the entire dossier as confidential. The dossier may not be used for any purpose other than making the appropriate personnel decision.
After the action of the Professional Status Committee, the Provost's Office will prepare for use of the Board an abridged version of the dossier. This version will consist of the candidate's statements, the recommendations of the chair and the dean, and a selection of the candidate's publications. Board members have access to this abridged version and may view it in the Provost's Office. Board members should treat this information as confidential and may not use it for any purpose other than making the appropriate personnel decision.
Board members may also view the unabridged dossier under the same conditions. However, Board members should be aware that the primary audience of many of the documents is the professional peers of the faculty member. Thus, Board members should use caution in interpreting the documents.
After the action of the Board of Trustees, the student evaluation forms are placed in the teaching evaluation file. The remainder of the dossier is stored in a secure place in the Provost's Office for ten years after the faculty member receives tenure or leaves Calvin and is then destroyed. Only the dean and the provost have access to the file during this period.
3.12.5 Departmental Records
Departments should not keep copies of the personnel information described above. There are some exceptions to this policy. First, departments may keep copies of non-confidential information that is needed on a frequent basis. For example, departments may keep copies of biographical data on each faculty member. Second, department chairs may keep copies of student evaluation summaries for the purpose of studying teaching effectiveness in the department. Third, departments should maintain the application dossier of all candidates not receiving an appointment for at least two years after the position is filled.
