3.07 - Faculty Personnel Records

Policy Title: Faculty Personal Records

Impact: Employees

Responsibility:

Effective Date:

Last Update:

Relates to Procedure(s):

Legal Citation(s):

I. Faculty Personnel Files

Administrative units of North Idaho College maintain two types of personnel files for individual faculty members, 1) a central personnel file, and 2) open files. Faculty personnel files are subject to the following conditions:

1. Rights of Inspection
   Faculty have the right to know the contents of both their central personnel file and their open files.
   1. Unlimited Access to Open Files. The faculty member has the right to know where open files are located, to read or copy documents in them, to furnish additional relevant material, and to insert comments concerning any document in the file.
   2. Limited Access to Central Personnel Files. Because of the confidential nature of some of the documents, faculty members are excluded from direct inspection of their own central personnel file.  However, each faculty member shall have access to the file contents, may designate someone to inspect the contents of the file, and may designate someone to copy the non-confidential contents of the file.
      
      
2. Maintenance of Central Personnel File
   
   1. Purpose. The central personnel file is maintained to insure the existence of a comprehensive record of personnel actions, and to guarantee, under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, that certain personnel documents shall remain private and confidential.
   2. Location. Central personnel files shall be maintained at one central location designated by the president. 
      
      1. In the absence of legal obligation to the contrary, documents obtained under a grant of confidentiality are to be placed in the central personnel file and treated as confidential.
      2. No documents which are anonymous or based on hearsay are to be included in the central personnel file
      3. The central personnel file may contain only initial employment documents, such as signed confidential recommendations, summative evaluations of job performance and tenure, and other documents obtained under a grant of confidentiality.
         
         
3. Organization of Central Personnel File
   Each file shall have a contents/log page designating a list of the documents contained in the file and the date each was placed in the file, and the name of any person referring to the file's contents and the date of referral.  When any additional document is placed in the closed file, the faculty member concerned must be informed of its substance.
   
   
4. Maintenance of Open Files
   1. Purpose. Open files include materials concerning the faculty member which are the basis of routine formative and summative performance evaluations, where they may have a bearing on the faculty member's tenure or employment status in the college.
   2. Location. Open files may be maintained by the administration and the division chair.
   3. Contents.
      1. No documents that are anonymous or based on hearsay are to be included in the open file.
      2. Unless appropriate supervisors need copies of open File documents for administrative purposes, materials in the open files may not be copied without the faculty member's prior approval.
      3. With the custodian's approval, open file documents may be removed by agreement between the faculty member and the administrator having custody of the file.
         
         
5. Challenging File Contents
   
   1. Faculty members may challenge the contents of both their open files and their personnel file.
   2. An effort should be made to resolve any disagreement about the contents of either file within the administrative unit by choosing a mutually acceptable faculty or staff member to make a determination that will bind both parties.
   3. If the parties are unable to agree on such a person, the faculty member has recourse to the procedures for faculty appeals.
   4. In the event of an appeal procedure for a civil suit involving a faculty member, evidence and testimony not on file are admissible.