 Section: 230-11 Effective: 10/01/1992 Supersedes: 11/05/1984 Next Review Date: Issuance Date: 04/29/2020 Issuing Office: Academic Personnel Services Maintenance of, Access to, and Opportunity to Request Amendment of Academic Personnel Records |
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I. REFERENCES AND RELATED POLICIES
A. Academic Personnel Manual (APM)
B. UCSD Policy and Procedure Manual (PPM)
II. POLICY
A. Maintenance of Academic Personnel Records (APM 160-10)
1. Location of Maintenance
This is determined by administrative convenience and need. Although departments, divisions, deans, provosts, etc., may maintain personnel records, the Academic Personnel Office is the official office of record for all academics, except nonsalaried clinical professor series appointees. The official office of record for appointees in this series is the School of Medicine Office of Academic Affairs.
2. Content of Academic Personnel Records
a. Academic personnel records shall contain information pertaining to the individual as an employee of the University only to the extent necessary and relevant for official University purposes.
Personnel Review File (APM 200-30). The personnel review file shall contain only material relevant to consideration of personnel actions under applicable University criteria set forth in the Academic Personnel Manual or other policy statements.
b. Unsolicited letters shall be retained in the correspondence section of the personnel file. The writer will be informed that the unsolicited letter will be treated as a non-confidential document and given the opportunity to withdraw it.
B. Definition of Types of Information Maintained by the University About Academic Employees (APM 160-20-b)
1. Confidential Information: Academic Review Records
a. Letters of evaluation and other statements pertaining to an individual received by the University with the understanding that the identity of the author of the letter or statement will be held in confidence to the extent permissible by law.
b. A letter from the chairperson (or equivalent officer) setting forth a personal recommendation in connection with an academic personnel action concerning the individual.
c. Reports, recommendations, and other related documents from campus and departmental ad hoc committees concerning evaluations of the individual under applicable University criteria 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.
2. Confidential Information: Non-Academic Review Records
The California Information Practices Act defines confidential information as including, but not limited by law to, medical, psychological, or health care information about an individual. Such information generally is not a part of the academic review file. (APM 160-20-b.-(3))
3. Non-confidential academic review records
a. A letter from the chairperson setting forth a departmental recommendation in connection with an academic personnel action.
b. Reports, recommendations and other related documents from administrative officers and standing personnel committees concerning the individual and applicable University criteria.
4. Non-personal Information
This is information that could not, in any reasonable way, reflect or convey anything detrimental to an individual's rights, benefits, or privileges, such as:
a. Individual's name
b. Date of hire or separation
c. Current position title
d. Current rate of pay
e. Organizational unit assignment, including office address and telephone number
f. Full-time or part-time, and career, casual, or probationary status
g. Certain other employment information required to be released to the public as determined on a case-by-case basis by the General Counsel and the Senior Vice President-Academic Affairs.
This is public information and is available, upon request, to any person or entity without limitation. The above information may be provided for current University of California employees. All of the above information may be provided on separated employees except rate of pay. This information includes the individual's name, date of hire, date of separation, last position title, and last organizational unit assignment.
Requests for this information may be directed to the Payroll Department, Mail Code 0952.
5. Personal Information
This is information about an individual that is not defined as “confidential” or “non-personal,” and the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy of the individual, such as:
a. Home Address
b. Home Telephone
c. Spouse or other relatives' names
d. Birth Date
e. Social Security Number
f. Citizenship
g. Prior non-University employment
h. Income tax withholding
i. Staff performance evaluations or letters of corrective action.
This information shall not be disclosed to persons or agencies external to the University, or to University employees who do not have an official need to know, without the written consent of the individual. Requests for release of personal information in Academic Personnel records must be referred to the Office of Academic Personnel.
C. Access by the Individual (APM 160-20-c)
The following provisions apply to all academic personnel titles and title series except those held by registered students:
1. The individual shall have access to inspect at reasonable times, or to receive a first copy free and additional copies at a reasonable cost, all documents in the individual's academic personnel record EXCEPT confidential academic review records.
2. The individual shall have the opportunity to receive, upon written request to the Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs via the Chair and applicable Dean, a redacted copy of confidential academic review records.
3. 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 either at the top of the letterhead or within or below the signature block of the letter of evaluation.
b. For reports or recommendations of an 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.
4. During an on-going personnel action, the provisions of PPM 230-29 govern with respect to the individual's access to the academic file.
D. Access to Academic Personnel Records (APM 160-20)
1. Access by University Employees
Strictly limited to those employees who need such access in the performance of their officially assigned duties, provided that such access is related to the purpose for which the information was acquired.
2. Access by the Committee on Privilege and Tenure [APM 160-20-d-(2)]
The Committee on Privilege and Tenure may request access to Academic Personnel records, including confidential academic review records, non-confidential academic review records, and “confidential” and “personal” information, to the extent necessary to permit thorough consideration of cases brought before it. The Chancellor shall provide to the committee access to all such academic personnel records requested by the committee, including confidential documents.
3. Access by Governmental Agencies
Governmental agencies shall have access to confidential academic review records, non-confidential academic review records, and “confidential” and “personal” information when required by State or Federal law. All requests must be referred to the Vice Chancellor—Academic Affairs.
4. Access by the Public and Non-governmental Entities
Members of the public and non-governmental entities shall not have access to confidential academic review records, or non-confidential academic records, “confidential” or “personal” information, except as required by law.
E. Court Order (APM 160-20-d-(3))
In any case in which the University is served with a subpoena requiring access to academic personnel records, or information from such records is required to be furnished, the Vice Chancellor—Academic Affairs must be notified. The Vice Chancellor—Academic Affairs shall notify the individual and, at the same time, notify the General Counsel's Office.
F. Opportunity to Request Corrections or Deletions and to Make Additions to Such Records (APM 160-10)
1. An individual may address a written request to the Vice Chancellor—Academic Affairs via the Chair and the applicable Dean:
a. That a statement of fact in the individual's academic personnel record be corrected.
b. That a statement by the individual in response to material in their academic personnel record be included in that record.
c. That specific material be deleted from such a record:
1. because that material is improperly included in the record, and
2. because neither correction nor responsive statement will adequately deal with the impropriety.
2. The Vice Chancellor—Academic Affairs, in consultation with the Chair and applicable Dean, shall determine within a reasonable period of time (not to exceed 30 calendar days) whether a requested correction in statement of fact or a requested deletion will be made. Prior to the decision by the Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs, the advice of the Committee on Academic Personnel will be solicited, when applicable.
3. If the deletion is made, care should be taken to insure that the same material is deleted from copies of those records in all locations where such copies are maintained.
4. Should the Vice Chancellor—Academic Affairs refuse to make the additions, corrections or deletions requested, the decision may be appealed in writing to the Chancellor. The appeal must be submitted within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the Vice Chancellor's decision. The Chancellor's decision is final.
G. Non-Applicability
1. These policies do not apply to students, graduate or undergraduate, who hold appointments in the Associate in , Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Intern, Resident, Tutor or Reader titles.
2. Access to personnel records for academic employees covered by collective bargaining contracts which also contain provisions covering access to academic personnel files is governed by the applicable Memorandum of Understanding.
III. REVISION HISTORY
September 15, 1977 This policy was originally issued.
November 10, 1977 This policy was revised and reissued.
August 30, 1978 This policy was revised and reissued.
September 21, 1979 This policy was revised and reissued.
September 5, 1980 This policy was revised and reissued.
December 10, 1982 This policy was revised and reissued.
November 5, 1984 This policy was revised and reissued.
May 12, 1989 This policy was revised and reissued.
October 1, 1992 This policy was made effective.
April 23, 2018 Minor technical edits to update policy hyperlinks.
April 29, 2020 Technical edits to remove gendered language
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