Faculty Handbook

Access by the Faculty Member to Personnel Records Files

Faculty members are allowed full access to their own personnel records files kept by the University, college, or department, except for the following records:

• Confidential letters and other confidential information submitted prior to July 1, 1975. The Oregon Revised Statutes provide for review of these materials after editing to provide for anonymity of the author(s). Contact the Office of Human Resources for further information on these procedures.
• Pre–employment confidential letters and other confidentially submitted pre–employment evaluations received by the University, college or department after July 1, 1975. Evaluations submitted as part of an OSU faculty member’s review for other OSU positions are also considered "pre–employment," and are also confidential. The Oregon Revised Statutes provide for review of these materials after editing to provide for anonymity of the author(s). Contact the Office of Human Resources for further information on these procedures.

The faculty member may review his or her personnel records file with the supervisor or in the Office of Human Resources. The file may be reviewed in the office in which it is maintained and may not be removed from that office.

To provide a faculty member access to information and evaluations submitted in confidence, the University, college, or department official shall disclose to the faculty member upon request the substance of the confidential items in the personnel records file (keeping the name and content that would reveal the source confidential).

The faculty member shall have the opportunity to enter into the file a rebuttal, refutation, or explanation of any materials in his or her personnel file. As described in the University Promotion and Tenure Guidelines (Chapter 8), department supervisors are expected to include in their letters of evaluation a summary of all solicited evaluations –– confidential and non–confidential –– received as part of a promotion and tenure review. The faculty member may enter into the dossier a rebuttal, explanation, or comment for these or any other evaluations in the dossier. Should the faculty member request it, a faculty committee appointed and authorized by the Faculty Senate shall examine the contents of the faculty member’s file or dossier to verify that all statements therein have been provided or summarized.