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Policy 1409 – Guidelines for Unclassified Personnel Files

Revision Date: 8/21/2005

Responsible Office: Office of the President / Provost/ Vice Presidents of Each Division

Reference: Board of Supervisors (Rules) – University of Louisiana System


GENERAL

Personnel practices and procedures in colleges and universities include considerations
of concepts such as tenure and academic freedom above and beyond the commonly accepted
procedures of business and industry. Analysis of practices related to personnel management
in colleges and universities that are of relatively recent origin and that have been
deemed acceptable through successful use as well as those practices necessary as the
result of Case Law indicates some imperative guidelines.

Undergirding and underscoring an adequate personnel policy today are the concepts
of accessibility to the record by the individual and confidentiality of the record
assured by the University.

EMPLOYMENT POLICIES

Policies and Procedures having direct bearing on the employment of an individual are
included as part of the University Policies and Procedures Manual published on the
Louisiana Tech University web site. Information regarding access to this information
should be provided to each employee at the time of employment. Employees should also
be furnished with college or unit policies that contain information regarding employment
status and position requirements.

RECORDS

The records necessary to support personnel management are of paramount importance
and must be scrupulously maintained. The maintenance includes systematic and timely
placement of the necessary records into the file, systematic exclusion of extraneous
records from the file, and constant monitoring of necessary changes to keep all files
current. The institution will keep on file for all full-time and part-time faculty
members documentation of academic preparation, such as official transcripts and, if
appropriate for demonstrating competency, official documentation of professional and
work experience, technical and performance competency, records of publications, certifications,
and other qualifications.

The specific records and the appropriate domicile are indicated below:

University Department of Human Resources

  1. Board of Supervisors Position Description, Justification and Certification form- maintained
    in the affirmative action file (see 7 below).
  2. Formal application for employment–maintained in the individual’s file.
  3. Letters of recommendation (if applicable)–maintained in the individual’s file.
  4. Official College and University transcripts – maintained in the individual’s file.
  5. Documentation of special training and experience–maintained in the individual’s file.
  6. Appointment document–maintained in the individual’s file with a copy in the affirmative
    action file.
  7. Affirmative action documents–maintained in a separate file correlated to the file
    of individual employees.
  8. Annual contracts for faculty appointments–maintained in the individual’s file.
  9. Annual letter stating conditions of employment for unclassified/non-faculty personnel–maintained
    in the individual’s file.
  10. Employment status changes–maintained in the individual’s file.

Provost/Vice President’s Office

  1. Evaluations of those individuals reporting directly to the Provost/Vice President.
  2. Documentation of formal conferences (those individual conferences between an administrator
    and employee that had been requested in writing of an employee by his/her administrative
    superior) relating to employment of those reporting directly to the Vice President.

Academic Dean/Director/Budget Head/Unit Head

  1. Work assignments (including Faculty Workload Surveys).
  2. Evaluations.
  3. Documentation of formal conferences relating to employment of individuals reporting
    directly to the Academic Dean/Director/Budget Head/Unit Head.
  4. Documentation of employee'(s) activities, laudatory and derogatory. This information
    is to be filed only after a documented conference with the employee.
  5. Signed derogatory or accusatory letters.
  6. Any refutation the individual chooses to make relative to items 4 and 5.

The above records are to be maintained in the above specific, recognized, and official
locations under the supervision and maintenance of appropriate designated employees.

It is recognized as being appropriate to have copies of some records in a location
other than the official domicile, but care must be exercised to have only the most
recent and current correct record from the official file as the duplicate. Otherwise,
duplications are prohibited.

ACCESS TO FILES

Personnel files are to be used only by appropriate University officials in the execution
of the business of the University. Each employee shall have the right to inspect and
duplicate (at the individual’s personal expense) the file pertaining to the individual
during normal business hours of the University but in the presence of the appropriate
official or his or her designee. At no time shall the individual be permitted to remove
materials from the file or to alter the file. Statements by the individual relative
to the contents of the file may be added.

CONTRACTS/CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

All faculty contracts should allude to personnel policies and procedures and to published
official calendars of the University as well as to the specifics of the individual’s
employment such as salary, rank, term of employment, basis of employment, and any
special conditions that are applicable.