POLICY STATEMENT

(1) Faculty members shall be allowed full access to their own personal files and personal records kept by the institution, school, department or division, except as provided in sections (2) and (3) of this rule.

(2) Letters and other information submitted in confidence to the institution, school, department, or division prior to July 1, 1975, shall be maintained in the evaluation files permitted by OAR 580-022-0085. However, if a faculty member requests access to such letters and other information pertaining to the faculty member, the anonymity of the contributors of letters and other information obtained prior to July 1, 1975, shall be protected. The full text shall be made available to the faculty member except those portions of the text that would serve to identify the contributor, which shall be excised by a faculty committee created pursuant to institutional rules. The excised portions of the documents may be retained in the confidential file permitted by OAR 580-022-0085.

(3) Confidential letters and other information received by the institution, school, department, or division after July 1, 1975, prior to the employment of a faculty member, shall be placed in evaluation files relating to the faculty member. If the applicant is not employed, the confidential information submitted concerning the applicant shall remain confidential. If an applicant who is employed requests access to personal files, the anonymity of the contributors of confidential preemployment letters and other preemployment information shall be protected. The full text shall be made available, except that those portions of the text that would serve to identify the contributor shall be excised and may be retained in the confidential file permitted by OAR 580-022-0085.

(4) Any evaluation received by telephone shall be documented in each of the faculty member's evaluation files by means of a written summary of the conversation with the names of the conversants identified.

(5) If the institution, school, department or division solicits or accepts student survey evaluations of the classroom or laboratory performance of a faculty member, the survey evaluations shall be conducted anonymously. Reports tabulated from student evaluations shall be placed in the evaluation files defined in OAR 580-022-0085. Survey instruments from which evaluation data are obtained shall be delivered to the faculty member. No other evaluative material shall be accepted from students unless the students are first clearly informed that the faculty member will have access to such material and that the anonymity of the student cannot be preserved.

This policy previously was an Oregon Administrative rule from the State Board of Higher Education.