Adequate and detailed information is necessary to support actions involving each individual, especially those actions pertaining to appointment, promotion, tenure and separation.

Official faculty development files are maintained in two offices (in addition to records such as insurance coverage, salary, and similar matters, and separately maintained, legally required records of drug rehabilitation programs or other legal records, which are kept in the Office of Human Resources):

1. the individual's original application form,
2. the individual's letter of acceptance of employment,
3. a copy of the individual's current curriculum vitae,
4. transcripts of the individual's graduate work, including degrees attained,
5. a copy of the letter of notification of any personnel change, including but not limited to promotions, tenure, or sabbaticals,
6. a record of results of special reviews, grievances, and similar actions which do not directly involve the Academic Affairs Office or its personnel as initiators or respondents (a record of cases involving the Vice President for Academic Affairs or persons working in the Academic Affairs Office will be maintained in the President's office).

1. student course evaluations,
2. professional development plans and self-assessments (Section 5.4),
3. record of annual, third-year, and post-tenure evaluations (Sections 5.5.2, Section 5.5.3, and Section 5.5.5.),
4. record of participation in professional associations,
5. record of honors,
6. record of published research, performance, and/or critical review,
7. record of other publications, and
8. other indications of professional development.

The dean will maintain a separate file for each of these faculty members which will contain, at minimum:

1. a copy of the faculty member's term contracts,
2. the faculty member's official credentials and resume,
3. copies of any faculty evaluations,
4. information on professional background or accomplishments which the faculty member wishes to place in this file, and
5. personnel information.

The official personnel file will be kept in strictest confidence and will be available, under the restrictions of confidential use, only to the faculty member personally and/or to designated members of the faculty and administration who recommend concerning tenure, promotion, sabbaticals, awards, formal review, and retention. No information will be released for other purposes except by written consent of the faculty member, and access by designated persons for purposes of recommendation shall be limited to the time during which they are evaluating the case and recommending concerning it.

During formal review and evaluation processes, including but not limited to those concerning retention/nonretention, tenure, and promotion, the files shall be available for confidential use only to those persons who recommend as noted in the preceding paragraph. Files may be closed to the faculty member during the review and recommendation process. No later than 10 days after the individual is notified of the final decision, the individual shall, upon request, have the right to receive a summary of all confidential materials which were used at any level in the reviews and recommendations. The President or the President's designee shall prepare the summary, which shall be reviewed by University counsel before release to the individual. Names of sources of evaluations shall not be made available to the individual.

The faculty member may, for the cost of duplication, obtain copies of any non-confidential matters in the official personnel file. Any such copies will be made by a member of the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs or the school's staff. The faculty member may also provide corrections, responses, or clarifications relative to any materials in the file. These documents will be maintained as a part of the official personnel file.

Further, the University may permit access to and copying from such files pursuant to lawful requests and identification of federal or state agencies relevant to investigations, hearings, or other proceedings pending before such agencies or the courts.