Academic Personnel Manual (APM) 160 sets forth the University of California (UC) policy for the maintenance of, access to and amendment of academic personnel records, including confidential academic review records. This UC policy defines the types of records maintained by the University about academic appointees, including (1) confidential academic review records; (2) non-confidential academic review records; (3) confidential information; (4) non-personal information; and (5) personal information. The policy sets forth detailed information about what records are and are not included in the right to access confidential information. Additional information about University policy governing privacy and access to personal information retained by the campus can be found in UC Davis Policy and Procedure Manual (PPM) 320-20.
For Unit 17, see also LX Article 6: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/lx/docs/lx_2019-2024_06_personnel-files.pdf
For Unit 18, see also IX Article 10: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/ix/docs/ix_2016-2020_10_personnel-files.pdf
Both APM and PPM policies permit the retention of confidential information, which is not part of an academic review file, as defined by APM 160-20-b (3). APM 160 - Appendix A describes this practice, noting that APM 160 “is also intended to include other types of documents pertaining to an individual which occasionally can, for good reason, be received by the University in confidence.” Appendix A states that an example would be an unsolicited letter, describing “allegedly inappropriate (though not necessarily unprofessional) conduct by a member of the faculty,” and confirms that the University “has a responsibility to receive such letters, and to take whatever investigatory and corrective steps may be wise.” These documents, if irrelevant to the academic personnel process, could not be made part of the academic personnel review file. However, the Appendix states that “the material may nevertheless responsibly be retained, to provide for the future, if needed, a record of the complaint and the inquiry made.”
As set forth in APM 160, “an individual’s right to access confidential information about himself or herself referred to in APM - 160-20-b(3) shall be in accordance with the legal requirements of the Information Practices Act of 1977.” (APM 160-20-c (5)). Faculty may obtain access to confidential information about themselves as defined by APM 160-20-b (3) by making a request in writing or via email to the office where they believe the records are retained. For example, requests for department or dean’s office records may be made to the appropriate department head or dean. Requests for records retained by the Academic Senate may be made to Edwin Arevalo, Executive Director of the Academic Senate Office (emarevalo@ucdavis.edu).
Requests for records retained in the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs can be made in writing by completing the request form entitled: “REQUEST BY NON-STUDENT ACADEMIC EMPLOYEE FOR ACCESS TO RECORDS”. Please make arrangements to drop off the form by sending an email to vpaa_apteam@ucdavis.edu, and be sure to include your school/college and department in the subject line. You will be required to present identification that matches the name(s) on the request form. If you are unable to deliver the form in person, the form can be submitted through email (vpaa_apteam@ucdavis.edu) and arrangements will be made to verify identification via Zoom.
Questions may be directed to Sandi Glithero, Case Coordinator for Academic Affairs (sjglithero@ucdavis.edu), or Kimberly DeLaughder, Interim Director of Academic Personnel and Systems (kdelaughder@ucdavis.edu).