VII - 1.09 - Policy on Confidentiality of Personnel Records

Although Bowie State University is a public institution, which means that some information (salary scales, for example) is a matter of public record which any person may obtain pursuant to State law, many records kept by the University must be kept confidential. These confidential records include personnel records.

Personnel records are maintained by the Office of Human Resources. A file is maintained for each employee; these files customarily include copies of initial application, letter of appointment, evaluations, commendations, records of disciplinary actions, records of grievance procedures and actions, records of employee choice of health care plan and other benefits, transcripts (if required), and other such records detailing the employee's institutional history. Access to employee records is restricted to the employee himself/herself, the employee's supervisor or department head, and only those other officers of the institution with a clear "need to know" and to others, if required by law. Decisions on whether access is to be granted are customarily made by the Director of Human Resources, who keeps a log of inspections of an individual's personnel file, including date, time, and person inspecting the file. Appeals of the Director's decision may be made to the member of the Executive Staff with authority over the employee's work area. The Executive Staff includes the President, the Provost, and the Vice Presidents.

Specialized records may be kept by units, i.e., the Office of Academic Affairs has copies of faculty files which contain records of correspondence, merit recommendations, assignments, and the like, for faculty members. [NOTE: Official files of record for faculty are kept in the Office of Human Resources.] These records are restricted to the individual and only those University officers with "need to know," as determined by unit head or Vice President.

 

Effective Date:  1991