Personnel Files

• Personnel Action File (PAF)

The Personnel Action File is the official personnel file for faculty. It contains employment information and documentation related to personnel recommendations or personnel actions regarding a faculty unit employee. The Personnel Action File for full-time faculty is maintained in the office of Faculty Affairs and Records and for part-time faculty in the College Dean's Office.
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• Privacy Rights

The Information Practices Act establishes a number of restrictions on the collection, maintenance and use of personal information to ensure that the material is accurate and relevant. CSU policy and the CBA provide certain rights of access, to obtain copies, and to request corrections or deletions to materials contained in personnel files. Faculty are provided copies of materials before they are placed in the Personnel Action File. If you have questions about your official Personnel Action File, contact the office of Faculty Affairs and Records.
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• Portfolios - the functional equivalent of Working Personnel Action Files (WPAF)

The Portfolio is the cumulative record of faculty performance for the purpose of evaluation in the Retention, Tenure, and Promotion process. It is the responsibility of each faculty member to assemble the Portfolio, to be sure that it is in conformance with the CBA and UPS 210.000, and to ensure that it is updated to provide current evidence of all pertinent activities related to teaching; scholarly and creative activities; professional, university and community service activities.  After completion of the review process, the Portfolio is retained by the office of Faculty Affairs and Records and placed in the faculty member's permanent Personnel Action File.  The appendices are returned to the faculty member, via the department.

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Retention, Tenure and Promotion (RTP)

General Information - Policies and procedures for Retention, Tenure and Promotion (RTP) have been developed by the Academic Senate of CSUF, in conformance with the CBA, and approved by the President to ensure that members of the faculty are involved in recommendations to the President or designee relating to academic personnel matters. The timetable for performance review is established by the President and distributed at the beginning of the academic year. Besides the CBA, the basic documents used for evaluation of tenured and probationary faculty are UPS 210.000 and approved department personnel guidelines. Policies for full-time temporary faculty are contained in UPS 210.050 and in UPS 210.060 for part-time temporary faculty. 

A written record of performance evaluations must be placed in the Personnel Action File of the employee, with a copy provided to the employee. 

No CSU employee may vote, make recommendations, or in any way participate in decisions about any personnel matter that may directly affect the selection, appointment, retention, tenure, compensation, promotion, termination, or other employment status or other conflict of interest of a close relative.
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• Retention

Refers to the granting of an additional probationary year. Faculty in a tenure-track position normally will serve six years of full-time probationary service, including any service credit, before being awarded tenure. Retention is granted by the President, or designee, after the appropriate performance review. The type of performance review that is conducted depends on the probationary year and whether prior service credit has been granted.
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• Tenure

Establishes the right to continued permanent employment except when such employment is voluntarily terminated or is terminated by the University pursuant to the CBA or law. Tenure is granted by the President after the appropriate performance review, and is normally granted after six years of full-time probationary service, including service credit.
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• Promotion

Promotion is required to move from one rank to the next highest rank. Promotion is granted by the President after an appropriate performance review. 

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Performance Evaluations

• Temporary Faculty

Full-time temporary faculty and part-time temporary faculty appointed for two or more semesters must be evaluated once a year in accordance with relevant UPS documents and the CBA. Early in the fall semester, the President distributes a timetable for the review of full-time temporary faculty.
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• Probationary Faculty

Probationary faculty are reviewed for retention once a year commencing with the second year in the position until the sixth probationary year when they are reviewed for tenure. The type of retention review that occurs depends on the probationary year and whether prior service credit has been granted. For example, periodic reviews are conducted for faculty in their third probationary year with no service credit and in the fifth probationary year. Refer to UPS 210.000.
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• Tenured Faculty

Tenured faculty receive a periodic evaluation once every five years in accordance with UPS 210.020, the department's post tenure review guidelines, and the CBA. A performance review for promotion shall be considered to be such a review in calculating the five-year interval.  In addition, all faculty go through periodic evaluation every year with faculty Annual Activity Reports.