.1 - AUDIENCE

All University employees.

.2 - PURPOSE STATEMENT

The purpose of this Policy is to provide guidance to University employees regarding how requests from outside the University for a reference or information about an employee (or former employee) and student (or former student) should be addressed.

.3 - DEFINITIONS

Written Authorization: refers to consent provided to a faculty member, supervisor, co-worker, or Human Resources in writing by an employee, former employee, student, or former student that allows for the release of specific information concerning the employee or student.

.4 - THE POLICY

Absent Written Authorization by the employee, former employee, student, or former student, employees are not authorized to provide reference information.

References for employees or former employees: if such a request is not made by the employee in writing, only the Human Resources Department is authorized to respond for the University to requests from outside the University for a reference by the University or for information about an employee or former employee. In response to such requests, Human Resources will verify whether the University currently employs the employee and will provide dates of employment and job titles.

If requested in writing by the employee or former employee, supervisors and co-workers are required to first consult with the Human Resources Department before responding to any such request. The Human Resources Department, at its sole discretion, may direct any University employee to not respond to a reference request.

References for students or former students: if such a request is not made by the student in writing, only the Registrar’s Office is authorized to respond for the University to requests from outside the University for a reference by the University or for information about a student or former student. The Registrar’s Office will disclose directory information according to the University FERPA Policy.

If requested in writing by the student or former student, faculty and staff members may provide reference information at their discretion, but are under no obligation to do so.

.5 - RELATED POLICIES AND APPLICABLE LEGAL OR ACCREDITATION STANDARDS

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Thomas More University FERPA Policy

.6 - PROCEDURES

Guidelines for writing recommendations for employees or former employees:

The following guidelines regarding written recommendations are based on advice offered by educational legal experts and should be followed when writing an authorized recommendation for current or former employees. Such recommendations should only be issued after consulting the Human Resources Department, as set forth above.

Obtain a written request or authorization for the recommendation;
State in the recommendation, “This information is confidential, should be treated as such, and is provided at the request of [name of employee], who has asked me to serve as a reference”;
Include only information known to be accurate;
If giving an opinion, explain the incident or circumstances upon which the opinion is based;
Be able to document all the information released;
If a “to whom it may concern” communication is requested, document that this is the type of reference requested and that the employee takes responsibility for disseminating the communication to the proper persons;
Do not include information that might indicate the individual’s race, religion, age, gender, national origin, or physical or mental disability, creed, color, marital status, veteran status, genetic characteristics, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

Guidelines for writing recommendations for current or former students:

Obtain a Request for Letter of Recommendation or Reference Form from the student;
State in the written communication, “This information is confidential, should be treated as such, and is provided at the request of [name of student], who has asked me to serve as a reference.”
Include only information known to be accurate;
If giving an opinion, explain the incident or circumstances upon which the opinion is based;
Be able to document all the information released;
If a “to whom it may concern” communication is requested, document that this is the type of reference requested and that the student takes responsibility for disseminating the communication to the proper persons;
Before disclosing educational information covered by FERPA (e.g. student’s transcripts, GPA, grades, social security numbers, etc.), the written consent of the student must be obtained.

.7 - REFERENCING THE POLICY

.8 - HISTORY

This is a new policy.

.9 - APPENDIX

Request for Letter of Recommendation or Reference Form

.10 - APPROVALS

Laura Custer, Director of Human Resources

Dr. Kathleen Jagger, Acting President

- Reference Policy