1999-006
Instructor / Course Evaluations: Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) Employees and Independent Contractors
All University Departments (General Records Series)
| Records | Active retention (in office) | Semi-active (records centre) | Total retention | Final disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All departments holding these records: | CY course completed + 2 years | Nil | CY course completed + 2 years | Destruction |
CY = Current calendar year; CFY = Current fiscal year; CS = Current semester; S/O = Superseded or obsolete; OPR = Office of Primary Responsibility; Non-OPR = All other departments.
Forms completed anonymously by students to assess courses and the performance of instructors belonging to the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) or non-credit instructors paid through Independent Contractor Agreements. Evaluation forms are used by the individual's supervisor and / or department to assess his or her performance and the effectiveness of the courses being taught.
Note that the retention periods outlined in this schedule apply to both the machine-scored evaluation bubble sheets and any summary documents produced from these original forms.
The following categories of employees belong to the TSSU bargaining unit: teaching assistants, sessional instructors, language instructors, Distance Education tutors, markers and, if non-faculty, course supervisors.
Do not apply this schedule to the evaluation forms completed by students assessing the performance of faculty instructors. Faculty evaluations have different retention requirements; see RRSDA 1998-034.
All departments must include a collection notice on either the evaluation form or as part of the evaluation procedure, informing students that original forms and/or any summaries will be made accessible to the person being evaluated following final approval of grades (as per the TSA Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act).
This record series is a Personal Information Bank (PIB). Click here for the PIB description.
This series is a Personal Information Bank; click here for PIB description.
These records are created, used, retained and managed in accordance with the following authorities:
The TSSU Collective Bargaining Agreement (1998-2001, Article XVIII G) stipulates that evaluation forms must be accessible for 3 semesters following completion of the course. As re-appointment decisions using evaluation forms are likely to occur in the year after course completion, this requires a 2-year total retention period.
As per the TSSU Collective Bargaining Agreement (1998-2001), Article XIX (A), these records form part of the individual’s general “employment file.” However, records should be physically organized so that the evaluation forms are not included in the individual personnel file or with the general course file. These are different record types which have different retention requirements which are easier to apply if the records are kept as separate blocks of files. See RRSDA 1999-045, Personnel Files: Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) Employment; and RRSDA 1999-002, Course Files.
It is recommended that departments organize the records by semester and within these groupings by course / section number, then by employee’s surname. Alternatively, departments can choose to open a second volume to all TSSU personnel files in which only student evaluations are housed. If the latter method is chosen, apply this schedule to volume 2 and RRSDA 1999-045 to volume 1.
In the event of a formal dispute which involves the employee and the university and requires the evaluation forms as evidence (e.g. grievance, arbitration, Human Rights Commission, legal proceedings): retain the evaluations until final decision / resolution is concluded, plus one additional year, then destroy.
Do not send these records to the University Records Centre (URC); destroy them directly upon expiry of the active retention period. Evaluation forms contain personal information and must be destroyed by confidential shredding; contact Facilities Management to make arrangements.
RRSDA is in force.
Approved by the University Archivist: 14 Jan 2000