Administrative Procedures

Staff Appeals of Performance Ratings

1. Purpose

KCTCS supervisors and employees should communicate openly about employee work expectations and performance. Continual supervisor feedback prevents employee surprise during annual evaluations. When employees and supervisors disagree about annual performance evaluations, this procedure provides the process for employees to address concerns.

2. Scope

1. Only overall ratings of 1-Needs Improvement (NI) are appealable. Staff who receive an overall rating of NI may appeal their Performance Planning and Evaluation (PPE). An employee may not appeal a rating of NI on any sub-element of a PPE. Instead, those disagreements should be addressed in accordance with Paragraph E in the Procedure section, below. Employees who receive an overall rating of 2-Met Expectations (M) or higher may not appeal their PPE.
2.  Faculty may appeal their PPE ratings based on the faculty provisions of KCTCS Administrative Policy 2.5.1.4, Evaluation Appeals.
3. This Procedure does not apply to employee allegations that a PPE rating is based on impermissible grounds such as harassment, discrimination, hostile work environment, or retaliation. Employees alleging impermissible grounds should use KCTCS Administrative Policy 3.3.1, KCTCS Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy.
4. Employees who believe their PPE rating is based on violations, misinterpretations, or improper applications of specific personnel statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures should follow the processes under KCTCS Administrative Procedure 2.16.2.2-P, Complaint Resolution Procedure.

3. Procedure

1. Basis for Appeal - Staff may appeal their overall NI rating based on any of the following:
   1. Inadequate Consideration—the supervisor did not give proper credit for work performed by the employee; and/or
   2. Incomplete Procedure—the supervisor did not follow the steps of the performance evaluation process; and/or
   3. Inaccurate Facts—the facts the supervisor relied on to render the PPE are demonstrably incorrect. The employee bears the burden of showing the inaccuracy of the supervisor’s facts and may not merely claim the facts are inaccurate without further proof. Mere disagreement with a supervisor’s comments or opinions is NOT grounds for a PPE appeal. To document disagreement with a supervisor’s comments or opinions, employees should follow the steps in Paragraph E, below.
      
      
2. Process for Appeal
   1. Employees must submit their appeals within three (3) business days from their receipt of their PPE, including the day of the evaluation. College employees must appeal in writing to the college Human Resources Director, while System Office employees must appeal in writing to the System Director of Human Resources (hereinafter referred to as HR). Refusal to acknowledge receipt of the PPE does not delay or extend the appeal deadline.
   2. If the employee does not appeal within three (3) business days, their PPE rating is final.
   3. Within three (3) business days, including the day HR receives the appeal, HR shall determine whether the appeal is timely and meets this Procedure’s requirements. HR’s decision on the timeliness and propriety of an appeal is final.
   4. College Employee Appeals
      1. HR shall forward timely and appropriate written appeals to the “reviewing official”, who is one of the following:
         • the department head managing the employee’s work; or•when the supervisor is the head of the department, the next line supervisor reporting to the College President; or
         • when the employee reports directly to a College President, the College President with HR’s assistance, reviews the appeal.
      2. The reviewing official shall consider the appeal and provide a written decision within three (3) business days. The reviewing official’s decision shall b e retained as described in Paragraph F, below.
         1. If the reviewing official finds one or more bases (i.e., inaccurate facts, inadequate consideration, and/or incomplete procedure) for approving the appeal, the official shall communicate all reasons and the facts supporting those reasons to HR.
         2. If the reviewing official finds no facts to support the appeal, the reviewing official shall also communicate that decision to HR. HR will communicate the decision to the employee and the supervisor within three (3) business days of the decision.
         3. If the reviewing official approves the employee’s grounds for appeal, HR shall assist the employee’s supervisor in correcting the employee’s evaluation. HR shall thereafter file the corrected evaluation in the employee’s personnel file using KCTCS regular procedures.
         4. The reviewing official’s decision is final.
   5. System Office Employees
      1. HR shall forward timely and appropriate written appeals to the “reviewing official”, who is one of the following:
         • the department head managing the employee’s work; or
         • when the supervisor is the head of the department, the next line supervisor reporting to the appropriate cabinet member; or
         • when a cabinet member or the KCTCS President directly supervises the appealing employee, the KCTCS President, with HR’s assistance, reviews the appeal.
      2. The reviewing official shall render a written decision within three (3)business days using the same process described above in college employee appeals. The reviewing official’s decision shall be retained as described in Paragraph F, below.
         
         
3.  Extenuating Circumstances
   1. When extenuating circumstances exist which prevent meeting the three (3) business day deadline for submitting an appeal or responding to an appeal, HR shall facilitate a revised timeline after consulting all parties. Examples of extenuating circumstances may include, but are not limited to, an employee’s or supervisor’s authorized absence due to illness or business travel. HR determines what is a justifiable extenuating circumstance, and no party may appeal that determination.
   2. In cases involving a revised appeal timeline, HR shall not permit any employee to file a PPE appeal more than ten (10) business days from the original evaluation date.
      
      
4. Unsuccessful Appeals – When an employee unsuccessfully appeals an NI rating, the employee’s supervisor and HR, in consultation with the KCTCS Director of Employee Relations, shall draft a performance improvement plan (PIP) for the employee. The PIP will take effect only after the supervisor and HR discuss with the employee the expectations, timelines, and consequences of the PIP.
   
   
5. Responding to Supervisor Comments on the PPE
   1. Employees may appeal only their overall PPE rating, not supervisor comments contained in the PPE. When an employee disagrees with supervisor comments, the employee and the supervisor should discuss the comments with which the employee disagrees. If the employee and supervisor do not resolve the disagreement, the employee may submit a written response to the comments.
   2. Employees may note on the electronic PPE that they submitted written comments about the PPE, and HR shall attach the employee’s written response to the PPE. HR shall include both the PPE and the response in the employee’s personnel file.
   3. Employees’ written comments are not PPE appeals and should not be referred to as such.
      
      
6. Record Retention
   PeopleSoft does not have the capacity to retain additional documents. Accordingly, HR shall file any and all written documentation associated with this Procedure in the employee’s OnBase personnel file, using all applicable HR and KCTCS record retention policies.