Letter of Recommendation/Reference Request

CSU Employees who are asked to provide letters of recommendation or other formal requests for references on behalf of the CSU must confer with Human Resources (HR) or the Faculty Affairs and Success (FAAF) and receive approval prior to responding to the request or provide their finalized letter of recommendation for the following current or former employees:

• Staff
• MPP
• Faculty
• Instructional Student Assistants (ISA) Unit 11 student academic employees
• Teaching Assistants (TA) Unit 11 student academic employees
• Graduate Assistants (GA) Unit 11 student academic employees
• Student Assistants

HR and FAAF shall review the employee’s personnel file and shall inquire of the campus Title IX/DHR office as required by the policy, when applicable.

CSU will not provide any official positive letters of recommendation or reference, either verbally or in writing, for a current or former CSU employee who: (i) is subject to a finding that the CSU employee has engaged in misconduct that resulted in the employee being non-retained, terminated, or is separated through mutually agreed upon settlement terms; (ii) is currently under investigation for misconduct or violation of university policy (in abeyance until the completion of the investigation and any appeals); or (iii) has had their retirement benefits rescinded under The Public Employees' Pension Reform Act due to criminal misconduct associated with their official duties. In such cases, the Office of Academic Personnel shall inform the third party requesting the reference of CSU’s employee reference policy and provide an employment verification only, as set forth below, for the current or former CSU employee.

Personal references are permissible. Such references must clearly identify that they are being provided in an individual capacity and not on behalf of the CSU. Personal references cannot be on CSU letterhead. Any references made outside of HR or FAAF, and where no check-in or review with either office has occurred, will be considered personal and not to have been provided on behalf of the CSU.

References by presidents, executives, or other university officers in senior administrative positions may be perceived as being provided on behalf of the University by virtue of their position. Therefore, such individuals must also consult with Human Resources or the Faculty Affairs and Success to determine whether letters of recommendation or positive references are appropriate and may be provided, even in their personal capacity.

See the full policy for details: https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/12142918/latest/

Requesting a Letter of Recommendation/Reference Approval

If an employee of Chico State has requested you to write a letter of recommendation/reference please enter a Letter of Recommendation Release Request ticket: https://support.csuchico.edu/TDClient/1984/Portal/Requests/ServiceDet?ID=45003

Approval is not required if a student, who has never worked on campus, has requested a letter of recommendation/reference.  If you are unsure of their employment history, please enter a Letter of Recommendation Release Request ticket using the link above.