(B) Policy
It is the policy of Bowling Green state university (the
"university") to comply fully with the letter and the spirit of the Ohio Public
Records Act (the "act"). In accordance with this policy, we shall release a
public record to a Requester
requester within a reasonable period of time
unless that record meets a statutory or other
legally-recognized exemption
an exception
listed in the act that would prevent us from making the record
publicly available. The exceptions contained in the
act will be narrowly construed by the university. [division (A) of section
149.43 of the Revised Code]
(1)
A
What is a public record
?
A public record includes any document, device, or item,
regardless of physical form or characteristic, including an electronic record
(such as an email), created or received by, or coming under the jurisdiction of
any university office, that is kept by a university
office and serves to document the:
(a) Organization,
(b) Functions,
(c) Policies,
(d) Decisions,
(e) Procedures,
(f) Operations, or
(g) Other activities of the office.
[division (G) of section 143.011 of the Revised
Code]
(2)
A
What is a
public
record
records request
is
?
A public records request is any transmitted request (whether
oral or written) to inspect a public record, or to have a public record copied
in any medium and mailed, electronically transmitted or otherwise provided to a
requester.
The public records request must describe records with
sufficient clarity to allow the university to identify, retrieve and review the
records. If a request is unclear it is "not" to be
initially rejected. The requester should be asked to revise the request in a
manner that will allow for the proper identification of the desired
record(s).
The university may deny any part of a
public records request that is ambiguous or overbroad or if the university
cannot reasonably identify what public records are being requested. If a
request is denied for any of those reasons, the university shall inform the
requester of the manner in which the university maintains and accesses public
records in the ordinary course of business and ask the requester to revise the
request. The goal is to clarify and narrow ambiguous, overbroad or
inarticulable requests in order to create a successful revised
request.
(3)
No requirement for written
Must the request
be in
writing?
(a) There is "no" requirement
that a public records request must be in writing. In "no" event will a written
request be made a condition for receiving a public record from the
university.
(b) The office of
general counsel
(OGC), however, may ask a
requester to make the request in writing, may ask for
the requester's
their identity, and may inquire about the intended use
of the information requested, but may do so only:
(i) After disclosing to the requester that a
written request is not mandatory and that
the
requester
they may decline to reveal
the requester's
their identity or the intended use; and
(ii) When a written request or disclosure of
the identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing the
ability of the university to identify, locate, or deliver the public records
sought by the requester. [division (B)(5) of section
149.43 of the Revised Code]
(4)
University
What are the
university procedures for processing a request
?
The procedures for processing public records requests at the
university are as follows:
(a)
The designated person or persons in each individual
office, department, or unit shall accept actual public records requests
(whether verbal or written). It is the responsibility of the appropriate
managers in the operational areas to designate these individuals.
Public records requests will be centrally handled by
the university's public records officer in the office of general
counsel.
(b)
With the minor exceptions noted immediately below in
this paragraph, each such request must be forwarded to the OGC for further
processing.
The exceptions mentioned in the
previous sentence pertain to routine requests for those types of public records
that normally do not require legal judgments regarding redactions or other
matters. For example, a recognized exception is a routine request for one or
more course book lists maintained by the university bookstore. Upon request by
the responsible university manager, the OGC may grant other exceptions for
discrete categories of clearly identifiable records.
In the event that a request is initially received by a
department other than the office of general counsel, each such request, whether
written or verbal, must be immediately forwarded to the public records officer
in the office of general counsel for further processing, unless the office of
general counsel has delegated to the department the duty to respond to a
defined class or classes of routine requests.
(c)
The office of
general counsel will ask the office, department, or unit that has custody or
control over the records to identify records that are responsive to the public
records request.
(c)(d) The
OGC
office of
general counsel will evaluate the request
,
and all records provided
by the custodian ascertain if any statutory or other federal or state law
exemptions apply and, if so, whether the university should assert those
exceptions
exemptions or waive them. Waivers dealing with
material matters, if any, will be discussed with the concerned vice president,
the president, and/or the board of trustees, as appropriate.
If necessary, redactions will be made by the office of
general counsel.
A redaction shall be deemed a
denial of a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if
federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to make the
redaction. [division (B)(1) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code]
(d) Responsive records will be
requested by the OGC from the office, department, or unit that has custody or
control over the records. If necessary, redactions will be made by the OGC. On
occasion the OGC may ask for two sets of documents so that an unredacted set of
documents may be retained in its files.
(e) If copies are requested, the
OGC
office of
general counsel will either:
(i) Forward
the records directly to the requesting party; or
(ii) Ask the office, department, or unit
having custody of the records to forward the records to the requester. If
records are requested merely for inspection, the
OGC
office of general
counsel will discuss that matter on a case-by-case basis with the
relevant office, department, or unit.
(f) The final transmittal to the requester
will identify any redactions or refusals to supply the requested records and
cite a legal basis for the refusal and/or redaction. The transmittal will also
notify the
requesting party
requester of a university contact person to
respond to any additional questions on the matter
,
including the records actually produced.
(g) With respect to a request to review
records only, all public records responsive to the request shall be promptly
prepared and made available for inspection to the requester at all reasonable
times during regular business hours. To avoid unnecessary delays, appointments
will be made, when practicable, for the inspection of
records.
(5)
Cost
What cost will
be charged to the requester
?
(a) The
OGC
office of general
counsel may charge the requester for the actual costs incurred per page
for copying records and, if the records are mailed, may charge the requester
for the actual costs of postage. The
OGC
office of general counsel may also charge the
requester for the actual costs incurred for the provision of the record
on a
through a
storage transfer or on a storage device, such as a
CD, audio tape, or film
flash drive.
(b) The decision to charge for part or all of
the actual costs incurred will depend on one or more of the following
considerations: the ability of the requester to pay, the administrative burden
of the university to charge for and collect nominal fees, and whether the
purposes of the act will be furthered by a waiver of costs.
(c) Depending on the actual costs involved
with a particular request, the
OGC
office of general counsel may require that the
costs incurred for copying the records and the costs incurred for other
supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or transmission of the documents be
charged in advance of supplying the records to the requester.
(d) In no event will the university charge
for the labor costs incurred for identifying, compiling, or copying materials.
In addition, the university will not charge for the provision of a .pdf
document or a response contained in an email that is electronically provided to
the requester.
(6)
Limitations
Are
there any limitations on the number of requests that may be made
?
The university may limit the number of records requested by a
person that it will transmit by United States mail to ten per month, unless the
person certifies to the university in writing that the person does not intend
to use or forward the requested records, or the information contained in them,
for commercial purposes. For purposes of this paragraph, "commercial" is
narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering news, reporting
or gathering information to assist citizen oversight or understanding of the
operation or activities of the university.
(7) This policy will be posted:
(a) In a conspicuous place in those offices,
departments, units and other work locations of the university most likely to
receive records requests from members of the public;
(b) On the
university's internet
office of general counsel's web site
; and
(c)
In manuals or handbooks of general policies and procedures for all employees of
the university.
Date: January 1,
2014
(8)
Equity impact statement: the policy has been assessed
for adverse differential impact on members of one or more protected
groups.
