(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 within a reasonable period of time unless that
record meets a statutory or other legally-recognized exemption that would
prevent us from making the record publicly available.
(1) 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.
(2) What is a public records
request ?
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.
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) 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, however,
may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for 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 they may decline to reveal
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.
(4) What are the university procedures for
processing a request?
The procedures for processing public records requests at the
university are as follows:
(a) Public
records requests will be centrally handled by the university's public records
officer in the office of general counsel.
(b)
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.
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.
(d) The
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
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.
(e) If
copies are requested, the 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
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 requester of a university contact person to respond to any
additional questions on the matter.
(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) What cost will be charged to
the requester?
(a) The 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 office of general counsel may also charge the
requester for the actual costs incurred for the provision of the record through
a storage transfer or on a storage device, such as a 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 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.
(e)
For video records kept by the university's law
enforcement agency, rule 3341-1-13 of the Administrative Code, "Public Records
Policy for Law Enforcement Video Records."
(6) 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 office of general counsel's web
site; and
(c) In manuals or
handbooks of general policies and procedures for all employees of the
university.
(8) Equity impact statement: the
policy has been assessed for adverse differential impact on members of one or
more protected groups.
