Chapter 06.02 – Public Records

 

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REGENTS’ POLICY
PART VI – BOARD OF REGENTS’ POLICIES ADOPTED AS REGULATIONS
Chapter 06.02 – Public Records

P06.02.010. Access to Public Records. 

In accordance with AS 14.40.367, AS 14.40.453, AS 39.25.080, AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.220, and this policy, the university will provide copies of public records upon written request and payment of the applicable fees. All disclosable public records will be made available upon compliance with the requirements of AS 40.25.110 - AS 40.25.125 and this policy. The university may inquire whether the person making the request is a party, or represents a party, involved in litigation with the university. If so, the requestor shall be informed to make the request in accordance with applicable court rules. The university may also inquire as to a justification or explanation of need or intended use, only to the extent such inquiry may be relevent as to a determination of whether a fee waiver is in the public interest; or as to clarification of the items sought by the request; or as to whether the request falls within or outside of a particular exemption from the Public Records Act, e.g., exceptions to the protection of the Family Educational Rights Protection Act (FERPA).

(11-07-25)

P06.02.020. Definition of Public Records. 

1. In P06.02, “public records" has the meaning given in AS 40.25.220, which includes books, papers, files, accounts, writings, including drafts and memorializations of conversations, and other items, regardless of format or physical characteristics, that are developed or received by the university, or by a private contractor for the university, and that are preserved for their informational value or as evidence of the organization or operation of the university. “Public records" does not include proprietary software programs. 
2. “Public records” does not include the exceptions listed in AS 40.25.120, which include but are not limited to, records required to be kept confidential by a federal law or regulation or by state law; medical and related public health records; certain records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, if production of records or information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of a person, disclose the identity of a confidential source, or endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.

(06-07-07; reviewed 11-07-25)

P06.02.030. Confidentiality.

University records may be confidential under AS 14.40.367 (university land), AS 14.40.453 (confidentiality of research), AS 40.25.140 (library records), or other state or federal law or regulation, or protected by the constitutional right to privacy or other statutory or common law.

(06-07-07; reviewed 11-07-25)

P06.02.040. Requests for Public Records. 

A request for a public record must be submitted in writing as specified in regulation. Other requirements may be set by University Regulation. 

(11-07-25)

P06.02.050. Fees. 

1. Fees shall be charged in accordance with AS 40.25.110(f) for hardcopy records and AS 40.25.115(b) for electronic records. Fees for both types of records should  reflect the actual costs to the University for responding to the request, including, but not limited to, computer processing time, and salary and benefits costs for those university employees working on the response to the request. 
2. Fees must be paid before the records are disclosed. A department may require payment in advance of a search for a public record if it reasonably believes that the search will generate a fee. 
3. Fees may be reduced or waived if the university determines that the reduction or waiver is in the public interest. Fee reductions and waivers generally should be uniformly applied among persons who are similarly situated. Further provisions on fees may be set by University Regulation.

(11-07-25)

P06.02.060. Response to Request.

1.  The university is not required to compile or summarize its public records or to create new records in response to a request for public records.
2. Time frames for responses are as specified in University Regulations.

(11-07-25)

P06.02.070. Deletion of Nondisclosable Information.

If a record contains both disclosable and nondisclosable information, the nondisclosable information is tot be segregated and withheld and the disclosable information must be disclosed. If the disclosable portions of a record cannot reasonably be segregated from the nondisclosable portions in a manner that allows information meaningful to the requestor to be disclosed, the department may not disclose the record.

(11-07-25)

P06.02.080. Denial of Request. 

1. A request for a public record may be denied by the department head in accordance with this section. A denial of a written request is considered to be issued at the time the denial is either delivered to the United States Postal Service for mailing, or hand-delivered to the requestor, or emailed to the requestor. A request for a public record may be denied if:
   1. nondisclosure of the record is authorized by a federal law or regulation, or by state law; 
   2. the record is not known to exist after the department makes a diligent search for it; 
   3. the record is not in the department’s possession, and, after a diligent search, the department does not know where the record is to be found; 
   4. the record was destroyed prior to the request in accordance with record-retention procedures; 
   5. the requestor has failed to timely submit the request fee; or 
   6. the record is believed to be in the department's possession but has not yet been located, in which case the department shall continue to search until the record is located or until it appears that the record does not exist or is not in the department’s possession.
2. A denial of a written request must be in writing; must state the reasons for the denial, including any specific legal grounds for the denial; and must be dated and signed by the department head issuing the denial. A denial of a written request, in whole or in part, must state that the requestor may administratively appeal the denial by complying with the procedures in P06.02 and must provide a link to P06.02, or enclose a copy of P06.02.

(11-07-25)

P06.02.090. Appeal of Denial of Request. 

1. A requester whose written request has been denied, in whole or in part, may appeal the denial by submitting a written appeal to the chancellor of the involved MAU, or to the president if a statewide administrative unit is involved. Appeal procedures will be specified in University Regulation. 

(11-07-25)

 

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UNIVERSITY REGULATION
PART VI – BOARD OF REGENTS' POLICIES ADOPTED AS REGULATION
Chapter 06.02 - Public Records

 

R06.02.010. Definitions.

1. 1. The term "APRA" refers to the Alaska Public Records Act, AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.295.
   2. The term "system APRA manager" refres to the system office public affairs associate vice president (AVP) or director, or such other university official as the President may designate.
   3. The term "university APRA coordinator" refers to the lead public information officer or public affairs lead at each university or other such person as the chancellor may designate.

(11-07-25)

R06.02.040. Requests for Public Records.

1. 1. Requests for public records shall be submitted to the system APRA manager or university APRA coordinator(s), in a manner the system APRA manager shall designate.
   2. The system APRA manager may issue a standardized form for public records requests, including an electronic portal for submission of public records requests.

(11-07-25)

R06.02.050. Fees; waivers or reductions.

1. 1. Factors to be considered in determining the amount of fees include, but are not limited to:
      1. The estimated cumulative staff time needed to respond to the request, including the time to perform a diligent search, the time to determine whether any records need to be withheld or redacted pursuant to state or federal law or Regents' Policies, and the time to make any redactions necessary in order to respond; staff costs may be based on individual salary/benefit figures or on an averaged figure for salary and benefits to be set by, and periodically updated by, the system APRA manager.
      2. For hardcopy requests, copy costs at $.25 per page;
      3. For electronic requests,
         1. a flat fee representing a reasonable portion of the costs associated with buikding and maintaining UA's information systems;
         2. a variable fee based on the actual incremental costs of providing the particular electronic services and products sought by the request;
         3. the flat and variable fees are to be set by, and periodically updated by, the statewide public affairs director.
   2. The system APRA manager shall arrange for publicaion of the current fee schedule on a publicly avaiable website.
   3. Factors to be considered in determining whether fees should be waived or reduced include, but are not limited to:
      1. Whether the records are to be used for public purpose, including public agency program support, nonprofit activities, journalism, and academic research;
      2. Amount of the fee, and the administrative costs for processing payments of deminimis amounts;
      3. Whether the request is made on behalf of a charitable 501(c)(3) organization, a non-charitable non-profit, or a for-profit entity;
      4. Whether information appears to be sought primarily for marketing or commercial purposes;
      5. The reasons proffered by the requestor as to why waiver or reduction of the fee would be in the public interest;
      6. The preference for Alaska residents under Art. 1, sec. 23 of the Alaska Constitution;
      7. The number, during the preceding 24 months, of the requestor's prior public records requests to UA, of requests for fee waivers by UA, and of requests for fee waivers granted by UA;
      8. Whether the requestor has voluntarily narrowed the schope of the request to reduce the administrative onus of responding to the request;
      9. Other factors that the system APRA manager deems relevent.
   4.  The system APRA manager may develop a standardized form for fee waiver requests. Any request for waiver or reduction of fees must include a brief statement of reasons why the requestor feels that waiver or reduction would be in interests of the general public of Alaska, and include a certification by the requestor of the number of prior requests for waivers or reductions from the requestor to the university within the 24-month period preceding the date of the current request.
   5. Fee waivers or reductions should be presumptively denied, in absence of a showing of compelling circumstances, where the background and circumstances create a reasonable inference that the records are being sought to further a private commercial interest, such that the fee should be borne by the requestor as a cost of doing business rather than by the university's public funds. This includes but is not limited to
      1. use of the records for inclusion in a database being developed by the requestor for a primarily commercial interest,
      2. contact information for university employees or students to send solicitation communication; and
      3. information sought under AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code).

(11-07-25)

R06.02.060. Response to Request.

1. 1. 1. Within fifteen business days following receipt of the request, the system APRA manager, or a university's APRA coordinator assigned to that particular request, shall:
         
         1. Verify that the request has been logged;
         2. Acknowledge receipt of the request to the requestor, specifying the date by which the requestor can expect to receive an initial status report on the request (with that date set by the APRA manager or coordinator, or fifteen business days if the manager or coordinator does not specify a different date, and in any event no more than thirty business days), and including a brief description of UA's fee policies and how to request a waiver of the fee;
         3. Notify those unit(s) within each university, or the statewide system, likley to have records responsive to the request;
         4. Following consultation with those units, estimate
            1. the time frame necessary to provide the response, which should be realistic and achievable date as best as it can be assessed in advance; and
            2. the personnel and other costs likely required to respond to the request;
         5. At the discretion of the manager or coordinator, seek clarification from the requestor on any aspect of the request (and explain to the requestor that the initial status report date will be extended by one day for each day that clarification has been requested and has not been supplied).

(11-07-25)

R06.02.080. Denial of Request.

1. 1. 1. The system APRA manager or any university APRA coordinator may issue a blanket denial without awaiting completion of the tasks listed in R06.02.060.A if they conclude that the request should be denied in full, due to
         1. no responsive records being in UA custody;
         2. an applicable statute/policy shielding the records as requested;
         3. the requested information being publicly available elsewhere (from a UA or non-UA source);
         4. the request failing to describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable location of the records, and additionally, the requestor having failed to respond within a time frame specified for clarification of the requestor having failed to respond within a time frame specified for clarification of the request;
         5. other valid reasons.
      2. If the system APRA manager or university APRA coordinator has arrived at a fee estimate, and has decided against any waiver requests submitted by the requestor, they shall issue a notification to the requestor of the estimated fee and suspend the response process until the fee is received (in which case the response process is to resume, with the next deadline extended by any time that passed between the fee notification and fee payment) or until expiration of the period for payment as specified in the notification (which shall be at least 30 business days), after which the University will regard the request has having been abandoned and the response process shall be terminiated without further notice.
      3. No later than the initial status report date, the sytem APRA manager or university APRA coordinator will sned an initial status report, which should include (if available)
         1. An estimate of the date (response date) by which the requestor should anticipate recieveing a response or an interim status report;
         2. The status of any request(s) for clarification sent to the requestor, or clarification recieved from the requestor;
         3. The status of any notification of fees sent to the requestor, or fee payments received from the requestor;
         4. Such other information as may expedite a reasonably prompt response.
      4. All employees are to use diligent efforts to have the response prepared by the estimated response date. If, despite these diligant efforts, the response is not finished by the estimated response date, the system APRA manager or university APRA coordinator may send an interim status report, following the outline for the initial status report. The interim status report is to set a final response date, and notify the requestor that, unless the requestor agrees to further extentions beyond that date, the requestor will be entitled to treat the request as denied and appeal it under R06.02.090 and R06.02.100.

(11-07-25)

R06.02.090. Appeal of Denial of Request.

1. An appeal must be mailed, hand-delivered, or emailed to the appropriate university office within 30 working days after the denial is issued and must include the date of denial, as well as the name and address of the person responsible for the denial. The appeal must also identify the records to which access was denied and that are the subject of the appeal. 
2. If an appeal is from the failure of the university to respond to the records request within the appropriate time limit, the appeal must so state, must identify the records sought, and must identify the university office to which the request was directed and the date of the request. 
3. The 30 working days within which an appeal must be filed begins to run upon the issuance of the denial or the expiration of the time period within which the university should have responded, whichever occurs first. 
4. The person responsible for the denial and any other interested party may file a written response to the appeal with the chancellor or the president as appropriate. A response shall be filed no later than the 15th working day after the university receives the appeal, unless the chancellor or president grants an extension of time. A person who files a written response to an appeal must mail or hand-deliver or email a copy of the response to the requestor and to all other persons who have filed a response. The requestor may file a reply no later than the 15th working day after a response is mailed or hand-delivered or emailed.
5. As soon as practicable, but not later than the 20th working day after the university receives an appeal, the chancellor or president will issue a written determination stating which of the records that are the subject of the appeal will be disclosed and which records will not be disclosed. The written determination must specify the legal grounds and factual basis for denying access to any records that are not being disclosed specify that the decision constitutes a final university decision, and advise that the requestor may seek judicial review of the denial by appealing the denial in superior court.
6. The chancellor or president may extend the 20-working day period for a period not to exceed 30 working days upon written request from the requestor, or by sending a written notice to the requestor within the 20-working day period. 
7. The chancellor or president may delegate authority and duties to an appeal under this section to any full-time employee of the university not involved in the denial and not subordinate to the person responsible for the denial. The person delegated this authority may not further delegate such authority.

(11-07-25)