Freedom of Information Act

[The following statement was approved by the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees on 01/17/08.]

ADDITION OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT POLICY

  1. Purpose: The public policy of the State of Illinois states "that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees" consistent with the limitations contained in Illinois' Freedom of Information Act (hereinafter "Act"). 5 ILCS 140/1 et. seq. Pursuant to Section 3(g) of the Act (5 ILCS 140/3), Southern Illinois University has promulgated policies governing access to public records of the University in conformity with the Act. The purpose of the policies is to provide timely access to public records in the possession of the University while, at the same time, protecting legitimate privacy interests and maintaining administrative efficiency within the requirements of the State Records Act. 5 ILCS 160/1 et. seq.
  2. Definitions: FOIA: The Freedom of Information Act. Freedom of Information Act Office(r): The individual or office designated by the Chancellor for each campus (SIUC, SIUE, and the School of Medicine) or for the President's office responsible for receiving and responding to requests for public records. FERPA: The Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act. Head of public body: The President of Southern Illinois University. Requester: A person or entity who submits a request for public records in accordance with the Act. Working days: Calendar days, other than Saturdays and Sundays and legal University holidays, after receipt of a FOIA request. Terms not defined in these policies defined in Section 2 of the Act shall have the same meaning in these rules.
  3. Freedom of Information Act Office(r): The Chancellor of each campus shall appoint a FOIA officer who shall have the authority to receive and respond to all FOIA requests for the campus. The Provost and Dean of the SIU School of Medicine shall appoint a separate FOIA officer for the School of Medicine. With respect to FOIA requests involving the SIU Board of Trustees and/or the President of the University, the President shall designate an FOIA officer for such requests. The contact information for each FOIA office(r) shall be posted on the website and shall be available through the President's Office, Chancellor's office at each of the campuses, and the Provost and Dean of the SIU School of Medicine. The FOIA office(r) is responsible for ensuring an appropriate response to requests for access to records under the Act. The FOIA office(r) shall:
    1. Implement these rules governing access to public records.
    2. Coordinate the efforts of other University employees and campuses under the Freedom of Information Act and this policy.
    3. Maintain and make available for public inspection pursuant to Section 4(a) and (b) of the Act, a brief description of the University and a brief description as to how the public may request public records.
    4. Maintain and make available for public inspection pursuant to Section 5 of the Act a reasonably current list of the types or categories of records under the University's control.
    5. Assist the public in identifying requested records.
    6. Extend the time for acting on a request, if necessary, for any of the reasons specified in Section 3 of the Act.
    7. Notify students, employees, or officials when a request has been made for personal information that might be considered an invasion of personal privacy to ascertain whether the student, employee, or official will consent to disclose the information requested.
    8. After records are located and reviewed, make the records available for inspection or deny access to the records in whole or in part.
    9. When applicable, explain in writing the reasons for denial of access, the names and titles of persons responsible for denial and inform the requester of his or her right to appeal to the President of the University.
    10. Upon request for a copy of a record which is subject to public inspection, make a copy available upon compliance with fee and copyright requirements.
    11. Upon request, certify that a copy is a true copy.
    12. Upon failure to locate records, declare in writing to the requester that the University is not the custodian for such records or that the records cannot be found after diligent search.
    13. Upon request, provide information about what records are electronically available and how to access the records pursuant to Section 5 of the Act.
    14. Determine, pursuant to Section 6(b), whether a request for a reduction or waiver of any charge is appropriate because the specific purpose for the request is in the public's interest (i.e., health, safety and welfare) and not primarily for personal or commercial benefit.
    15. Maintain a public file of denials indexed according to type of record requested and type of exemption asserted by the University as required by Section 9(b) of the Act.
  4. Form and content of FOIA requests: FOIA requests shall be in writing and submitted to the appropriate FOIA office(r) identified in Section C above, on request forms provided by the University or electronically submitted using the University's internet request form. All requests shall be date and time stamped upon receipt and logged on a centralized database with a notation for each response deadline. The University shall document and date all contacts between the University and the requester on the request form. The requester shall include the following information in a request:
    1. The requester's full name, address, and telephone number;
    2. The date of the request;
    3. A brief description of the public records sought, being as specific as possible regarding dates; file designations, names, etc.;
    4. Whether the request is for inspection of public records, copies of public records, or both.
    5. Whether the information being requested is for a specific public purpose sufficient to reduce or waive any cost applicable to the request.
  5. Authorized responses to FOIA requests: The FOIA Office(r) shall respond to a request for public records in one of five ways:
    1. Approve the request in writing within seven (7) working days of receipt of the request and either (i) provide the materials immediately, (ii) give notice that the materials shall be made available upon payment of reproduction costs and/or mailing costs, or (iii) give notice of the time and place for inspection of records; or
    2. Notify requester within seven (7) working days that either (i) the University does not maintain or possess the documents requested or that the requested documents could not be found after a diligent search and/or (ii) the written request is illegible, incomplete or incomprehensible and must be resubmitted to remedy the identified problem. The University is not obligated to create or maintain a public record solely to respond to a request.
    3. Notify requester in writing within seven (7) working days of receipt of the request that an additional seven (7) working days will be necessary to determine a response and provide the requester with the specific reason for the delay consistent with the grounds identified in Section 3(d) of the Act and Section F (2) of this policy, as well as the date the delayed response will be forthcoming. Where a categorical request creates an undue burden, the University shall send written notification within seven (7) working days asking the requester to reduce the request to manageable proportions in accordance with Section 3(f) of the Act; or
    4. Approve the request in part and deny it in part, in writing, within seven (7) working days of receipt of the request, and notify the requestor of (i) the specific reason why part of the request has been denied, (ii) the University personnel responsible for the decision, and (iii) the availability of appellate rights consistent with Section 9 of the Act; or
    5. Deny the request in its entirety within seven (7) working days of receipt of the request, and notify the requestor of (i) the specific reason the request has been denied, (ii) the University personnel responsible for the decision, and (iii) the availability of appellate rights consistent with Section 9 of the Act.
      1. A denial of a request for public records shall be made in writing and shall state the reasons for the denial in accordance with either Section 3(f) or Section 7 of the Act, and include the names and titles of individuals responsible for the decision. It shall also give notice of the requester's right to appeal to the President of Southern Illinois University and contact information for the President's office. Exemptions expressly articulated under Section 7 of the Act are per se exempt from disclosure under the Act.
      2. When a denial of a request is based upon a law other than the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, such as FERPA, the requester shall be notified of the applicable statute and provision in writing. The University's FERPA policy shall be consulted prior to disclosing any information about a student and that policy is incorporated by reference as if fully stated herein.
      3. When a denial of a request is based upon an express exemption from disclosure under Section 7 of the Act, the University shall, where possible, redact the exempt information and make the remaining information available for inspection and copying pursuant to Section 8 of the Act.
      4. Categorical requests creating an undue burden shall be considered denied if the requester refuses the University's invitation to confer about reducing the request to manageable proportions in accordance with Section 3(f) of the Act.
      5. When a request is denied because the University has found disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, even though the information requested is not expressly articulated as an exemption under Section 7 of the Act, the FOIA office(r) shall notify the affected student, employee or official of the request and ascertain whether the student, employee or official will consent to disclose the information requested.
      6. If the affected party will not consent to disclose the material requested, the FOIA office(r) shall disclose the requested information only if the information requested directly "bears on the public duties of the public employees and officials".
      7. Copies of all denial notices shall be retained by the FOIA office(r) in a single central office file open to the public and indexed according to the type of exemption asserted. The central office file for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is located at the Chancellor's Office, Room 116 Anthony Hall, Carbondale, IL; Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is located at the Chancellor's Office, Room 3316 Rendleman Hall, Carbondale, IL, and for matters pertaining to the Board of Trustees or President and their immediate staff, Office of the President, located at the Stone Center, 1400 Douglas Drive, Carbondale, IL.
      8. The failure to respond to a written request within seven (7) working days after receipt of request may be treated as a denial by the requester. A failure to respond within seven (7) working days after an extension has been exercised may also be treated as a denial by the requester.
  6. Time limits for responses: The FOIA Office(r) shall respond to all written request for public records within seven (7) working days after receipt of the request unless otherwise authorized by this policy or law.
    1. The initial seven (7) working day time limit may be unilaterally extended by the University for another seven (7) working days for the following reasons:
      1. the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
      2. the request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified records;
      3. the request is couched in categorical terms and requires an extensive search for the records responsive to it;
      4. the requested records have not been located in the course of routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate them;
      5. the requested records require examination and evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence and discretion to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under section 7 of this Act or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions;
      6. the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by subsection 3(c) without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body; or
      7. there is a need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request.
    2. When additional time is required for any of the reasons identified above, the public body must notify the requester by letter specifying (i) the reason for the delay and (ii) the date when either the records will be released or the denial of the request will be made. This letter must be sent within the original seven (7) working day period. The extended time period cannot be longer than seven (7) extra working days, and if a response is not made within that extended period, the request may be considered denied by the requester.
    3. The President of the University, Chancellors of each campus, and the Provost and Dean of the Medical School, or their designee, shall respond in writing to all appeals of a denial within seven (7) working days of receipt of the appeal. A failure to respond within seven (7) working days after receipt of the appeal may be treated as a denial by the requester.
  7. Inspection of records at University offices: Generally, public records will be available for inspection at the FOIA offices designated above in Section C between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on State holidays. The requestor shall be notified in writing within seven (7) working days of receipt of the request when and where the records will be available for inspection (Appendix H). The requested records shall be available for inspection no later than fourteen (14) working days after receipt of the request and not more than seven (7) working days after notification of availability has been sent to the requester. The written notification shall admonish the requester of the following:
    1. Space will be provided for the requester to inspect public records. Upon request, the University shall make whatever reasonable accommodations are necessary to remedy physical obstacles to inspection. Although appointments are not required, appointments are strongly encouraged to ensure record availability when and where the requester appears for inspection.
    2. The University reserves the right to have designated personnel present throughout the inspection to maintain the integrity of the public records.
    3. A requester shall not be permitted to take briefcases, bags, folders or other similar materials, or pens, into the inspection area.
    4. A requester is allowed to take pencils and paper into the inspection area.
    5. The requester shall identify and/or segregate during the course of inspection any documents the requester desires to have copied. All copying shall be completed by university employees at the cost specified in these policies.
    6. There shall be no fee charged for the inspection of records.
  8. Copies of public records: Copies of public records shall be provided to the requester only upon payment of any fees that are due. There shall be no fee charged, however, for the University’s cost of searching and reviewing the requested records. The availability of the record and the amount of the fee being charged shall be communicated to the requester within seven (7) working days of receipt of the request, unless more time is authorized under the Act or this Policy.
    1. Fees for copies of public records shall be assessed in accordance with Section 6(a) of the Act. A schedule of fees shall be available in each of the University’s FOIA offices as required by Section 4 of the Act.
    2. Fees may be reduced or waived if the requester satisfies the criteria set forth in Section 6(b) of the Act and specifies a public purpose upon which the request is based.
    3. The current charge for copying is $0.25 per single-sided letter or legal sized page, with an additional charge of $1.00 per document if certification of the document is requested. Microfilmed records are charged at a rate of $0.25 per single-sided paper page produced. If the records requested cannot be copied on the university’s standard office copying equipment, the requester will be charged the actual costs incurred by the university.
    4. Fees shall be waived if the requester is a State agency, a constitutional officer, or member of the General Assembly.
    5. Payment shall be made by cash or money order payable to the Southern Illinois University, and mailed or hand delivered to the FOIA Office(r).
    6. If the requester is unwilling or unable to pick up the copies of requested records at the University’s offices, the requester shall incur the costs of mailing or shipping the requested materials.
    7. In accordance with federal law and/or regulations governing copyright, the University will not provide copies of records protected by copyright without (i) a written authorization or proof of a license from the copyright holder of record or (ii) a copyright acknowledgement signed by the requester attesting that the copied materials will not be used for any purpose other than personal use, private study, scholarship or research.
  9. Appeal of a denial: If a person’s request for public records has been denied by the FOIA Office(r), that person may appeal the denial to the President, Chancellor, or Provost and Dean as appropriate pursuant to Section 10 (5 ILCS 140/10) of the Act. The Notice of Appeal shall be in writing and conspicuously marked as a FOIA Appeal and shall be submitted within a reasonable period of time. The University is not obligated to take an appeal that is submitted more than 30 days from the initial denial. The Notice of Appeal shall include (i) the date of the appeal, (ii) a copy of the original request, (iii) the grounds for the University’s prior denial, (iv) a written statement setting forth the reasons why the requester believes the appeal should be granted, and (v) the name, return address and phone number of the person making the appeal.
    1. The President, Chancellor, or Provost and Dean, or their designees shall respond in writing to an appeal within seven (7) working days after receiving a Notice of Appeal.
    2. The President, Chancellor, or their Provost and Dean or their designees shall either:
      1. affirm the denial; or
      2. provide access to or copies of the requested public records with the exempt portion redacted; or
      3. provide access to or copies of the requested public records.
    3. The failure to respond within 7 working days may be considered as an affirmation of the denial by the requester.
    4. Denials shall be in writing, identify the specific request being denied, and cite to the statutory provision supporting the denial. The written denial shall also notify the requester of the right to file suit under Section 11 of the Act.
  10. Litigation: A person whose request has been denied by the President’s Office, Chancellor’s Office, or Provost and Dean’s Office may file suit for injunctive or declaratory relief pursuant to Section 11 of the Act, in either the circuit court where the University’s principal office is located or where the person denied access resides. All communications involving litigation and/or a court summons arising out of a denied request under the Act shall be transmitted to the President’s Office, Chancellor’s Office, or the Provost and Dean’s Office as appropriate immediately upon receipt. (01/17/08)

SIU Freedom of Information Act Policy (doc file)

Amendment of Procedures
These procedures implementing the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, as well as the forms, listings, and other materials used to administer the act are subject to amendment from time to time.