Ohio Administrative Code
Title 3364 - University of Toledo
Chapter 3364-10 - Reporting and processing job injuries; legal counsel
Section 3364-10-02 - Public records policy
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 3364-10-02
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Policy statement
The university of Toledo is governed by Ohio public records act, section 149.43 of the Revised Code (public records act). The maintenance of public records shall be done in accordance with the university of Toledo's records retention schedule and rule 3364-5-05 of the Administrative Code (policy on records management and retention). All employees are responsible for working with the office of legal affairs and/or their division's records manager to ensure prompt response to public records requests.
(B) Purpose of policy
To facilitate prompt access to the university of Toledo's public records and to ensure compliance by all employees responsible for making university records available to the public with the Ohio public records act.
(C) Definition of a public record
(1)
A "record" is any document - in paper, electronic
(including, but not limited to e-mail), or other format - that is created or
received by, or comes under the jurisdiction of the university, and that
documents the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures,
operations, or other activities of the university.
(2)
A "public record"
is a "record" that is being kept by the university at the time a public records
request is made, subject to applicable exemptions from disclosure under Ohio or
federal law.
(3)
All records must be organized and maintained in such a
way that they can promptly be made available for inspection and
copying.
(4)
Content that fits the definition of a public record
above, which is transmitted to or from private accounts or personal devices, is
subject to disclosure under the public records act. Such content shall be
retained in accordance with the university's retention schedules and rule
3364-5-05 of the Administrative Code (policy on records management and
retention).
(D) Procedures
(1)
Making a request:
(a)
To facilitate a
timely response, members of the media seeking records should submit requests to
university marketing and communications, university hall, room two thousand one
hundred ten. All other requesters should submit requests to the office of legal
affairs, university hall, room three thousand six hundred twenty, mail stop
nine hundred forty-three. Requests may be made in person, by telephone, or in
writing (including e-mail).
Each division of the university shall designate a records manager. The records manager will be responsible for working with the division's employee(s) and the office of legal affairs to ensure prompt response to public records requests.
(b)
All university
personnel receiving requests for public records shall promptly notify the
office of legal affairs of the request and provide a copy of the request. The
office of legal affairs will work with the designated records manager for that
area and/or the division's employee(s) in order to ensure compliance with the
public records act.
(c)
The office of legal affairs is responsible for tracking
the public records requests received by the university, including name of
requester, a summary description of records being sought, date request
received, date request completed, and what records were provided. Therefore,
all responses to requests must be done by the office of legal affairs, unless
otherwise agreed upon.
(2)
What the request
should contain:
(a)
Although no specific language is required to make a
request, the requester must at least identify the records requested with
sufficient clarity and specificity to allow the university office to identify,
retrieve, and review the records. The university may decline to create a record
that contains the information requested if the record does not already exist,
or to seek out information within records that contain specific information
that may be of interest to the requester.
(b)
The university
may not condition the availability of public records by requiring the
disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the public
record. Should it facilitate a response or enhance the ability of the
university to identify, locate or deliver the public records sought by the
requester the university may inquire about the requester's identity or the
intended use of the record. The university may do so, however, only after
disclosing to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that
the requester may decline to reveal his or her identity or decline to provide
information about the intended use of the requested
information.
(c)
If a requester makes an ambiguous or overly broad
request or has difficulty in making a request such that the university cannot
reasonably identify what public records are being requested, the university may
provide the requester with an opportunity to revise the request. In doing so,
the university shall assist the requester by informing the requester of the
manner in which the office keeps its records. The university of Toledo's
general retention schedule can be found at
https://www.utoledo.edu/policies/retention.html.
(d)
Should a request not be considered "routine," such as a
request seeking a voluminous number of copies or requiring extensive research
or review, the office of legal affairs should, whenever practicable follow up
with a response to the requester indicating that it is in receipt of the
request and that responsive public records will be promptly made available for
inspection or copied within a reasonable period of time. The university may not
limit the number of public records requests that a single individual can make,
nor limit the number of public records that will be made available during a
fixed period of time except as allowed by the public records
act.
(3)
Process for providing public records:
(a)
The records that
have been collected by the records manager and/or the division's employee(s) to
fulfill the public records request must be reviewed by the office of legal
affairs prior to their release to ensure fulfillment of the public records
request and compliance with the public records act. The collected records
should be submitted to the office of legal affairs in advance in order to allow
sufficient time for review.
(b)
The university
does not have an obligation to create new records or perform new analysis of
existing information in order to respond to a request. An electronic record is
deemed to exist so long as a computer is already programmed to produce the
record through simple functions (sorting, filtering, querying).
(4)
Making
records available and payment for records:
(a)
Public records
are available for inspection during regular business hours, with the exception
of published holidays, and an employee of the university must accompany the
requester during inspection. Copies of records will be provided by the
university within a reasonable period of time following the request. The amount
of time that records will be made available to a requester will depend upon,
among other things, the number of records requested, the location of the
records, the medium in which the records are stored, the need for legal review,
and the need to redact information.
(b)
The university
may require prepayment of costs associated with producing copies, including
copying, scanning, and mailing expenses. The university may charge only its
actual cost of producing copies of the records.
(5)
Denial of records
or information contained in a record:
(a)
When making a
public record available for public inspection or copying, the university will
notify the requester of any redaction or make the redaction plainly visible. A
redaction (i.e., removal of information) is permissible so long as authorized
under applicable law. For example, the public records act generally excludes
medical records, peer review documents, trade secrets, trial preparation
records, law enforcement investigatory records, student education records,
intellectual property records, and donor profile records from the disclosure
requirement. (See section
149.43
of the Revised Code for a full list of the exceptions.)
(b)
If a record is
ultimately not produced, in part or in whole, the university shall provide the
requester with an explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the
record was not provided. If the initial request was provided in writing, the
explanation also shall be provided in writing.
(6)
Contacting office
of legal affairs:
Should requesters not receive a communication from the university within ten business days of issuing the request, they are encouraged to contact the office of legal affairs at 419-530-8411.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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