Guidelines for Making Open Records Requests
Alabama Open Records Act Requests
The University of Alabama complies with the laws of the State of Alabama, including granting residents of the state the right to review and obtain copies of certain public records in accordance with Alabama Code § 36-12-40, et seq. (the “Alabama Open Records Act”). As such, the University of Alabama has adopted the guidelines and form below to assist individuals requesting records from The University of Alabama.
SUBMITTING A REQUEST:
A request for public records must be made by completing the request form found here. The request form should be completed for each request made. The University of Alabama is not obligated to respond to public records requests that do not follow these guidelines.
All requests should identify the requested public records with reasonable specificity, including, but not limited to, the date and/or time frame of such records. The University of Alabama is not obligated to respond to requests that are vague, ambiguous, overly broad, or unreasonable in scope.
The general public has an interest in having the business of The University of Alabama carried on efficiently and without undue interference. Therefore, the University of Alabama will devote as much of its resources to addressing public records requests as reasonably possible without interfering with the fulfillment of the normal job duties of its personnel.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
Responses: The University will acknowledge all requests within 10 business days of receipt. The University will provide a substantive response to a proper request in compliance with the Alabama Open Records Act.
Time-Intensive Requests: Open records requests that would take more than eight hours to process will be designated as “time-intensive requests.” The University of Alabama will notify the requester within 15 business days of acknowledging receipt that the request qualifies as a time-intensive request. The requester may elect to withdraw the time-intensive request and submit a new request, or the requester may proceed with the time-intensive request, in which case the requester will be charged a reasonable fee.
Documents: When possible, all documents will be provided in electronic/digital form.
Exemptions: Open records requests are subject to appropriate protections for private, confidential, privileged, and other nonpublic information. State law provides that some information may be exempted from production including, but not limited to, registration and circulation records and information concerning the use of university libraries; records concerning security plans, procedures, assessments, measures, or systems, and any other records relating to, or having an impact upon, the security or safety of persons, structures, facilities, or other infrastructures, including information concerning critical infrastructures and critical energy infrastructures the public disclosure of which may reasonably be expected to be detrimental to the public safety or welfare; records that the disclosure of which would otherwise be detrimental to the best interests of the public; or, records protected from disclosure by other state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy (FERPA) law.
Costs: The University of Alabama, in accordance with the Alabama Open Records Act, will impose a reasonable fee to process open records requests. However, except for requests designated as time-intensive, the University may waive this fee when a request does not require significant time or resources to process. This waiver is at the sole discretion of the University upon evaluation of the request.