NUMBER:   ACAF 7.03

SECTION:  Academic Affairs    



SUBJECT:  Private Requests for University Data                    



DATE:     September 22, 1995

                     

Policy for:     All Campuses

Procedure for:  All Campuses

Authorized by:  James C. Moeser

Issued by:      Provost's Office



________________________________________________________________





I.  Policy



The University shall provide institutional data to non-officals

of the University or for private use by officials of the

University when allowed by applicable laws, when the magnitude of

the request is deemed to be reasonable by the appropriate

officials of the University, and when the cost of providing the

data is recovered from those parties making such requests.







II.  Procedure



Introduction



A.  As an institution of higher learning, the University of South

Carolina places a high value upon the free exchange of

information and the freedom to seek knowledge wherever the search

might lead. At the same time, the University is committed to the

protection of individual privacy, enumerated in various legal

sources at the federal and state levels. These two major

concerns, when combined with the reality of scarce and inadequate

financial resources, make it incumbent upon the University to

have in place a reasonable procedure for responding to requests

for data that involve substantial costs and which may not be part

of the normal conduct of the institution's business.



University officials frequently receive requests for the

generation of new data or reports about the institution from

private parties or for private use, herein defined as situations

in which either the requesting party is not an employee of the

university, or the intended use of data is not in pursuit of the

conduct of official university business. Examples of such

requests include, but are not limited to, requests from students

for data to be used in theses or dissertations, requests from

faculty for data to be used for personal research purposes, or

requests from external parties such as the media. The cost to the

university to produce such reports can be substantial and may

fall outside the mission of the institution and its respective

divisions. While data which have already been published can be

made available to the public, requests for new reports by private

parties or for private use must be evaluated carefully for both

legal and managerial considerations.



B. The policy presented here does not attempt to resolve legal

issues which may be raised by such requests, but establishes a

procedure whereby both the university and a private client

seeking university data can determine both the legality of

fulfilling the request and the estimated cost for its completion.









Mechanism of Request Completion



A. Formulation of the Request      



Persons seeking data or new reports as described and defined in A

above must submit a written request to the appropriate Data

Custodian as outlined in ACAF 7.02 of the University Policies and

Procedures. The request should provide detailed descriptions of

the data requested, the time period which the data should cover,

the desired format in which the output is to be presented, and

the intended use of the data.



B. Responsibilities 



1. It shall be the responsibility of the appropriate Data

Custodian to evaluate the request in terms of any potential

violations of law, or to ask for such an evaluation by the

University's General Counsel.



2. If the Data Custodian approves release of the data for the

purposes described in the request, such approval must be made in

writing. If the data or report is to be prepared by personnel

reporting to the Data Custodian, the approval should be

accompanied by an estimate of costs and the amount of time needed

for preparation of the data.



3. If the Data Custodian approves release of the requested data

but is unable to provide the services necessary to comply with

the request, the requesting party may seek the assistance of the

Academic Services staff at the Computing Services Division on the

Columbia Campus or from appropriate staff at another USC campus.

Before undertaking to provide the requested services, the

provider shall render an estimate of time required and costs to

the requesting party, and may require information from the

requesting party in addition to that provided to the Data

Custodian. This should be done in writing. Approval for use of

University data must be obtained from the appropriate Data

Custodian for requests originating on any campus of the

University. However, the determination of reasonable charges for

the provision of services shall be made by the office or staff

providing the service.



4. Once the requesting party and the service provider have

reached agreement on the terms under which the project will be

carried out, a written summary shall be signed by both parties

with a copy returned to the Data Custodian(s) whose approval has

been obtained for use of the data. For requests made under

provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, a copy of the

summary agreement should be returned to the university's General

Counsel. It is understood that a request for data does not

include analysis of that data by the provider. That is the

responsibility of the client.



5. In establishing estimated and actual costs of providing such

service, university staff shall consider full cost recovery of

all resources needed for completion of the project, including

staff time, computer time, and commodities.



6. Data or reports prepared under this procedure shall be

released to the requesting party upon presentation of evidence of

payment in full to the appropriate university office.



7.  Payment for services can be waived by the president or

provost.





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