E-210.1 Public Records Law (Public’s Right To Know)

The following information is provided to the public to assist them in obtaining access to and copies of the College's records under the Wisconsin open records law.

Copies of this notice are available from the legal custodian of the records and on the College's website.

LEGAL CUSTODIAN

The District Board has designated the President/District Director as the official custodian of the records and property of the College. The District Board has further directed that each of the individuals holding the below-listed positions be designated deputy custodians to act as legal custodians and to respond to requests for records and property in such legal custodian’s absence:

• Vice President of Finance and College Operations/CFO (Financial Records)

• Executive Director of Student Services/CSSO (Student Records)

• Assistant to the President/District Director (all other Public Records)

OFFICE HOURS

Requests for records and information may be obtained by contacting the appropriate custodian between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The College is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays as specified by the College Calendar. Additional information can be obtained by contacting the College's website at http://www.blackhawk.edu.

RELEASE, INSPECTION, AND REPRODUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS

Any person may request public records of the College. Any person requesting access to the College's records need not identify themselves to obtain a record nor state any reasons for the request. Requests can be made orally or in writing and must contain contact information, including a telephone number, address, e-mail address, or any other alternative arrangement for contact. To clarify the scope of the request, the legal custodian may request that oral requests be put into writing.

Except as otherwise provided by law, any public record of the College shall be made available for inspection at the office of the legal custodian during normal, regular business hours upon request. No original public records of the College are to be removed from the possession of the legal custodian. The legal custodial shall be responsible for designating where, when, and how the public records of the College may be inspected and copied. However, the decisions of the official custodian of the records shall be governed by this notice. Any request for a record must reasonably describe the record sought. The request shall be denied if the legal custodian cannot reasonably determine the requested records or information.

Upon request for any record, the legal custodian shall, as soon as practicable and without delay, either fill the request or notify the requestor of the legal custodian’s determination to deny the request in whole or in part and the reasons. The time it takes the legal custodian to respond to the request will depend on factors including the nature and extent of the request and the availability of Employees and other College Resources necessary to process the request. If a written request is denied in whole or in part, the requestor shall receive from the custodian a written statement of the reasons for denying the written request. If a request is made orally, the custodian may refuse the request orally unless a demand for a written statement of the reasons for denying the request is made by the requestor within five (5) business days of the oral denial. A request must be put into writing before an action to enforce the request can be commenced.

If it is determined that portions of a requested record should not be released, the legal custodian shall edit those records, remove the material not to be released, and thereafter release the balance of the record.

Any request for computer-generated records of the College will not be provided until the requestor is informed of the estimated costs and agrees to pay for them.

Subject to payment of fees authorized by this Notice, any person shall have the right to receive a reproduction of any records or information where the legal custodian has determined that inspection of records or information is to be granted. In their sole discretion, the official custodian of the College's records may elect to waive the imposition of all, or part of the fees required by this notice when they determine it is in the public interest. The official custodian may require prepayment by the requestor of any fee or fees imposed under this Notice if the total cost exceeds $5.00.

FEES

Fees charged by the College for locating or reproducing records or information of the College are as follows:

• Fees for Locating Records

  • There shall be no fee imposed upon any person who requests a record if the costs of locating that record do not exceed $50.00. Location fees will be calculated at $25.00 per hour (the lowest possible hourly rate) for an Employee to locate records, plus a $2.57 flat fee for an email archive search. A location fee covers searching for and identifying responsive records but does not include redaction.

• Reproduction Fees

  • Fees for copying and reproducing records where equipment and Employee service is available on-site shall be charged to the requestor as follows:

    • $0.15 per photocopied page provided.

    • $0.07 per page for content scanned and converted into electronic format.

    • $1.87 + cost of a physical medium for copying records already in digital format onto physical medium for distribution.

    • $1.87 for copying records from one digital format to another for distribution (e.g., email).

  • Where duplication of an audio tape, videotape, photograph, microfilm, microfiche, or other medium is requested, the requestor shall be charged the costs paid by the College to the third-party vendor for such reproduction and materials used in reproduction.

  • The requestor shall be charged for the actual, necessary, and direct cost of mailing or shipping.