Introduction

        The Kentucky Open Records Act was enacted by the General Assembly in 1976 and was amended in 1986 and 1994.  The Open Records Act contains the following statement of policy.
 

The General Assembly finds and declares that the basic policy of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 is that free and open examination of records is in the public interest and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.878 or otherwise provided by law shall be strictly construed, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others.  KRS 61.871

        As a public agency, Western Kentucky University is required to abide by the provisions of the Commonwealth's Open Records Act.  WKU complies with the letter and spirit of the Commonwealth's Open Records Act and these guidelines serve to establish procedures for handling open records' requests.  Consideration and submission of open records' requests must be expedited and handled according to this policy and its procedures to ensure access to any protection under the law.  Requests are most commonly made by the news media, but may be made by individuals or organizations.

        Guidelines for responding to open records' requests are intended to specify the responsiblity of each university employee, the responsibility of the institution and the process to be undertaken when open records' requests are filed for university records.

        These guidelines have been developed to ensure that the university responds to open records' requests in an accurate, timely, consistent and open manner.  State law requires the agencies to respond to the requestor within 72 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.)

Guidelines

• Copies of univeristy information covered by the Open Records Act may be obtained by a written request to the President, Chief Public Affairs Officer or University General Counsel.
• All requests to review university records should be forwarded immediately to the Chief Public Affairs Officer and/or the Univesity Counsel.
• Public Affairs will work with appropriate campus units to determine which records are covered under the Open Records Act.  Public Affairs will consult with University Counsel on requests for which the law is ambiguous or unclear.  Public Affairs will also consult with University Counsel on requests for which the law is ambiguous or unclear.  Public Affairs will also consult with University Counsel in matters related to requests for documents that may be exempt from inspection.
• Only representatives of the Office of the President, Division of Public Affairs, or Office of the University Counsel are authorized to release official university records or information in response to an open records request.
• Public Affairs will provide full copies of the University's official response to an open records' request to the following campus officers:
•      President
•     Appropriate member(s) of the Administrative Council
•     Academic Dean, when appropriate
•     Department Head
•     Affected faculty or staff member
•     Director of Media Relations
•     Director of Sports Information, when appropriate
• The Chief Public Affairs Office will draft the University's official response to all Open Records' Requests and determine if a reasonable fee for copies of non-exempt public records is to be charged.
• Charges, if deemed appropriate, will be billed on the following schedule:
• For 50 or fewer pages of readily available information, 10 cents/page
• For more than 50 pages of readily available information, 15 cents/page
• For information deemed not to be readily available, 15 cents/page plus actual labor costs incurred in providing the requested information.
• Official files related to open records' requests will be maintained in the Division of Public Affairs.