When public records are requested on the BGSU campus, the decision ends up in the hands of one man -Tom Trimboli, assistant to the president in the General Council Office.
In a time where penalties for releasing confidential information are sometimes more severe than cautionary withholding of information, Trimboli’s system is a safety feature. It creates conformity in the way that requests are evaluated, and information is released.
Instruction on what records can and can’t be given out is given to the administration and the management levels of various colleges. Trimboli hopes this information gets passed from the management to other employees.
‘There are some common misconceptions [about requesting records],’ said Trimboli, adding the request doesn’t have to be made in writing, the person doesn’t need to identify him or herself or state the reason for wanting the information.
If information is held back, Trimboli explains what information was redacted -blacked out – or excluded and why it was held back.
With this system employed by Trimboli, the laws of what information is public and what information is not does not need to be known by all University employees. Instead, everyone needs to know the three misconceptions.
Trimboli said that no one should be turned away when making the request.
Instead of one office doing all the work, Debra Hernandez, coordinator of national Sunshine Week events, wants regular training and refresher courses.
Sunshine Week is a national initiative to create awareness about freedom of information and open government.
‘The people who are the givers and the gatekeepers need to know what is available,’ Hernandez said.
Hernandez hopes that training, information about open records awareness and the university leadership believing in openness can create an attitude of openness on campus.
If a decision affects people, Hernandez believes the people should have an opportunity to comment. ‘Then the people are a part of the process,’ Hernandez said.
At the University of Toledo, the legal affairs department and Office of Marketing and Communications provide information about requests for records at new employee orientation sessions. Information is continually sent out to employees, reminding and refreshing them.
‘We make the message as strong as we can,’ said Jon Strunk, media relations specialist at UT.
When requests are made, the marketing and communication office is eager to assist and get information to the person making the request.
Strunk added that the UT Faculty Senate requested a refresher session. The biggest point to remind the faculty is that e-mail is not private because it was purchased on a computer with taxpayer’s dollars.
People are thinking about their daily business, not that what is being written is public information.
‘They [faculty] wake up when they get a request,’ Struck said.
If someone complains about a salary request, Struck said there’s no internal discussion about releasing the information because Ohio law says that information is public.
‘The law is the law,’ Struck said.
Ohio University has a system for processing open records requests similar to BGSU’s.
According to their Policy and Procedure Web site, all requests should be made to the Office of Legal Affairs. If a request is made to an office, the Office of Legal Affairs should be contacted.
Inspection of the records occurs after the office housing the records is notified of the request. If a personnel file is requested, the faculty member will be informed. Copies of the documents can be made by an authorized person.
At BGSU all requests are supposed to go to the Office of General Council. A meeting was held at the end of last school year to instruct all department chairs and directors about important issues on open records awareness.
Trimboli led the meeting, highlighting many policies.
‘We had so many questions,’ said Vikki Krane, director of women’s studies. She also said many ‘what ifs’ were asked.
Krane was concerned about professors that are eligible for tenure, promotions, or applying for a job when letters of recommendation are needed. She fears that people may not be honest in letters of recommendation because the letters are open records.
‘People have to be legally concerned,’ Krane said. ‘I understand why the records are open and the hesitancy, but the bottom line is that it is the law and we have to follow through.’
Because of the legal issues, Krane feels that a refresher course every two or three years would be beneficial.
But because of the system currently used by Trimboli, professors and chairs should not be providing information. All requests are to be sent to the office of General Council – the University’s legal representative.
