Campus community members were surprised last week when the University announced, through the office of the interim president, Robert Berdahl, @@http://president.uoregon.edu/biography@@ the fee waiver for the first $200 of public records requests is being taken away and replaced by a new fee policy.
Anyone looking to get documents through the public records office will now have to pay to get their hands on documents that take longer than an hour to procure. The change comes after an eight-month “trial period” in which the $200 waiver was implemented by former University president Richard Lariviere @@http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/12/the_rise_and_fall_of_richard_l.html@@ in order to increase transparency.
According to Dave Hubin, @@http://education.uoregon.edu/feature.htm?id=782@@ senior assistant to the president, @@checked@@ the change will make the public records system more efficient as well as continue to increase transparency. If a file is readily available, the turnaround will be quick, and there will be no charge. If the request takes a little more effort and time, a fee will be imposed to pay for the time it took to procure a document.
Hubin said the change was prompted by unforeseen complications for departments being asked to search for records without any sort of compensation for their time spent on a request.
“I think this is a refinement, for one, because it brings us in line with every public agency in our region,” Hubin said. “We wanted to simplify.”
Although the administration promises greater efficiency and increased transparency, some are not convinced this policy change is in the best interest of the University.
ASUO President Ben Eckstein @@checked@@ fears small requests that should only take an hour may be drawn out so they last longer than an hour. He said, too, the policy could give administrators greater authority over which requests are exempted and which will be charged. He believes students should be wary of the policy change, and they need to hold the University accountable.
“This is absolutely a step backward,” Eckstein said. “It has nothing to do with efficiency and everything to do with transparency and people accessing information and ultimately the accountability of our University to stakeholders in this community. I think this policy is a smoke screen of efficiency, which will actually just limit transparency.”