Information Dissemination Policy

Policy Statement

The New York State Legislature has found that a free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. The more transparent a government is with its citizenry, the greater will be the understanding and participation of the public in government.

The State Legislature has declared, and SUNY Brockport is committed firmly to the principle, that good government is the public’s business and that the public (both individually and collectively, and represented by a free news media) should have unimpaired access to appropriate University records and information.

Purpose/Scope

This policy identifies the appropriate policies and procedures for sharing institutional data and information with external audiences. 

Applicability

This policy applies to all requests for institutional information for major survey documents (i.e., U.S. News, NSSE, etc.) and requests for university-wide data from media outlets.

Definitions

There are no definitions for this policy at this time.

Policy Procedures

In furtherance of the foregoing, strict adherence by everyone to the following policy is required to ensure that only valid and reliable information, data, or statistics, as the case may be, will be released to authorized requestors.

1. State University Central Administration has directed that all questionnaires and requests for statistical data must be institutionally approved before they are either completed or released.

2. By designation of the President, the Office of University Communications at (585) 395-5159, and the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis at (585) 395-5874 are the officially designated points of origin of narrative and statistical information about or pertaining to the University. All requests for such information from or for the use of outside agencies and/or individuals must be channeled through those two offices for official institutional approval.

3. Reporting to outside agencies and/or individuals by any unit or individual employee(s) within the University, other than the two offices specified above, is not authorized, should not occur, and will not carry or imply official institutional approval or endorsement.

4. Enrollment or personnel breakdowns by age, sex, national origin, ethnicity, religious orientation, etc. will be provided to agencies of the United States government or New York State, upon request.

5. Requests from agencies and/or individuals other than those specified in Item 4, above, will only be responded to after written assurance is received on official letterhead and over the signature of the requestor indicating:

1. the intended use and audience,
2. that the information, data, and statistics submitted, as the case may be, will be used for statistical summaries only,
3. that no reports will be issued on the University as a whole, or on individual faculties, departments or units, based upon the information, data, or statistics requested, and
4. that the information, data, or statistics, as the case may be, will not otherwise be used, published, disseminated or shown to anyone at any time.

6. The Office of University Communications may grant exceptions to this process for media organizations, as it deems appropriate.

7. Requests for information and/or special reports by College Senate officers and committees, BASC, and other university-related organizations from Institutional Research and Analysis must be submitted in writing. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will inform President’s Cabinet of these requests, if deemed necessary, prior to approving or disapproving the requests. Requests for information and/or special reports by students or student organizations from Institutional Research and Analysis must follow the same process and may also require pre-approval in writing by the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.

8. Internal Reports may be distributed to President’s Cabinet and deans. These individuals may determine whether they wish to distribute the information further. All requests about these reports received by Institutional Research and Analysis may be referred back to the appropriate original recipient who may decide on additional distribution.

9. Internal Reports based upon or accompanied by computer printouts or electronic files may be distributed to President’s Cabinet and deans. Sufficient copies of printouts may be supplied so that these individuals can distribute the information without unnecessary delay, if they consider it appropriate. All requests about these reports may be referred back to the appropriate original recipient who may decide on additional distribution.

10. Institutional Research and Analysis will inform the appropriate President’s Cabinet member and/or dean of requests for information and/or special reports by university units.

11. Aggregate statistical data pertaining to the University (i.e., semester enrollments, number of faculty employed, etc.) are public information and are available upon request from the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis.

12. Individual statistical data pertaining to a faculty member are available to that faculty member. However, the individual data on a faculty member (i.e., workload, grade distributions, etc.) may not be released other than to authorized officers of the University.

13. With respect to data gathered from students, the confidentiality of individual student responses is guaranteed with the administration of surveys used to collect such data. As a result, aggregate data from such surveys is considered public information, while individual information is not made available.

14. All requests for information, data, or statistics, as the case may be, will be handled under the following priority system:

1. First-order Priorities — All requests for information from agencies of the United States government or from agencies of New York State that are required for compliance with federal or state laws, codes, rules, or regulations.
2. Second-order Priorities — All requests from SUNY Central Administration and the President of the University, followed in order by requests from the offices of the Vice Presidents, Deans, Department Chairpersons, College Senate, and departmental or College Senate committees.
3. Third-order Priorities — All requests originating from sources other than those specified in “A” and “B” above.

15. All information, data, or statistics requested by the media must first be institutionally approved by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis and then released only by and through the Office of University Communications.

16. In any case of question or dispute, no information, data, or statistics, as the case may be, will be released until clearance is received from the President of the University.

Links to Related Procedures and Information

Confidential Nature of Student Records
Freedom of Information Requests

Contact Information

Assistant Vice President for Communications
Director of Institutional Effectiveness

History (in descending order)

Approval

This policy was approved by President’s Cabinet on 2022-10-03