FOIA Statement

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), § 2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, provides that: 

  • Any citizen of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media with circulation in the Commonwealth may access the public records of public bodies, public officials, and public employees. 
  • All public bodies of the Commonwealth are required to disclose records upon receiving a request for them. 
  • Mandatory and discretionary statutory exemptions protect some records from disclosure. 

A public record is any writing or recording - regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format - that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies. 

FOIA promotes an increased awareness of governmental activities. FOIA requires that the law be construed liberally, to provide public access, and that any exemption allowing public records to be withheld must be interpreted narrowly. 

Your FOIA Rights 

  • You have the right to request to inspect or receive copies of public records, or both. 
  • You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance. 
  • If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA. 

Making a Request for Records from 51ºÚÁÏ (“51ºÚÁÏ”) 

  • You may request records by U.S. mail, e-mail, in person, or phone. 
  • From a practical perspective, it may be helpful to both you and the person receiving your request to put your request in writing. This allows you to create a record of your request. It also gives a clear statement of what records you are requesting, so that there is no misunderstanding over a verbal request.  
  • Your request must identify the records you are seeking with "reasonable specificity." This is a common-sense standard, and it requires that you be specific enough so that we can identify and locate the records that you are seeking. 
  • Your request must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA gives you the right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work at 51ºÚÁÏ, nor does it require 51ºÚÁÏ to create a record that does not exist. 
  • You may choose to receive electronic records in any format that 51ºÚÁÏ uses in the regular course of business. For example, if you are requesting records maintained in an Excel database, then you may elect to receive those records electronically, via e-mail or on a computer disk, or to receive a printed copy of those records. 
  • Making a FOIA request is not an adversarial process. The staff may need to discuss your request with you to better understand it. If the staff has questions about your request, please cooperate with their efforts to gain clarity about the type of records you are seeking. Please also cooperate with an attempt to reach a reasonable agreement about a response to a large request.  
  • It is both cost effective and cooperative to be as descriptive as possible regarding the types of records or information you seek. Additionally, while FOIA governs public access to information contained in existing records, it does not provide context or answer generalized or specific questions about decision-making or deliberations by the public body, if not already contained in the information provided. 

You may make your request for records using any of the following methods:

 

U.S. Mail

51ºÚÁÏ Office of Communications and University Relations

ATTN: FOIA Officer

1419 Multi-Purpose Center

51ºÚÁÏ, Virginia 23806 

E-mail

FOIA@vsu.edu 

Phone

(804) 524-5583

Additionally, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is available to answer any questions you may have about FOIA (https://foiacouncil.dls.virginia.gov/foiacouncil.htm). The Council can be reached by email at foiacouncil@dls.virginia.gov or by phone at (804) 698-1810 or [toll free] 1-866-448-4100. 

51ºÚÁÏ’s Responsibilities in Responding to Your Request 

  • 51ºÚÁÏ must respond to your request within five (5) working days of receiving it. "Day One" is considered the day after your request is received. The five-day period does not include weekends or holidays. 
  • The reason for the request is irrelevant, and 51ºÚÁÏ will not ask why you are making the request for the records; however, FOIA does allow the University to ask you to provide your name, legal address, and clarification of any request. 
  • FOIA requires that 51ºÚÁÏ make one of the following responses to your request within the five (5) working days: 
  1. Provide you with the records that you have requested in their entirety. 
  1. Withhold all of the records that you have requested, because all of the records are subject to a specific statutory exemption. If 51ºÚÁÏ withholds all of your requested records, 51ºÚÁÏ must send you a response in writing that identifies the volume and subject matter of the records being withheld, and state the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows 51ºÚÁÏ to withhold the records. 
  1. Provide some of the records that you have requested, but withhold other records. We cannot withhold an entire record if only a portion of it is subject to an exemption. In that instance, we may redact the portion of the record that may be withheld, and must provide you with the remainder of the record. Furthermore, 51ºÚÁÏ must provide you with a written response stating the specific section of the Code of Virginia that allows portions of the requested records to be withheld.
  2. Inform you that the records could not be found or do not exist. FOIA does not require that 51ºÚÁÏ create a new record if the record does not already exist. However, if 51ºÚÁÏ knows another public body has the requested records, the response shall include contact information for the other public body. 
  1. Inform you that it is practically impossible for 51ºÚÁÏ to respond to your request within the five working day period, and explain in writing the conditions that make the response practically impossible. This response also provides the University with an additional seven (7) working days to respond to your request for a total of twelve (12) working days.                                        

                                                                                       

If you make a request for a very large number of records, and 51ºÚÁÏ determines it is unable to provide the requested records to you within twelve (12) working days without disrupting its other organizational responsibilities, then 51ºÚÁÏ may petition the court for additional time to respond to your request. However, FOIA requires that 51ºÚÁÏ make a reasonable effort to reach an agreement with you concerning the production of the records before requesting more time from the court.

Cost Statement 

A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records and shall make all reasonable efforts to supply the requested records at the lowest possible cost. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. Prior to conducting a search for records, the public body shall notify the requester in writing that the public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records and inquire of the requester whether he would like to request a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records as set forth in subsection F of §  of the Code of Virginia. 

Costs 

  • You may have to pay for the records that you request from 51ºÚÁÏ. FOIA allows us to charge for the actual costs of responding to FOIA requests. This would include items like staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs, or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records. The amount cannot include general overhead costs. 
  • If we estimate that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, we may require you to pay a deposit, not to exceed the amount of the estimate, before proceeding with your request. The five (5) working days that 51ºÚÁÏ has to respond to your request do not include the time between the deposit request and when you respond. 
  • You may request a cost estimate in advance of 51ºÚÁÏ’s record processing efforts. This will inform you of any costs upfront, and, if needed, give you the opportunity to modify your request in an attempt to lower the estimated costs. 
  • If you owe 51ºÚÁÏ money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than thirty (30) days, 51ºÚÁÏ may require payment of the past-due bill before it responds to your new FOIA request. 
  • 51ºÚÁÏ will charge the hourly wage rate or the hourly rate of the base salary of the employee(s) who will access, duplicate, supply, or search for the requested records, including time for research, data analysis, report preparation, and redaction, if required. 
  • Please note that any estimate is not a fixed amount. Actual costs may be greater or less than the estimated amount. In that instance, 51ºÚÁÏ will refund any overage paid, or invoice for additional payment. 

Commonly Used Exemptions 

The Code of Virginia allows public bodies to withhold certain records from public disclosure. 51ºÚÁÏ commonly withholds records subject to the following exemptions: 

  • Personnel records (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(1)); 
  • Records subject to attorney-client privilege (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(2)) or attorney work product (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(3)); 
  • Tests or examinations used, administered, or prepared for evaluation of any student or any student’s performance (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(4)); 
  • Records recorded in or compiled exclusively for use in closed meetings of the Board of Visitors (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(5)); 
  • Vendor proprietary information (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(6)); 
  • Computer software developed for 51ºÚÁÏ (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(7)); 
  • Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.1(12)); 
  • Information that describes the design, function, operation, or access control features of 51ºÚÁÏ security systems (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.2(2)); 
  • Scholastic records containing information concerning identifiable individuals, except that such access shall not be denied to the person who is the subject of that information (Va. Code § 2.2‑3705.4(A)(1) and § 2.2‑3705.4(B)); 
  • Data, records or information of a proprietary nature produced or collected by or for faculty or staff of the University in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on scientific, technical or scholarly issues, where such data, records or information has not been publicly released, published, copyrighted or patented (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.4(A)(4)); 
  • Individual health records (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.5(1)) 
  • Working papers of the President of the University (Va. Code § 2.2-3705.7(2)). 

Please note that this list is not an exhaustive list of exemptions that 51ºÚÁÏ may exercise in response to requests for records.