Public Record Requests

Campus Coordinator
Janice Plemons
Risk Management & Safety
333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road
Craven 4700
San Marcos, CA 92096-0001
Ph: 760/750-4502
Fax: 760/750-3396
jplemons@csusm.edu

Public Record Requests

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) provides that members of the general public may request a state agency to disclose its public records. California State University, as a public agency, has a legal obligation to respond within ten (10) days of receipt of the request.

Risk Management and Safety (RMS) has been designated by the President as the office responsible for public records requests on the campus. Employees who receive a request for public records, written or otherwise, are to immediately forward the request to RMS.

Access to CSU Records

Many records of the California State University are available for public inspection under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code section 6250 et seq.).

Requests for inspection or copying of public records:

  • Must be specific and focused. Where a request is not specific or focused, the CSU will assist in identifying available records.

  • May not interfere with the business operations of the university. Records that are reasonably required by CSU personnel in the performance of their duties may not be available for inspection at certain times.
  • Can be oral or in writing. For purposes of clarity, the CSU encourages written requests.

Certain records are exempt from public disclosure under the California Public Records Act (See e.g., Gov. Code section 6254 et seq.). CSU may redact purely personal and private information from public records. The Public Records Act also does not require CSU to create documents that do not already exist.

Upon receipt of a Public Records Act request, CSU will conduct a reasonable search for the requested records within a reasonable period of time. The records will be made available for inspection during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Records may not be destroyed, altered, or removed from CSU. CSU may have university personnel present during an inspection to safeguard the records. Upon request, copies of the records can be made available for payment in advance in the amount of 20 cents per page. This charge applies irrespective of whether the copies are requested in hard or electronic copy.

For more detailed information regarding the Public Records Act, refer to the Office of General Counsel at: http://www.calstate.edu/GC/access_csu_records.shtml or see CSU's Records Access Manual.

Campus Policy & Procedure
http://www.csusm.edu/policies/active/documents/public_records_access.html