ACC Newsroom

Open Records Information

Austin Community College is considered a “governmental body” and is subject to the Texas Public Information Act. The Act provides the public the right to access the College’s open records.

Charges for request

Charges for copies of public information are set by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission (TBPC). In general, if the number of copies in your request is less than 50 pages, the charge will be $0.10 per page; if the number of copies is more than 50 pages, the charge will be $0.10 per page plus personnel costs necessary to compile the documents, in addition to the postage.

In some instances requesting access to information may also result in a charge.

If the charge for fulfilling your requests exceeds $40.00, we will provide you with an itemized written estimate of the charges and indicate if a less costly alternative is available. You must respond in writing within 10 days after the estimate is sent that you will accept the costs, or that you desire any stated alternative, or your request will be considered withdrawn.

If the estimated charge is more than $100.00, the College may ask for a prepaid deposit before providing the information.

You may ask the College to determine whether providing the information primarily benefits the general public, resulting in a waiver or reduction of charges.

How to access ACC’s public information

All requests must be written and should be emailed, faxed, or mailed to:

Dean Jones
Sr. Communications Coordinator
Tel: 512.223.7596 Fax: 512.223.7833
djones1@austincc.edu

Including the following information in your written request will help ensure you receive the information you want:

  • Name and mailing address
  • Phone number and email address
  • A list or description of the information you want – be specific
  • Specification of whether you want access to or copies of the information

Click here to view a sample written request for public information

Non-public information

Some of the information maintained by Austin Community College may not be considered public, such as the following:

  • student information/records;
  • medical information/records;
  • drivers license and motor vehicle information;
  • attorney-client communications;
  • attorney work product;
  • documents made confidential by statute;
  • documents claimed to be proprietary by a third party (trade secret information).

If you want to review or get copies of the non-public information listed above, it will be necessary for the College to request an Attorney General’s opinion about this information. The Attorney General’s office has about 12 weeks to make a decision on whether the information is public or not public.

What to do when you receive an open records request

If you receive an Open Records Request (ORR):

  • Immediately notify :
    Dean Jones
    Sr. Communications Coordinator
    Tel: 512.223.7596 Fax: 512.223.7833
    djones1@austincc.edu
  • Send copy of request to Mr. Jones (in the event Mr. Jones is out, ORRs can be sent to Dahlia Anzaldua at 223-7595, anzaldua@austincc.edu )

ORR PROCESS:

  • Upon receiving the ORR, the Public Information and College Marketing Office (PICM) assigns the request a tracking number. The number is used to track the progress of the request.
  • Once a request is assigned a number, PICM contacts the appropriate department to process the request (requests for personnel information are given to Human Resources, requests for student information are given to Admissions and Records, requests for bid tabulations are given to Purchasing, etc.)
  • Departments that receive ORRs from PICM must process the request IMMEDIATELY.
  • Completed requests must be delivered immediately upon completion to PICM, room 611.6, by hand-delivery, inter-office mail, email, or fax.
  • PICM will then apply any charges associated with processing the request and will notify requester that the ORR is complete and ready to be reviewed or retrieved.
  • In some instances it is necessary for the requester to show an identification and fill out a confidentiality form before PICM can release the information.
  • The information exchange is done through the office of PICM. Once exchange is complete, the ORR will be marked as “closed.”