Public Information
The Texas Public Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552) gives you the right to access government records; the public information officer may not ask you why you want them. All government information is presumed to be available to the public, although certain exceptions may apply. Governmental bodies shall release requested information as promptly as possible, unless the information is exempt from disclosure under the Public Information Act.
Non-Public Information
Some of the information maintained by The University of Texas at Arlington may contain information that is not 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 UT Arlington to request an Attorney General's opinion about this information. This non-public information will not be available for review until after the Attorney General makes a decision about whether the information is public or not public. The Attorney General's office has 45 business days from the day after the Attorney General received the request to make a decision on whether the information is public or not public.
If part of the information you requested is considered public information, then you will be able to review or get copies of the public information, even if a request for an Attorney General's open records opinion is necessary regarding the non-public information. If public information and non-public information are both included in a single document, the document will be provided to you. However, the information believed to be non-public or exempt will be redacted (marked out) while the request for an Attorney General's opinion is pending.
If you are not seeking access to non-public or exempt information, you may simply state in your request that you do not want any information that is not considered public information by the Office of the Attorney General. If you indicate that you are only seeking information that the Office of the Attorney General considers public information, then it will not be necessary for UT Arlington to make a request for an opinion.
Fees for Records Request
The University uses the rates established by the Office of the Attorney General to determine charges for copies of public records. At the discretion of the staff member responding to a request, fees may be waived when there are a minimal number of responsive documents.
If the cost of the request is expected to exceed $40, a staff member will send an "estimate letter" to the requestor. The cost letter includes an itemized statement of any copying, personnel or mailing charges that will be incurred in fulfilling the request. Once the requestor confirms that he or she agrees to the estimated costs, a staff member will begin compiling the records. If a requestor does not respond to a cost letter within ten (10) days, the file will be closed.
Where estimated costs exceed $100, the requestor will be required to make a deposit before any records are copied. Typically, the deposit will be equal to the estimated cost of reproducing the requested records.
For more information regarding charges for Public Information, please preview Charges for Public Information on the Attorney General of Texas website.
Request for Public Information
Written requests for public information should be submitted to the Office of University Counsel in one of the following methods:
Per UT System policy, we cannot accept verbal requests for public information. All requests for public information must be in writing.
By Mail
Mr. Shelby BosemanUniversity AttorneyPublic Information701 S. Nedderman Dr.Arlington, TX 76019-0145By Electronic Mail
By Fax
(817) 272-0839 Attn: Shelby Boseman
By Hand Delivery
219 W. MainArlington, Texas 76019
Student transcripts cannot be released through the Public Information Office. You must instead contact UT Arlington's Registrar Office to obtain this information.
If you have questions, please contact Tiffany Gonzalez at (817) 272-9075