UMass Boston

• Only existing identifiable records are public records.
• The law does not require the creation of new records to respond to a public records request.

Email your request to publicrecords@umb.edu or send by regular mail to:
UMass Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393

Your public records request should include the following information:

• Contact information: your name, mailing address, and telephone number. Feel free to include any other information you may feel to be useful, such as your email, fax, or cell phone number.
• A description of the specific records being requested. The request must be specific enough for the university to be able to identify the records being requested.
• If the request is not clear, the university may request clarification.
• If the requester fails to clarify, the university need not continue processing the request.

The university may charge up to $25 per hour – after the first four hours – for the compiling of records in response to a request.

Within 10 days of receiving your request, the university will respond in writing and include the following:

• Confirmation of receipt of the request.
• Identification of any record that is not held or maintained by the university.
• Identification of the agency or municipality that may hold those records sought, if known.
• Identification of any known records that the university intends to withhold, citing the law's specific exemptions.
• Identification of the records the university intends to produce.
• If the records cannot be produced within 10 days, a detailed statement explaining why.
• If applicable, suggestions of reasonable modifications of the scope of the request to reduce the time and cost to produce the records.
• An itemized, good-faith estimate of any fees that may be charged.
• A statement informing the requestor of the right to appeal the response to the Supervisor of Public Records, and the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision.

The university will make every effort to provide the information requested. However, the law exempts certain records from disclosure. These exemptions can be found at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf.

Complex requests may require more than 10 days to compile and review. In such cases the university will ask the requestor for an extension. If the requestor does not agree, the university will file a request for an extension with the Supervisor of Public Records.

No, your public records request is not a confidential record. Your request is itself a public record. It can be requested by others and the office forwards public records requests to the departments holding records and to third parties who have an interest in the records you have requested.