(1) Hours for inspection of records. Public records are available for inspection and copying during normal business hours of the Washington higher education coordinating board, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding legal holidays. Records must be inspected at the offices of the Washington higher education coordinating board.
(2) Records index. An index of public records is available for use by members of the public, including final orders, declaratory orders, interpretive statements, and statements of policy issued after June 30, 1990.
The volume of records maintained by the Washington higher education coordinating board is such that it would be unduly burdensome to develop and maintain an index for all such records. In lieu of an index the following filing system is utilized:
(a) Resolutions by the board are filed by resolution number by year.
(b) The following records are filed by the name of the academic institution:
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| • | Complaints filed by persons claiming loss of tuition or fees as a result of an unfair business practice; |
| • | Records regarding the issuance or denial of authorization for an academic institution to issue one or more degrees, or the waiver or exemption of any requirement of authorization; |
| • | Records regarding the approval or denial of a degree program for an academic institution; |
| • | Records regarding program approval for the use of G.I. Bill benefits; |
| • | Records regarding the approval or denial of an academic institution to participate in the state need grant program. |
(3) Organization of records. The Washington higher education coordinating board will maintain its records in a reasonably organized manner. The Washington higher education coordinating board will take reasonable actions to protect records from damage and disorganization. A requestor shall not take records from Washington higher education coordinating board offices without the permission of the public records officer or designee. A variety of records is available on the Washington higher education coordinating board website at http://www.hecb.wa.gov/. Requestors are encouraged to view the documents available on the website prior to submitting a records request.
(4) Making a request for public records.
(a) Any person wishing to inspect or copy public records of the Washington higher education coordinating board should make the request in writing on the Washington higher education coordinating board's request form, or by letter, fax, or email addressed to the public records officer and including the following information:
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| • | Name of requestor; |
| • | Address of requestor; |
| • | Other contact information, including telephone number and any email address; |
| • | Identification of the public records adequate for the public records officer or designee to locate the records; and the date and time of day of the request. |
(b) If the requestor wishes to have copies of the records made instead of simply inspecting them, he or she should so indicate and make arrangements to pay for copies of the records or a deposit. Pursuant to section 7 of this rule, standard photocopies will be provided at 15 cents per page.
(c) A form is available for use by requestors at the office of the public records officer and online at http://www.hecb.wa.gov/.
(d) The public records officer or designee may accept requests for public records that contain the above information by telephone or in person. If the public records officer or designee accepts such a request, he or she will confirm receipt of the information and the substance of the request in writing.