FAQs
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The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) is Utah’s open records law and is analogous to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Through GRAMA, the public may request access to certain records maintained by the University.
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Any person can submit a request for records using either the Public Records Center or following the process outlined in the University’s administrative rule governing GRAMA procedures, Rule 805-2 of the Utah Administrative Code. However, for some types of records, other existing processes for obtaining records may be more efficient than submitting a request under GRAMA.
If you are a student seeking your own academic records, please follow the process outlined here.
If you are an employee seeking your own employment records, please contact your supervisor or Human Resources at (801) 581-2169. For employees of University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics, please contact Human Resources at (801) 581-6500.
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To submit a request under GRAMA, please visit the University of Utah Public Records Center. Alternatively, you may follow the process outlined in the University’s administrative rule governing GRAMA procedures, Rule 805-2 of the Utah Administrative Code.
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A person making a request for a record shall submit a written request containing their name, mailing address, email address if submitted through the University’s records portal, and daytime phone number. The request should also contain a description of the record requested that identifies the record with reasonable specificity. See id. 63G-2-204.
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University records are presumed to be “public” unless the University determines the records are classified under GRAMA as “private,” “protected,” or “controlled.”
Common examples of non-public information include:
- Information relating to an individual such as health information, private financial information, academic records, and certain employee information (e.g. home contact information, performance evaluations, social security number, and payroll deductions);
- Records relating to ongoing investigations, litigation, disciplinary actions, and procurement proceedings;
- Trade secrets, patents, copyrighted material, and other proprietary information of the University or provided to the University by a third-party that has claimed that such records are confidential; and
- Unpublished lecture notes, manuscripts, research data and information, as well as creative works in process and scholarly correspondence.
Further, records may be non-public because of other federal or state laws such as FERPA (a federal law governing student records) or HIPAA (a federal law governing health information). GRAMA generally defers to such laws.
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The University generally has ten business days to respond to requests for government records. See Utah Code § 63G-2-204(4). However, GRAMA permits the University to extend the timeframe for responding to requests for a number of reasons. Utah Code 63G-2-204(6).
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Under GRAMA, the University is only required to provide records already in existence. The University is not required to create a record, provide or compile information, or provide a record in a format other than the format normally maintained by the University.
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If you submitted your request via the Public Records Center, you can check the status of your request by logging into your account .
If you submitted your written request as otherwise provided under the University’s administrative rule governing GRAMA procedures, Rule 805-20 of the Utah Administrative Code, you can expect a response from the University within the timeframe required by GRAMA.
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No, only one request should be submitted.