REQUESTS TO INSPECT A PUBLIC RECORD

Requests to inspect a public record will be addressed to the appropriate records custodian. The records custodian list can be accessed by clicking here or in the navigation bar drop down. Requests may be made orally or in writing, including email, and should identify the:

• Name, address, and telephone number of the requestor.
• Records sought with reasonable particularity.

Must immediately forward incorrectly routed requests to the University General Counsel via email to gencounsel@nmsu.edu when a request is not sent to the appropriate Records Custodian.

RECORDS CUSTODIAN

Records Custodians are designated within a unit or college. If no Records Custodian is clearly designated for a specific requested record, one will be designated by the University General Counsel office. When a request is not sent to the appropriate Records Custodian, the request must immediately be forwarded to University General Counsel (the recipient of the request is not the appropriately designated Records Custodian).

In accordance with state law, the Records Custodian:

• May ask for clarification regarding the records sought.
• May not ask the requestor the reason they wish to review a record.
• May not delay responding to, nor deny a records request, without consulting with the University General Counsel office. 

REQUESTS RESPONSE

Responses to requests will be made in the same medium as the request (e.g., email requests are to be responded to via email).  Records Custodian must satisfy an inspection of records request by making records available within the required time period and with required notification as follows. 

1. Within three (3) business days of receipt of a request.

2. Within fifteen (15) calendar days from the receipt of the request, if notice is provided in the form of a letter to the requestor explaining when the records will be made available for inspection or when the Records Custodian will respond further.

3.  More than fifteen (15) calendar days if determination by the Records Custodian is that the request is excessively burdensome or broad and will take more than fifteen (15) days from receipt of the request to satisfy.  The requestor is given written notice within the 15-calendar day period, that additional time will be needed.

INSPECTION OF RECORDS

Original records may be inspected on site only, subject to reasonable conditions imposed by the Records Custodian to protect the integrity of the original records, and to prevent disruption of normal operations. If the public record is:

1. Available in electronic format and the requestor specifically requested an electronic copy, the Records Custodian will provide the public record in electronic format.
2. Contained in an information systems database, the university must provide the information sought, pursuant to NMSA 1978 §14-3-15.1, for a reasonable fee. 

Reminder: The university is not obliged to compile information, nor create a new record that it does not maintain.

FEES

A requestor may be required to pay a reasonable fee, in advance, for copying costs of no more than $1.00 per page, or in case of electronic copies the actual cost of downloading the copies and the cost of the electronic storage device. The university may also charge the actual cost transmittal (mail, fax, etc.).

EXEMPT and CONFIDENTIAL DATA 

1. NMSU will protect from disclosure information exempt under IPRA or other laws or recognized privileges. Two federal laws that may prohibit the disclosure of university records are the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
2. The Records Custodian must separate public from private/confidential information prior to allowing any public inspection and must redact confidential material and any metadata that is susceptible to subsequent electronic/computerized recovery.