EAB financial aid optimization documents

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the The Missouri Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) All financial aid descriptive analyses performed by EAB and provided to the university as described on page 46 of the attached contract for EAB's financial aid optimization services.

2) All aggregated data analysis reports or documents provided to the university by EAB as described on page 49 of the attached contract.

3) Documentation of the financial aid optimization statistical model built for the university by EAB, described on page 46 of the attached contract. This should include any documents describing the variables incorporated into the model(s) and how those variables are weighted, the model(s)' accuracy metrics (such as AUC), the model(s)' parameters, the machine learning techniques employed, and any validation or disparate impact analyses performed.

4) A de-identified copy of the admissions and financial aid data the university provided to EAB in order for EAB to design its financial aid optimization model, as described on page 46 of the attached contract. Please note, I am not asking for any personally identifiable information about students. Rather, I'm asking for a copy of the dataset that excludes identifiable information such as student names and street addresses. This can easily be done by removing those columns from the spreadsheet.

I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest. In the event you choose to impose fees, I request a detailed breakdown of the fees, including the hourly wage of each employee involved and an explanation justifying the employee hours required to fulfill the request.

Should you choose to reject this request or redact portions of it, I ask that you provide a detailed breakdown of the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each/any portions from public review.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Hello,

Thank you very much for your quick response. To clarify: Does the university not have any documents because it has no contracts with EAB for financial aid optimization? This presentation from the MSU website suggests the university may have: https://www.missouristate.edu/assets/enrollmentmanagement/EAB_Higher_Education_Landscape_for_Missouri_State_02-21-20_DRAFT.pdf.

Appreciate the help!
Todd