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Dear Mr. Feathers:
Thank you for submitting your request for government records of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), NJSA 47:1 et seq. Your request was received through the online, public portal Rutgers University Open Public Records Center of this office on 8/16/2023 and given the reference number R008227-081623.

Your request will be forwarded to the Office of the Custodian of Records for review and processing, including determining the volume of responsive documents and any potential costs associated with satisfying your request. Please note, the N.J. Open Public Records Act does not require the University to create new documents, to conduct research, or to answer questions for information.

Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) All active contracts, statements of work, data sharing agreements, or other agreements between the university and Anthology regarding the Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight products.

2) All policies, manuals, and other instructional material provided to university staff regarding the proper use of Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight predictive models.

3) The data dictionary (sometimes called a data library) for the university's Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight systems. A data dictionary lists and defines the fields in a database, it does not contain the actual data.

4) Records documenting the following information about each Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight predictive model the university uses:

a) The purpose of the model (e.g., the audience is built for and the prediction it is making)
b) The input variables, thresholds, and weights.
c) The accuracy (including measures such as AUC, true vs. false positives, specificity, etc.)
d) The results of any validation or disparate impact tests.

Please note that I am not requesting any student data, but rather records describing the district's predictive models.

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 about the operations of a government agency. If you choose to impose fees, I ask that you provide an explanation of the fees.

If you choose to reject this request or redact portions of responsive documents, I ask that you cite the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each portion 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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
The Office of the Custodian of Records uses the Rutgers University Open Public Records Center to communicate with you, respond to and track all open public records requests.  If you have submitted your request electronically through Rutgers Open Public Records Center portal, you have already been required to create an account.

Notice to First Time Portal Users:
If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the public portal, you are receiving this request because the Rutgers Office of the Custodian has created an account for you at the Rutgers University Open Public Records Center .
To access your account and view your request:

1.Go to: 2. Select/open  "My Records Center" Rutgers University Open Public Records Center.
3. Enter your email and password as provided in your previously received Welcome Letter.

You can monitor your request through the Rutgers University Open Public Records Center at "My Request Center."
Thank you and if you have questions, you  may contact the OPRA Administrator at (973) 972-1981.

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
University Custodian of Records
Office of Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics and Compliance
65 Bergen Street, Ste. 1346
Newark, New Jersey 07101-1709
Phone: (973) 972-1981
Fax: (973) 972-2396

--- Please respond above this line ---

Reference: Rutgers Open Public Records Request, #R008227-081623
Dear Mr. Feathers,
Please accept this letter as the University Custodian of Records response to your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”). On August 16, 2023, this office received your request for the following:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) All active contracts, statements of work, data sharing agreements, or other agreements between the university and Anthology regarding the Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight products.

2) All policies, manuals, and other instructional material provided to university staff regarding the proper use of Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight predictive models.

3) The data dictionary (sometimes called a data library) for the university's Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight systems. A data dictionary lists and defines the fields in a database, it does not contain the actual data.

4) Records documenting the following information about each Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight predictive model the university uses:

a) The purpose of the model (e.g., the audience is built for and the prediction it is making)
b) The input variables, thresholds, and weights.
c) The accuracy (including measures such as AUC, true vs. false positives, specificity, etc.)
d) The results of any validation or disparate impact tests.

Please note that I am not requesting any student data, but rather records describing the district's predictive models.

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 about the operations of a government agency. If you choose to impose fees, I ask that you provide an explanation of the fees.

If you choose to reject this request or redact portions of responsive documents, I ask that you cite the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each portion 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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
This request is unclear and potentially overly broad. This letter seeks to clarify what documents you are seeking from the University.
We have been able to identify that the University has contracted with Anthology Inc. for at least ten years over several of our campuses. It would require significant effort to identify every single contract and renewal over that time period. Therefore we ask that you narrow your request to a specific time period.
In addition, although we have found contracts which reference Campus Labs, we have not found any reference to the products you referenced (Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight). Please confirm whether you want to receive all contracts or only contracts with those specific products.
In order for our office to process the request, please provide a response to the above clarification. If we do not receive a clarification within seven (7) business days, we will consider this request withdrawn and closed.
You may contact the Office of the Custodian of Records through your account under "My Request Center" at the Rutgers Open Public Records Center, phone, or via the regular mail to: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University Custodian of Records, University Ethics and Compliance, 335 George Street, Suite 2100, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
If you have any questions, please contact my office at 973.972.1981.
Sincerely,
Casey Woods
Director of Ethics and Public Records
University Ethics and Compliance
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
973.972.1887

--- Please respond above this line ---

Reference: Rutgers Open Public Records Request # R008227-081623
Dear Mr. Feathers,
Please accept this letter as the University Custodian of Records response to your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”). On August 16, 2023, this office received your request for the following:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) All active contracts, statements of work, data sharing agreements, or other agreements between the university and Anthology regarding the Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight products.

2) All policies, manuals, and other instructional material provided to university staff regarding the proper use of Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight predictive models.

3) The data dictionary (sometimes called a data library) for the university's Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight systems. A data dictionary lists and defines the fields in a database, it does not contain the actual data.

4) Records documenting the following information about each Anthology Reach, Intelligent Experiences, Beacon, and/or Occupation Insight predictive model the university uses:

a) The purpose of the model (e.g., the audience is built for and the prediction it is making)
b) The input variables, thresholds, and weights.
c) The accuracy (including measures such as AUC, true vs. false positives, specificity, etc.)
d) The results of any validation or disparate impact tests.

Please note that I am not requesting any student data, but rather records describing the district's predictive models.

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 about the operations of a government agency. If you choose to impose fees, I ask that you provide an explanation of the fees.

If you choose to reject this request or redact portions of responsive documents, I ask that you cite the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each portion 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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Upon receiving your request, the undersigned sent you an email seeking clarification of your request.
As of this writing, you have failed to provide the requested clarification. Therefore, at this time we are withdrawing your request and considering it closed. Should you wish to resubmit your revised request please do so by contacting the Office of the Custodian of Records through the Rutgers Open Public Records Center website, or via the regular mail to: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University Custodian of Records, University Ethics and Compliance, 335 George Street, Suite 2100, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
If you have any questions, please contact my office at 973.972.1981.
Sincerely,
Casey Woods
Director of Ethics and Public Records
University Ethics and Compliance
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
973.972.1887