Student Predictive Analytics Services docs
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| Submitted | Sept. 5, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act, I hereby request records related to student predictive analytics services used by the university.
For the purpose of this request, the term "student predictive analytics services" means software or computer code that employ machine learning models to generate predictions about individual students or groups of students for one or more of the following purposes:
a) To generate predictions about which prospective student names/contact information to buy from vendors such as the College Board, ACT, Cappex, etc. for advertising and recruiting.
b) To generate predictions about prospective students' likelihood to apply to, be admitted to, and/or enroll at the university.
c) To generate predictions about prospective students' financial aid needs and/or likely response to different financial aid packages.
d) To generate predictions about enrolled students' likelihood of passing a class, re-enrolling for another term (retention), and/or graduation (these tools are often called early warning systems).
My request applies to student predictive analytics services used by the university during the 2022-23 academic year, including those developed in-house by the university or purchased by the university from a vendor.
I request:
1) All contracts and statements of work between the university and outside parties for student predictive analytics services that the university used during the 2022-23 academic year.
2) Records defining the input variables and their weights/relative power for each student predictive analytics service the university used during the 2022-23 academic year (In other words, records defining the data points fed into each predictive model and its respective impact on the model's output).
3) Records documenting the accuracy (AUC, true/false positive, specificity, lift, etc.) of each student predictive analytics service the university used during the 2022-23 academic year.
4) Any validation studies, disparate impact studies, or other records documenting the student predictive analytics services the university used during the 2022-23 academic year performed for different student groups (e.g. Black students vs. White students, male students vs. female students).
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, including the hourly wage of the lowest-paid employee capable of fulfilling the request.
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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From:
Mr. Feathers,
Please see attached regarding your RTK request.
Thank you
Mary Vezendy
Coordinator of Operations
RTK/Open Records Officer
Phone (570) 389-4116
mvezendy@commonwealthu.edu<mailto:mvezendy@commonwealthu.edu>
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From: Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Good morning Mr. Feathers
In regard to your email below inquiring about a response from Lock Haven University. Please take note that Bloomsburg University of PA, Lock Haven University of PA, and Mansfield University of PA have integrated and are now one university renamed Commonwealth University of PA with three campus locations.
Therefore, the attached extension with serve as the response for all three campuses.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me and/or our Right to Know Officer, Mary Vezendy.
Krisy
Krisy Meeker (she/her)
Asst to the Campus Administrator and Executive Team
Right to Know Coor. Lock Haven
President’s Office – Ulmer 317A
570-484-2576
kmeeker@commonwealthu.edu
[cid:image002.jpg@01D9E568.20022030]<http://www.lockhaven.edu/>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Pennsylvania Right to Know Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 5, 2023. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Oct. 12, 2023. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Good Afternoon Mr. Feathers,
Please see attached response to your RTK request.
Thank you.
Mary Vezendy
Director of Operations
RTK/Open Records Officer
Phone (570) 389-4116
mvezendy@commonwealthu.edu<mailto:mvezendy@commonwealthu.edu>
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