RNL enrollment and financial aid models
It is a clone of this request.
Tracking # |
22-17 |
Submitted | March 9, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1) All contracts with Ruffalo, Noel, Levitz (RNL) since Jan. 1, 2018 for enrollment management and financial aid optimization services.
2) The following documents/reports provided to the university by RNL since Jan. 1, 2018:
- ForecastPlus model reports for the prospect model, inquiry model, and admit model . I have attached an example of one of these reports from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, for your reference.
- Historical Research & Competitor Benchmarking reports. RNL describes these documents as "a comprehensive investigation of undergraduate student enrollment behaviors related to their needs, academic credentials, population segments, and financial aid offers (approximately 100+ pages)."
- Econometric Modeling reports. RNL describes these models as "logistic regression models based on two or three years of historical information and the goal is to understand ... how student variables, such as household income, ZIP code, academic profile, etc. interact with one another, so we can predict how changes in some variables will affect the future course of others."
- Revenue Optimization & Simulation reports. RNL describes this service thusly: "this tool determines the appropriate amount of financial aid—down to the student level—and creates a series of optimized awarding parameters that can influence the recommended awarding structure."
3) De-identified copies of all enrollment and financial aid model datasets received from RNL for 2021-2022 school year applicants, containing:
- All non-identifiable variables for each applicant that the university supplies to RNL for the purpose of building and training its predictive models (i.e., GPAs, majors, test scores, etc.)
AND
- All output data fields (i.e., model scores, receptivity scores, lead categories, etc.) generated by RNL's predictive models for each applicant.
With regards to item 4 of my request, please note that I am asking for a de-identified data set that does not include fields that could be used to identify an individual applicant (e.g., name, address, SSN). These fields can easily be redacted by deleting those columns from the responsive spreadsheet.
I ask that all fees be waived as intend to use the requested records to further public understanding of public agencies and not for any commercial purpose. 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 responsive documents, 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: James Madison University
James Madison University
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Your first James Madison University record request (request number #22-17) has been submitted.
It is currently unpublished and is not available for the general public to view.
Request #22-17.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at James Madison University.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
From: James Madison University
James Madison University
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #22-17:
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act, § 2.2-3704, provides that only citizens of Virginia or newspapers, magazines, radio or television stations that circulate or broadcast in the commonwealth are entitled to inspect public records held by Virginia’s public agencies. In order to proceed with your request, we require you to submit to us your primary residential address in Virginia or proof of physical circulation or broadcast in Virginia.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at James Madison University.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
From: James Madison University
James Madison University
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Documents have been released to you for record request #22-17:
* FIOA_UCPJMU4648_CONTRACT.pdf
* FIOA_UCPJMU4648_CONTRACT.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After April 24, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at James Madison University.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
From: James Madison University
James Madison University
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Record request #22-17 has been closed. The closure reason supplied was:
All records have been released, and your request has been fulfilled.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at James Madison University.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
From: Todd Feathers
Hello, thank you very much for your response.
I see contracts responsive to item 1 of my request, but not to items 2 or 3.
I do not consider this request closed. Could you please confirm that you are processing the remaining portions of my request.
Thank you,
Todd
From: James Madison University
James Madison University
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #22-17:
Mr. Nash,
Thank you for your patience with me as I work through your FOIA request.
For items #2 and #3 of your request, we do not have any documents that are responsive to your request, as these services are not utilized by the university.
Please don’t hesitate to call or email with any follow-up questions.
Thank you,
Clay
JMU FOIA Officer
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at James Madison University.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
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