Further Breaking News for New York State Institutions: State Provides Clarification on Article 129-B Audit

July 7, 2017

By: Shelley Sanders Kehl, Monica C. Barrett, E. Katherine Hajjar, Philip J. Zaccheo, and Laura H. Harshbarger

On Friday, July 7, 2017, the Office of Campus Safety clarified its Notice of Audit, specifically stating that it is “not requesting submission of personally identifiable information of any individual” and emphasizing that colleges and universities should “not submit individual case records” in response to the audit.  The original Notice of Audit, dated June 26, 2017, and the July 7, 2017 email clarification can both be found here.

Although the most recent clarification mentions only requests 9 and 10, we have been advising our clients that responses to requests 4a and 6a may also be provided in summary form in light of the Office of Campus Safety’s notice that it is not requesting personally identifiable information.

We advise campuses to submit summary information wherever possible so as to avoid any inadvertent disclosure of personally identifiable information. For responses to requests 4a and 6a, however, if campuses find it easier to redact documents rather than develop a spreadsheet for the summary information, those documents should be carefully reviewed so that any information that might identify individuals, including dormitory names and room numbers, is omitted.

For our earlier analysis of the Notice of Audit, please see our postings here and here.

If you have questions please contact a member of our Higher Education Group.