Algoma University holds personal information about students, their families, staff and faculty, and others who use our campuses. Personal information we are in custody of is used, maintained, disclosed and disposed of in accordance with applicable legislation, university policies, agreements and best practices. Our privacy program is founded on principles of: 

• protecting the privacy of information we hold and providing individuals whose information we hold with a right of access, and correction, to that information;
• collecting personal information that is intended to be uses for the purposes of and directly related to operating our University’s programs and activities, or for public purposes as outlined in legislation; 
• giving notice to the individual prior to collecting their personal information and getting consent from the individual prior to disclosing their information, unless certain exceptions outlined in legislation apply.

The Privacy Office is available to you. If you have a privacy question or concern please contact the Privacy Office at [email protected].

For more information on our privacy policies please visit https://algomau.ca/policies

Requests for access to information in the custody or under the control of Algoma University may be made informally or formally. Most records are available through an informal process, although aligning with FIPPA, the University may not disclose records that contain personal information, third party personal information, confidential information or are subject to exemptions under legislation. 

Please refer to the instructions below and complete the required steps if you wish to make a request.

 

How to Request Access to Information

 

Submit an Informal Request 

Before submitting a formal request for access to information, contact us at [email protected] to determine if the records in response to your request exist and if they can be disclosed to you routinely through regular procedures. Contact us also if you are unsure of the records you seek. Most records are available through an informal process, although aligning with FIPPA sections 12 through 23, the University may not disclose records that contain personal information, third party personal information, confidential information or are subject to exemptions under legislation. 

 

Submit a formal Access to Information request 

If we cannot provide access to the record(s) informally, you may proceed with a written formal request.  A formal request must be made in writing, accompanied by a $5.00 application fee as outlined in the Fees for Access to Information. In line with section 24(1) of FIPPA, the written request must be clear and should identify specific record(s) or personal information to which you seek access. The specific dates or a time period for the record(s)/personal information being requested must also be identified. The scope of the request should be narrow, specific and provide sufficient detail to enable the University, with reasonable effort, to identify the record(s)/personal information sought. To begin the process or for help with formulating your request please contact Algoma University’s Privacy Office at [email protected].

If you wish to proceed with the formal request you must submit the Access to Information and Correction of Personal Information Request Form and pay the $5.00 application fee via cheque or money order, payable to Algoma University. 

 

Submit a request Access or Correct Your Own Personal Information 

Individuals have a right to request access and correct their own Personal Information. A request for accessing or correcting your own personal information must be formally made following the process outlined in Submit a Formal Access to Information Request along with a $5.00 application fee paid to Algoma University by cheque or money order.  

Under FIPPA, we are required to provide a decision on Formal Access to Information request within thirty (30) days. The time limit may be extended under reasonable circumstances as outlined in Section 27 & Section 28 of FIPPA. When your request is received, the University will first send you an acknowledgement letter and will notify you of any time extensions or fees that may apply. A clear, narrow and specific request will help the University to search, locate and retrieve the record(s)/personal information and answer your request quickly. 

Thereafter, within the appropriate time frame, the University will issue a Decision on Access letter to you outlining if the records will be provided or if they will be withheld entirely or will be redacted (eg. portions blacked-out) due to applicable exemptions. 

If records will be provided to you, they will be done so only when all fees are paid. If you requested ‘continued access’ to the record(s)/personal information and access is granted, the letter will indicate a schedule of dates when you can access the record(s)/personal information along with an explanation why the University chose these dates. 

If record(s)/personal information are withheld because they fall under exemptions outlined in section 12 through 23 of FIPPA, the University will explain in the decision letter the exemption details and reasons which it has applied to withhold the record(s)/personal information entirely or redact it (eg. portions blacked-out). 

Appealing a Formal Access to Information Request 

If you are not satisfied with any decision made by the University related to your formal access request, you have thirty days (30) from the date of the University’s decision letter to request a review by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (the “Commissioner”). 

There are fees payable to the Commissioner and process established by the Commissioner when filling a review request available here: https://www.ipc.on.ca/en/access-individuals/filing-an-appeal 

As specified in FIPPA regulation 460 (R.R.O. 1990, Regulation 460)

Persons making a request for access to information or correction of personal information are required by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) to pay fees for the activities required to process their request, as shown below. Payment should be made by cheque or money order, payable to ALGOMA UNIVERSITY, for the attention of the Privacy Office.

If you request access to information that is not your own personal information, the following fees apply: 

1. Application fee, $5.00;
2. Photocopies and computer printouts, $0.20 per page;
3. For records provided on CD-ROMs or other electronic media device* agreed upon with the Privacy Office, $10 for each CD-ROM or other electronic media device;
4. For manually searching a record, $7.50 for each 15 minutes ($30 per hour) spent by any person;
5. For preparing a record for disclosure, including severing part of a record, $7.50 for each 15 minutes ($30 per hour) spent by any person;
6. For developing a computer program or other method of producing a record from a machine-readable record, $15 for each 15 minutes ($60 per hour) spent by any person;
7. The costs – including computer costs – covered above that the University incurs in locating, retrieving, processing and copying the record(s) if those costs are specified in an invoice that Algoma University has received.

* For fee calculation purposes, “other electronic media device” includes analogous contemporary media such as CDs, DVDs, USBs etc. 

If you request access to your own personal information, you will have to pay the same fees outlined above, except for those related to manually searching and preparing records (items 3 and 4).

If you request a correction to your personal information, you’ll only need to pay a $5.00 application fee.

If the estimated fees for your request are $100.00 or more, the University will require a 50% deposit before continuing with your request.The University will give you enough information for you to decide whether or not to pay the deposit and have the University proceed with your request.

When your request for access to the records is approved, you will receive a notice with a detailed breakdown of the fees that apply to your request. Once you pay all the fees (or the remaining balance), the University will then disclose all releasable records to you. 

 

Waiver of Fees

The University may waive some or all fees related to a request if it is fair and equitable to do so. You, as the requestor, must demonstrate why it would be fair and equitable for the University to waive the fees. When requesting a waiver of fees, please note that the University will only consider the factors listed in subsection 57(4) of the FIPPA Act.