Public Information Policy

Policy Number
5.13
Signature
Board of Trustees
Date Approved
Effective Date
Responsible Division
Office of the President
Citation
N.C. Gen. Stat. §132-1 and FERPA

The President of Carteret Community College shall establish procedures for all information and events which are to be presented to the news media and general public, and shall designate a person or persons to be responsible for the preparation and dissemination of such materials.  The College publishes its procedure for access to public information on its website and in its College Catalog & Student Handbook.

Procedure
  1. All information concerning Carteret Community College to be released to the news media or the general public should be cleared through the Office of the President or the Director of Marketing & Public Information prior to release of the information.
  2. The Director of Marketing & Public Information is responsible for the preparation and release of news articles to the news media. College personnel desiring the release of information concerning College-related activities or who desire to have feature stories written should submit a request to the Director of Marketing & Public Information.
  3. Requests for Release of Public Information about Employees of Carteret Community College:  The following information regarding Carteret Community College employees may be released to the public without the consent of the employee:
    1. Name
    2. Age
    3. Date of original employment or appointment
    4. Current position title
    5. Terms of any contract
    6. Date and amount of each increase/decrease in salary
    7. Date and type of each promotion/demotion/transfer/suspension/ separation or other change in position
    8. Date and description of the reasons for each promotion
    9. Date of type of dismissal, suspension, or demotion for disciplinary reasons by the College. A copy of the written final decision of the Board (if the Board has been required to take action due to an appeal) setting forth specific acts or omissions that are the basis of the dismissal.
  4. All public records requests must be made in writing and specifically list the public records to be inspected. Requests should be specific as to exactly what documents are being requested. All personnel records requests should be forwarded to the Human Resources Director. The Human Resources Director may ask the requestor for more specificity if necessary, but may not use requests for more specificity as an impediment to the individual’s request for public records. Furthermore, the records should be provided to the requestor as promptly as possible. The Human Resources Director is not required to produce public records in any form other than one in which they were originally created.
  5. A person requesting to view public records may do so under reasonable supervision. No inspection fee may be charged and no files may be removed from the custody of the Human Resources Director except by the following persons:
    1. The President either for his/her review or on behalf of the Board of Trustees in conjunction with formal personnel actions
    2. A party by authority of court of proper jurisdiction
    3. Members of the General Assembly by authority of N.C. Gen. Stat. §120-19
  6. A requestor has a right to a copy of the public records in a personnel file charged at the current external rate. If a request is extraordinary and voluminous and calls for extensive use or time and equipment, the College may charge the requestor for the equipment use and employee’s time.
  7. For information regarding the release of student records or student “directory information,” refer to the College Catalog & Student Handbook: Confidentiality of Student Records.