Guidelines to Apply Fee Schedule to Access Requests
- Approver:
- Academic Coordinating Committee
- Policy Owner:
- Associate Vice President, Risk Management
- Policy Lead(s):
- Manager, Campus Safety
- Defining policy:
- Effective date:
- 2022-05-25
- Date of last approval:
- 2022-05-25
- Status:
- Approved
Purpose
The Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (Conestoga) is
committed to following Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FIPPA)
legislation as it applies fees for access requests.
Scope
These guidelines ensure consistent application of fees related to access requests for both
general records and personal information requests.
Definitions
Conestoga College maintains a glossary of terms specific to the institution. The ones in use for this document are defined below.
- Access Requests
- Requests for general information and personal information.
- Record (as defined by FIPPA)
- “record” means any record of information however recorded, whether in printed form, on film, by electronic means or otherwise, and includes,
- (a) correspondence, a memorandum, a book, a plan, a map, a drawing, a diagram, a pictorial or graphic work, a photograph, a film, a microfilm, a sound recording, a videotape, a machine-readable record, any other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, and any copy thereof, and
- (b) subject to the regulations, any record that is capable of being produced from a machine-readable record under the control of an institution by means of computer hardware and software or any other information storage equipment and technical expertise normally used by the institution; (“document”)
- Definition includes records that are not complete such working drafts, voicemail, etc
Guidelines
Overview of fees prior to preparing the documentation for an access to information request:
- All access to information requests require a $5.00 fee before processing shall commence.
- There is no fee to correct one’s own personal information.
- Where anticipated fees are in excess of $25.00, the requester will be provided with a fee estimate.
- Where anticipated fees exceed $100.00, Conestoga may require a 50% deposit before the request is processed.
- A requester may request a waiver of fees and must provide reasons supporting such a request. Any fee deposit that is paid and subsequently waived will be refunded to the requester.
- Conestoga will consider all waiver requests and will waive the payment of fees where required by law.
- Conestoga will not release any records until a fee has been paid or the issue of fees has been resolved (either by waiver or appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner).
- Any NSF cheque is charged $25.00.
Overview of fees incurred during the access to information request process:
| Activity | Description | General access to information request fee | Personal information request fee |
| Photocopies and computer printouts | | $.20 / page | $.20 / page |
| Records provided electronically | Costs incurred for USB, CD-ROM, or other physical means of providing the requested information electronically. | $10.00 / each USB / CD-ROM, etc. | $10.00 / each USB / CD-ROM, etc. |
| Manual records search time | Actions and time necessary to locate the
requested records. Does not include time spent coordinating the request. | $7.50 / 15 minutes | Not applicable |
| Records preparation time | Generally includes time spent scanning,
severing records, and running requisite
reports. Generally severing is estimated at two minutes per page for pages that require multiple severances. Does not include time spent deciding exemptions, determining records that require severing, removing paperclips and other adhesives, photocopying, transporting the records, or preparing the index of records. | $7.50 / 15 minutes | Not applicable |
| Computer costs | Most often includes developing a computer programme to produce a record | $15.00 / 15 minutes | $15.00 / 15 minutes |
| Shipping costs | Only fees incurred sending the requested
items to the requestor. Does not include registered mail fees. | To be determined | To be determined |
Relevant Legislation and Related Documents
Relevant legislation
Revision Log
Date | Details |
| 2022-05-04 | Academic Forum |
| 2022-05-25 | Academic Coordinating Committee |