EAB financial aid optimization documents

Dear Todd Feathers:

We received your public information request for Texas A&M University.  Your request was given the reference number F002878-120721 for tracking purposes.  Please refer to this number when making inquiries about your request.

You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed.

Thank you for your interest in Texas A&M University.

--- Please respond above this line ---
12/15/2021
RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of December 07, 2021, Reference # F002878-120721
Dear Todd Feathers,
Texas A&M University received a public information request from you on December 07, 2021.  Your request mentioned:
"To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) All financial aid descriptive analyses performed by EAB and provided to the university as described on page 46 of the attached contract for EAB's financial aid optimization services.

2) All aggregated data analysis reports or documents provided to the university by EAB as described on page 49 of the attached contract.

3) Documentation of the financial aid optimization statistical model built for the university by EAB, described on page 46 of the attached contract. This should include any documents describing the variables incorporated into the model(s) and how those variables are weighted, the model(s)' accuracy metrics (such as AUC), the model(s)' parameters, the machine learning techniques employed, and any validation or disparate impact analyses performed.

4) A de-identified copy of the admissions and financial aid data the university provided to EAB in order for EAB to design its financial aid optimization model, as described on page 46 of the attached contract. Please note, I am not asking for any personally identifiable information about students. Rather, I'm asking for a copy of the dataset that excludes identifiable information such as student names and street addresses. This can easily be done by removing those columns from the spreadsheet.

I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest. 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 it, 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 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Todd Feathers

Attachments:

https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/tosfeathers/102912/Financial_aid_optimization_scope_of_services.pdf
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
However, we are in need of clarification on your request.  Please send us the attachment you are referring to in your request.

As provided by section 552.222(d) of the Texas Public Information Act, your request will be considered withdrawn if we do not receive a response from you by the 61st day after the date of this request for clarification/narrowing.
Thank you, Wendy Ramirez Open Records Office

--- Please respond above this line ---

02/28/2022
RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST, Reference # F002878-120721
Dear Todd Feathers,
Texas A&M University received a public information request from you.  Your request mentioned:
"To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) All financial aid descriptive analyses performed by EAB and provided to the university as described on page 46 of the attached contract for EAB's financial aid optimization services.

2) All aggregated data analysis reports or documents provided to the university by EAB as described on page 49 of the attached contract.

3) Documentation of the financial aid optimization statistical model built for the university by EAB, described on page 46 of the attached contract. This should include any documents describing the variables incorporated into the model(s) and how those variables are weighted, the model(s)' accuracy metrics (such as AUC), the model(s)' parameters, the machine learning techniques employed, and any validation or disparate impact analyses performed.

4) A de-identified copy of the admissions and financial aid data the university provided to EAB in order for EAB to design its financial aid optimization model, as described on page 46 of the attached contract. Please note, I am not asking for any personally identifiable information about students. Rather, I'm asking for a copy of the dataset that excludes identifiable information such as student names and street addresses. This can easily be done by removing those columns from the spreadsheet.

I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest. 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 it, 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.
There are no responsive records to your request.
Sincerely,
Tricia Bledsoe
Open Records Office
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the Public Records Center. (https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=nZGH0ylxadMp5hTpNkeAFtrg47L2ofMUYs8OodamNpS1EdZjb9-2FzP2oXYxRh8lNZeofpT-2BB6IrkfKCl9cQBTDpq3c6cPKtzv-2Fa3r220v8KwxbfgpLM512ug1SqGXs9ZDmHV0_k3mV1gPeKqigpXwVLcPjcDgIlx0caSAEjjmK2rHjVq0S-2FMtUXPMxPLqnC8iVBBLd1FNq86kJHxMM2iahY-2Bt1zB-2B89DnOPpRyD7UOX3LHDMGl2HPAcmu-2BIMo08CSctxeIpEaNvUTdFireY5eFitr3VLuq6t8Sda2xcI6lcf2Nh8d5wylkqwE0zcxzpisNQM45ZLNU8THx65Jb7zE0q5GtLw9OUEr-2FeXvWZWEjIoOTQzhIx1ElQrKCphI02pwjcoZu4kwSww7mGvkxTAUlOUX7Cboav7lZr7Kb1vISoVhOg8sWRAz1VEHR8CtRYyxHBQO-2BBR-2BrANkWPh1qg-2BtRgyLEuQ31HNOGJT49XG4iTSzpHOtzP5LF8pNV39bG2x6Qsz-2Bs)