EAB financial aid optimization documents
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | Dec. 7, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, 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.
5) All other contract documents, including memorandums of understanding and statements of work, between the university and EAB regarding financial aid optimization services and/or enrollment optimization services.
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.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.
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
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Massachusetts Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Massachusetts Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Westfield State University
Dear Requestor:
Thank you for your request. This confirms receipt on Jan. 5. I will work to fulfill this request.
In the future, please submit Public Record Requests to
recordaccessofficer@westfield.ma.edu<mailto:recordaccessofficer@westfield.ma.edu>
Thank you.
Tricia
Tricia M. Oliver
Chief of Staff
Office of the President
Westfield State University
333 Western Avenue
Westfield, MA 01086
(413) 572-8575
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From: Westfield State University
Good Afternoon,
As requested, please find the attached documents in response to your public records request.
Should you have any questions, please contact recordaccessofficer@westfield.ma.edu<mailto:recordaccessofficer@westfield.ma.edu>.
Sincerely,
Michael Mazeika
Michael Mazeika, '07
Director of Admission
Westfield State University
PO Box 1630
Westfield, MA 01086
Phone: 413-572-8541
Fax: 413-579-3019
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His
From: Todd Feathers
Thank you very much for this, I appreciate your help with my request.
I don't see documents responsive to items 3, 4, or 5 of my request. Could you please provide those records or an estimated date for when they will be provided.
Todd
From: Westfield State University
Good Afternoon,
Please find the answers to your request below:
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.
The document labeled "draft" represents the most accurate representation of the documentation provided to the University by EAB. EAB's recommendation to the University was what order to award items, what scholarship monies to award, and the percentage of need to meet based on the financial aid budget. The statistical model was a proprietary model that was built by EAB and variables were not expressly shared by EAB. EAB analyzed the data that was sent to them and we received the model in return, which gave served as a guide for packaging students and awarding scholarships.
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.
The initial information uploaded to EAB is no longer available.
5) All other contract documents, including memorandums of understanding and statements of work, between the university and EAB regarding financial aid optimization services and/or enrollment optimization services.
Contract for Services with EAB is attached to this email.
Moving forward, please submit Public Record Requests to recordaccessofficer@westfield.ma.edu<mailto:recordaccessofficer@westfield.ma.edu>.
Sincerely,
Michael Mazeika
Michael Mazeika, '07
Director of Admission
Westfield State University
PO Box 1630
Westfield, MA 01086
Phone: 413-572-8541
Fax: 413-579-3019
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His
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