Publication Scheme

Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act came fully into force on 1 January 2005 and aims to promote greater openness and accountability across the public sector. It gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities (including universities), sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities.

What is a Publication Scheme?

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the University is required to maintain a publication scheme, which is a document outlining the information that the University routinely publishes or makes available, or intends to do so in the future. It is not a list of actual documents, but a guide to the different ‘classes’ or types of information the institution is committed to proactively make available.

The publication scheme is intended to assist the public in finding information held by the University and to reduce the need to make a formal request for information under the Act.

How the scheme is organised

The University has adopted the Information Commissioner’s Definition document for universities and other higher education institutions, which is organised into seven classes of information:

  1. Who we are and what we do
  2. What we spend and how we spend it
  3. What our priorities are and how we are doing
  4. How we make decisions
  5. Our policies and procedures
  6. Lists and Registers
  7. The services we offer

The University is committed to making information available to the public which falls within those classes. More details about each class are available in the Information Commissioner’s Definition Document for the Model Publication Scheme for universities.

We are also required to make available a ‘Guide to Information’, giving more specific details of the information routinely available under each of the seven classes, how the information can be accessed and, where appropriate, any charges made.

Information excluded from the scheme

Information available in the classes will not normally include:

  • information exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
  • information which is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or
  • information which would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare for routine release.

Alternative formats

Information will be published in both English and Welsh in accordance with the University’s Welsh Language scheme.

Should you require information in an alternative format or language, please contact the University Records Manager.

Charging

Much of the information is available free of charge on our website. In cases where it is impractical for us to make information available via the web, the University reserves the right to levy charges to cover photocopying, postage and packaging. Charges will only be made where the total cost exceeds £10, based on Information Services schedule of charges and postage at Royal Mail rates.

Other information

If you cannot find the information you are looking for via the publication scheme, you may wish to try the web search facility, available in the top right of the home page.

Information held by the University which is not published under this scheme can be requested in writing. Such requests will then be considered in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and the Data Protection Act. Please e-mail infogovernance@aber.ac.uk or see the FOI pages for further details.

Copyright

Almost all publications listed in this scheme are copyright of Aberystwyth University and reproduction of material supplied through the publication scheme or in response to a request for information without the express permission of the University (or copyright holder) may be an infringement of copyright.

Requests for permission to reproduce such material should be addressed to the University’s Copyright Manager. Copyright information in respect of items on the University's websites is given at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/terms-and-conditions/.