Question

If a graduate student comes into a university sponsored research office charging that because of the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) he has the right to obtain a copy of the recently submitted proposal, the research administrator should tell the student to

Answer 1

The research administrator should advise the graduate student that research proposals may be exempt from FOIA requests, provide guidance on making an official request, and note that certain types of information might be shielded by exemptions.

Step-by-step explanation:

In response to a graduate student's request for a recently submitted proposal under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the research administrator should inform the student that universities and certain research proposals may not always be subject to FOIA requests. Often, university research proposals may be exempt from FOIA due to exceptions that protect trade secrets, commercial or financial information, sensitive personal data, or proprietary data.

To proceed, the student should be directed to the official FOIA request procedure of the university or the specific federal agency funding the research. They should also be made aware that some information might not be disclosed if it falls under the exemptions of FOIA, such as matters of national security, personnel privacy, law enforcement information, and other protected categories.