Carol Longoria

Carol Longoria is Open Records Coordinator at the University of Texas, Austin. Her position is in the Office of the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.^[1]

Regent records request

See also: Wallace Hall impeachment trial

After he was appointed in 2011, University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall began looking into what he believed to be clout scandals within the University of Texas system. Hall investigated the university's forgivable-loans program, admissions policies and preferential treatment to politically-connected individuals.^[2] Hall, as an individual citizen, filed FOIA requests with the University system after his inquiries via his role as a Regent were rebuffed.^[3] Hall filed requests of more than 800,000 pages, which some Texas administrators called an unnecessary burden. Hall has been accused of overstepping his authority in making demands on the University of Texas, Austin staff. Specifically, the allegations surround possible mishandling of private student information and providing inadequate information on his application to be a regent.^[4][5] Longoria said she was concerned about Hall's possible access to private data via the records requests. "I don’t think the requests were reasonable, but reasonable was just the tip of the iceberg for me," she said.^[6][7]

On August 5, 2013, Kevin Hegarty announced that the records requests from Hall would be canceled immediately.^[8] In August 2013, Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa recommended a "targeted compliance review" of how officials at the University of Texas, Austin were handling public record requests. In August 2013, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved two measures to reform problems that Hall had discovered in his investigations. The regents voted to enact a new policy regarding the relationship between universities and foundations. Additionally, the regents approved an audit into how officials respond to public information requests.^[9]

During a committee meeting on October 22, 2013, committee-member Charles Perry asserted that mishandling of student information should fall on the shoulders of the organization that is handing out the information -- in this case, Kevin Hegarty and his office as opposed to the individual who receives the documents. Hegarty disagreed with the statement.^[10]

In February 2015, an independent report by Kroll Associates, commissioned by the Regents Board, confirmed a "pattern of special treatment for well-connected applicants to UT." While the report did not show evidence of any quid pro quo, it did show that "extra acceptances were extended every year to accommodate special cases" and that the "President’s Office ordered applicants admitted over the objection of the Admissions Office." It added that "efforts were made to minimize paper trails and written lists" during the process." The Wall Street Journal wrote that the report should "should put an end" to the concerns over Hall's clout investigations.^[11]

See also

• University of Texas System Board of Regents
• Wallace Hall impeachment trial

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Open Records Website

Footnotes

	v • e State of Texas Austin (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy