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Access to Information, Higher Education, and Reputational Risk: Insights from a Case Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2019

Patrick Lamoureux Open the ORCID record for Patrick Lamoureux [Opens in a new window]
Patrick Lamoureux*
Affiliation:
Department of Criminology University of Ottawaplamo040@uottawa.ca
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Abstract

Access to information and freedom of information (ATI/FOI) requests are an increasingly utilized means of generating data in the social sciences. An impressive multi-disciplinary and international literature has emerged which mobilizes ATI/FOI requests in research on policing, national security, and imprisonment. Absent from this growing literature is work which deploys ATI/FOI requests in research on higher education institutions (HEIs). In this article I examine the use of ATI/FOI requests as a methodological tool for producing data on HEIs. I highlight the data-generating opportunities that this tool offers higher education researchers and provide a first-hand account of how ATI/FOI requests can be mobilized in higher education research. I argue that despite the value of ATI/FOI requests for producing data on academic institutions, the information management practices of HEIs limit the effectiveness of ATI/FOI in ways that I detail drawing on my experience using information requests to scrutinize the quality assurance of undergraduate degree programs in Ontario. I suggest that in an age of rankings and league tables HEIs are likely to prioritize the protection of their reputation over the right of access. In conclusion I consider the implications of the article’s findings for higher education researchers and ATI/FOI users.

Résumé

Les demandes d’accès à l’information et concernant la liberté d’information (AI/LI) constituent un moyen de plus en plus utilisé afin de générer des données en sciences sociales. Une impressionnante littérature multidisciplinaire et internationale mobilisant les demandes d’AI/LI dans la recherche sur le maintien de l’ordre, la sécurité nationale et l’emprisonnement a émergé dans les récentes années. Cette littérature en croissance est toutefois lacunaire sur le plan des travaux qui utilisent les demandes d’AI/LI dans la recherche sur les établissements d’enseignement supérieur (EES). Dans cet article, j’examine l’utilisation des demandes d’AI/LI comme outil méthodologique permettant de produire des données sur les EES. Je souligne les possibilités de production de données qu’offre cet outil aux chercheurs de l’enseignement supérieur, et je donne un compte rendu personnel de la manière dont les demandes d’AI/LI peuvent être mobilisées dans la recherche au sein des EES. Je soutiens que, malgré la valeur des demandes AI/LI dans la production de données sur les établissements universitaires, les pratiques de gestion de l’information des EES limitent l’efficacité des AI/LI de certaines manières. J’utilise mon expérience en matière de demandes de renseignements pour examiner l’assurance qualité des programmes universitaires de premier cycle en Ontario. Je suggère qu’à l’ère des palmarès et des tableaux de classement, les EES sont susceptibles de donner la priorité à la protection de leur réputation plutôt qu’au droit d’accès. En conclusion, j’examine les implications des résultats de l’article pour les chercheurs de l’enseignement supérieur et les utilisateurs de l’AI/LI.

Keywords

access to informationfreedom of informationhigher educationresearch methodsreputational riskaccès à l’informationliberté de l’informationenseignement supérieurméthodes de rechercherisque pour la réputation
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , December 2019 , pp. 479 - 495
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Law and Society Association / Association Canadienne Droit et Société 2019 

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