B. Request for Information by Public Officials & Educational Institutions

Who Can Request Information?
The UIA may make confidential information it collects available to any of the following requestors:

• Public Official
• Eligible Educational Institutions
• Michigan Works! Agency
• An agency of this state that is acting as a contractor or agent of a public official that is conducting research that assists the public official in carrying out the duties of the office

Definitions:

• A Public Official (includes an eligible educational institution and a Michigan Works! Agency) means, in part, an official, agency, or public entity within the executive branch of Federal, State, or local government who has responsibility for administering or enforcing a law, or an elected official in the Federal, State, or local government. See 20 CFR §603.2 for additional information.
• Eligible Educational Institution means a public community or junior college established under section 7 of article VIII of the State Constitution of 1963 or part 25 of the Revised School Code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1601 to 380.1607, or a state university described in section 4, 5, or 6 of article VIII of the State Constitution of 1963.
• Michigan Works! Agency means an entity described in section 17(a) or (d) of the Michigan Works One-Stop Service Center System Act, 2006 PA 491, MCL 408.127.
• Independent Educational Institution means an independent nonprofit college or university located in this state.

Statutory Purposes for the Request:
The statute, MCL 420.11(1)(b)(viii), sets forth the following purposes for which a requestor, as identified above, must meet for a valid request to be evaluated:

• Research projects of a public service nature
• Course, program or training program planning, improvement, or evaluation
• Grant application or evaluation
• Institutional or program accreditation
• Economic development or workforce research
• Award eligibility
• Federal or state mandated reporting

Specifically, a request under this section will contain the following: (1) a complete statement as to the nature of the information requested; (2) the public service objective for which the request has been made; (3) the prospective use of the information, and the manner in which it will be made public. Mich. Admin. Code R. 421.10.

Before information can be released, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must be signed between the requestor and UIA. The MOU will describe the security requirements for the receipt, maintenance and destruction of UIA data. The duration of a MOU may be up to 3 years and renewable for an additional two years in one-year increments, upon
written approval of UIA. Any requestor and any person having access to UIA’s confidential information under the MOU
will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to obtaining access to UIA’s confidential information. A willful breach of the MOU may result in criminal penalties under MCL 421.54(f).