Legal Information

Mission

The mission of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is to provide quality, relevant outreach and continuing educational programs and services to the people of Texas. Extension educates Texans in the areas of agriculture, environmental stewardship, youth and adult life skills, human capital and leadership, and community economic development. The agency improves the lives of Texans through an educational process that uses research-based knowledge focused on issues and needs.

Within the broad context of this mission, the agency will:

• Foster the improvement of agriculture and agribusiness.
• Improve the stewardship of the environment and Texas’ natural resources.
• Ensure a safe, nutritious food supply.
• Strengthen Texas families.
• Develop leadership skills and productive citizenship among youth and adults.
• Enhance economic security and financial responsibility among the people.
• Improve the quality of life in Texas families.

Vision

We envision our agency will become the premier 21st Century outreach and continuing education organization in Texas responding to the needs of the people.

Philosophy

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will carry out its mission with integrity, accountability, efficiency and responsiveness to the people of Texas. All employees of the agency dedicate themselves to excellence in education and subscribe to the following principles:

• The Extension education model will help people working together in a local process to identify issues and needs and involve them in planning, implementing, and evaluating educational programs to address those issues and needs.
• The agency will be a future-oriented, self-renewing, educational network and will ensure that all Texans have access to quality educational programs.
• The foundation for Extension education will continue to be research-based knowledge and technology discovery.
• The agency will retain its reputation for objectivity by continuing to have education as its primary mission.
• The agency values and promotes the principles of citizen and community involvement, scientifically based education, lifelong learning and volunteerism.
• The agency will emphasize preventive education as the primary approach for individual and community development.
• Texans will be asked to evaluate the educational programs of the agency based on relevance, quality and utility and the programs will be adapted accordingly.
• The agency will continue to emphasize the concept of “helping people to help themselves” by fostering knowledge for informed decision-making for self-improvement, individual action and community problem solving.

Contact Information

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is a statewide educational agency and a member of the Texas A&M University System. It is linked in a unique partnership with the nationwide Cooperative Extension System through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Texas county governments. County Extension offices are located in 250 of the 254 counties in Texas. Through coalition building, networking, and collaborative efforts with other public and private groups and organizations, the Extension Service continues to conduct educational programs aimed at helping Texans to make practical decisions that can improve their lives. Extension often serves as the catalyst to bring individuals and entities together in a forum to address critical issues and concerns.

For more information about the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, please call or write to:

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
The Texas A&M University System
7101 TAMU
College Station, Texas 77843-7101
Phone: 979.845.7907
Fax: 979.845.9542
E-Mail: [email protected]

Complaint Procedure

The Formal Written complaint process for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service provides an opportunity for any complaints concerning the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to be directed to:

Mr. William R. McConnell
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
The Texas A&M University System
7101 TAMU
College Station, Texas 77843-7101
Phone: 979.862.1524
Fax: 979.845.9542

Our policy states, “Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Customer Service Representative, or designee, will forward complaints to the appropriate Administrative Program Leader within 5 working days. Administrative Program Leaders provide administrative oversight to program units of the Extension Service. The Administrative Program Leaders are required to respond to each written complaint within 10 working days. If resolution is not possible within 10 working days, the written response to the complainant shall indicate when the Administrative Program Leader expects to provide a resolution.”

All other complaints or suggestions should be submitted to Administrative Program Leaders to be resolved through regular established methods. The written complaint rule is not intended to supplant the current processes that have been and will continue to be utilized as a means for the Extension Service to receive information and resolve issues. We thank you for visiting our Web site http://AgriLifeExtension.tamu.edu/ and sincerely hope the information we provide will be helpful.

Customer Satisfaction

People interested in educational services and programs related to agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, 4-H and youth development, volunteerism, and/or community economic development make up the target audiences of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. To determine the satisfaction of those individuals with the quality and content of educational services and programs, a statistical sampling of individuals on an annual basis are asked to complete a customer satisfaction survey. The survey consists of questions about the quality and relevance of the program in which they participated. Questions on the survey reflect five aspects of Extension events. These include logistics of the educational events, the information provided at the educational events, future actions as a result of the educational event, overall satisfaction of the educational events and demographic information. Results of surveys are reviewed by Administration and are shared with appropriate faculty and supervisors to ensure that we are providing the best customer service.

Director’s Office
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Texas A&M AgriLife of The Texas A&M University System
600 John Kimbrough Blvd., Suite 509
College Station, Texas 77843-7101
Phone: 979.845.7800
Fax: 979.845.9542
http://AgriLifeExtension.tamu.edu
E-Mail: [email protected]

Educational programs of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, Acts of Congress of May 8, 1914, as amended, and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, Rick Avery, Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, The Texas A&M University System

The Public Information Act

Texas Government Code, Chapter 522, gives you the right to access government records; and an officer for public information and the officer’s agent may not ask why you want them. All government information is presumed to be available to the public. Certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of the information. Governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information that is not confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, or information for which an exception to disclosure has been sought.

Rights of Requestors

You have the right to:

• Prompt access to information that is not confidential or otherwise protected;
• Receive treatment equal to all other requestors, including accommodation in accordance with Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements;
• Receive certain kinds of information without exceptions, like the voting record of public officials and other information;
• Receive a written itemized statement of estimated charges, when charges exceed will $40, in advance of work being started and opportunity to modify the request in response to the itemized statement;
• Choose whether to inspect the requested information (most often at no charge), receive copies of the information or both;
• A waiver or reduction of charges if the governmental body determines that access to the information primarily benefits the general public;
• Receive a copy of the communication from the governmental body asking the Office of the Attorney General for a ruling on whether the information can be withheld under one of the accepted exceptions, or if the communication discloses the requested information, a redacted copy;
• Lodge a written complaint about overcharges for public information with the General Services Commission. Complaints of other possible violations may be filed with the county or district attorney of the county where the governmental body, other than state agency is located. If the complaint is against the county or district attorney, the complaint must be filed with the Office of the Attorney General.

Responsibilities of Governmental Bodies

All governmental bodies responding to information requests have the responsibility to:

• Establish reasonable procedures for inspecting or copying public information and inform requestors of these procedures;
• Treat all requestors uniformly and shall give to the requestor all reasonable comfort and facility, including accommodation in accordance with ADA requirements;
• Be informed about open records laws and educate employees on the requirements of those laws;
• Inform requestors of the estimated charges greater than $40 and any changes in the estimates above 20 percent of the original estimate, and confirm that the requestor accepts the charges; or has amended the request, in writing before finalizing the request;
• Inform requestor if the information cannot be provided promptly and set a date and time to provide it within a reasonable time;
• Request a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding any information the governmental body wishes to withhold, and send a copy of the request for ruling, or redacted copy, to the requestor;
• Segregate public information from information that may be withheld and provide that public information promptly;
• Make a good faith attempt to inform third parties when their proprietary information is being requested from the governmental body;
• Respond in writing to all written communications from the General Services Commission regarding charges for the information. Respond to the Office of the Attorney General regarding complaints about violations of the Act.
• Procedures to Obtain Information
• Submit a request by mail, fax, email or in person according to a governmental body’s reasonable procedures.
• Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the governmental body to accurately identify and locate the information requested.
• Cooperate with the governmental body’s reasonable efforts to clarify the type or amount of information requested.

A. Information to be released

You may review it promptly, and if it cannot be produced within 10 working days the public information officer will notify you in writing of the reasonable date and time when it will be available.

Keep all appointments to inspect records and to pick up copies. Failure to keep appointments may result in losing the opportunity to inspect the information at the time requested.

Cost of Records

You must respond to any written estimate of charges within 10 days of the date the governmental body sent it or the request is considered to be automatically withdrawn.

If estimated costs exceed $100.00 (or $50.00 if a governmental body has fewer than 16 full time employees) the governmental body may require a bond, prepayment or deposit.

You may ask the governmental body to determine whether providing the information primarily benefits the general public, resulting in a waiver or reduction of charges.

Make a timely payment for all mutually agreed charges. A governmental body can demand payment of overdue balances exceeding $100.00, or obtain a security deposit, before processing additional requests from you.

B. Information that may be withheld due to an exception

By the 10th business day after a governmental body receives your written request, a governmental body must:

• request an Attorney General opinion and state which exceptions apply;
• notify the requestor of the referral to the Attorney General; and
• notify third parties if the request involves their proprietary information.

Failure to request an Attorney General opinion and to notify the requestor within 10 business days will result in a presumption that the information is open unless there is a compelling reason to withhold it.

Requestors may send a letter to the Attorney General arguing for release, and may review arguments made by the governmental body. If the arguments disclose the requested information, the requestor may obtain a redacted copy.

The Attorney General must render a decision no later than the 45th working day after the attorney general received the request for a decision.

Governmental bodies may not ask the Attorney General to “reconsider” an opinion.
Requests for public information under the Texas Public Information Act should be directed to: William R. McConnell

Assistant Agency Director for Compliance
Office of the Director, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
600 John Kimbrough Blvd., Suite 509
7101 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-7101
Phone: 979.862.1524
Fax: 979.845.9542
[email protected]

For complaints regarding failure to release public information please contact your local County or District Attorney.

You may also contact the Office of the Attorney General, Open Records Hotline, at 512.478.6736 or toll-free at 1.877.673.6839.

For complaints regarding overcharges, please contact the General Services Commission at 512.475.2497.

The web page you have been viewing was developed by a unit of the Texas A&M University System AgriLife. As such, it maintains this site as a public service. The following is the privacy policy for this site:

We do not use cookies to collect information. Note: A cookie file contains unique information a web site can use to track such things as passwords, lists of pages you’ve visited, and the date when you last looked at a specific page or to identify your session at a particular web site. A cookie is often used in commercial sites to identify the items selected for a specific shopping cart application.

If you send us an electronic mail message with a question or comment that contains personally identifying information, or fill out a form that emails us this information, we will only use the personally identifiable information to respond to your request and analyze trends. We may redirect your message to another government agency or person who is in a better position to answer your question.

For site management management functions, information is collected for analysis and statistical purposes. This information is not reported or used in any manner that would reveal personally identifiable information, and will not be released to any outside parties unless legally required to do so in connection with law enforcement investigations or other legal actions.

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your use of this Web site, please contact the Webmaster or through regular mail at:

Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications
Attention: Webmaster
1501 Texas Avenue South
College Station, TX 77840
[email protected]

We use log analysis tools to create summary statistics, which are used for purposes such as assessing what information is of most interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. The following information is collected for this analysis:

• User Client hostname – The hostname (or IP address if DNS is disabled) of the user/client requesting access.
• HTTP header, “user-agent” – The user-agent information includes the type of browser, its version, and the operating system it is running on.
• HTTP header, “referrer” – The referrer specifies the page from which the client accessed the current page.
• System date – The date and time of the user/client request.
• Full request – The exact request the user/client made.
• Status – The status code the server returned to the user/client.
• Content length – The content length, in bytes, of the document sent to the user/client.
• Method – The request methods used.
• Universal Resource Identifier (URI) – The location of a resource on the server.
• Query string of the URI – Anything after the question mark in a URI.
• Protocol – The transport protocol and version used.

Texas A&M University is committed to making information resources developed, maintained, distributed and procured by our institution accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. There are three simple reasons for this commitment:

It’s the right thing to do.

It’s the smart thing to do.

It’s the law.

Incorporating accessibility into our everyday lives at Texas A&M ensures that valuable information acquired through teaching, learning and discovery is made available to the widest possible audience.

To further this initiative, the Division of Information Technology accessibility team strives to educate faculty, staff and students by providing accessibility resources, training and assistance. As a campus community, accepting the responsibility for making resources accessible will serve to advance our mission of serving all Texans.