GW has moved several types of previously public documents behind login walls over the last few weeks, restricting access to materials on enrollment, faculty compensation and student conduct.
The University in recent weeks has moved certain public files containing data about enrollment, faculty compensation and student conduct — like its Core Indicators report, Faculty Senate agendas and the Student Organization and Hazing Transparency report — from publicly accessible PDF links to Box-protected files, requiring viewers to sign into their GW accounts before accessing the information. University spokesperson Julia Garbitt said officials moved certain materials to Box as part of a routine review of how they store and share institutional data and documents based on their sensitivity, purpose and intended audience.
Box is the University’s main file-sharing and cloud-storage service, available for free to all faculty, staff and students. The University’s data-governance and data-classification guidance encourages community members to share regulated and restricted data through Box sharing.
The guidance defines regulated data as information protected by local, national or international law and that could pose a severe risk to the University if inappropriately accessed, like student academic records, individuals’ financial account numbers and government-issued identification numbers. Restricted data is deemed confidential due to University policies but may be accessed by appropriate faculty, staff, students or other users, including payroll and tax information, legal contracts and facilities records, per the guidelines.
Garbitt declined to comment on why officials began using Box to store the Core Indicators report, Faculty Senate agendas and the Student Organization and Hazing Transparency Report and what other University documents officials have put behind Box file protection.
Garbitt said sharing files through Box allows the University to ensure information remains current and accurate, provide access to documents based on the data that’s involved, reduce reliance on outdated or duplicated copies of documents and support appropriate use by internal and external audiences.
“The University remains committed to transparency and continues to make a wide range of information publicly available, while also using tools like Box to help maintain accuracy and appropriate access,” Garbitt said.
She declined to comment on whether increased scrutiny of GW and higher education by President Donald Trump’s administration influences the decision to share the documents via Box.
Garbitt said officials do not determine how to share documents based on a policy change or event but rather on how often information changes, its intended audience and any privacy or data considerations.
Officials previously shared their annual core indicators report, which outlines key University metrics and data, including student enrollment data, faculty compensation and demographics, via links directing to a PDF in Faculty Senate agendas and on the Office of the provost website. Officials shared the 2026 Core Indicators report in March via Box for the first time and replaced the previous reports on the Office of the Provost website with Box links, but they also still remain publicly available through PDF links on the Faculty Senate website.
Officials previously made Faculty Senate agendas — which include written statements from the University president and provost, resolutions and reports by officials — available via public PDF links but shared them through Box for the senate’s April meeting. Previous Faculty Senate agendas are still available through public PDF links.
The University’s Student Organization and Hazing Transparency Report, which outlines disciplinary charges against sanctioned student organizations and Greek life groups, was released in December and previously available as a public PDF but now leads to a “page not found” error. The new Box link is publicly available, unlike the Faculty Senate agendas and the Core Indicators report, which require a GW login.
