Student Records Annual Notification

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), students have certain rights regarding the inspection and disclosure of education records directly related to the student and maintained by the University. These rights include:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s educational records within forty- five (45) days of the day the University receives a request of access. Requests for inspection should be made in writing and directed to the Office of the Registrar.
   
   
2. The right to request an amendment of the student’s education records if the student believes that they are inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. A request to amend education records must be made in writing and submitted to the Registrar. The request must clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed and why it should be changed. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested, the University will notify the student of its decision, and if the decision is negative, the procedures for a hearing regarding the request.
   
   
3. The right to consent to disclosures by the University of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. The University discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under several exceptions to FERPA, including the exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate education interests. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill professional responsibilities for the University. A “school official” is any person employed by the University in any administrative, supervisory, academic, research or support staff position; any person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as an auditor or collection agent); or any student serving on an official committee such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.
   
   Upon request, the University also discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. The following categories of information are considered by the University to be directory information and may be disclosed without the student’s prior consent unless the student submits a Directory Restrictions Form using PAWS: Name; local, home and email address; local and home telephone number; major field of study; classification; dates of attendance, degrees, honors and awards received; officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height for athletes; and most recent school or educational institution attended.
   
   The Directory Restrictions Form in PAWS can be found using the following path: Student Center>Personal Information>FERPA restrictions>Edit FERPA/Directory Restrictions.
   
   Note that directory information may be released to commercial organizations and may be used for solicitation purposes. However, restricting release of directory information will prevent the University from providing such information to prospective employers and other organizations, media, friends and family.
   
   
4. A student may permit inspection of education records by parents, guardians or others by completing a Release of Information Form in PAWS on an annual basis. The form can be found using the following path: Student Center>Academic Records> Release of Information. Release of Information Forms are purged at the completion of each academic year. If a student wishes to permit inspection of education records for the upcoming academic year, a new form must be completed.
   
   
5. The right to file with the U.S. Department of Education a complaint if the student believes that the University has failed to comply with the requirements of FERPA. Complaints may be filed with the Family Policy and Regulations Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20202-5901.