The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 is a federal law which gives students the right to inspect and review their education records and ask for amendments to those records. FERPA also gives each student some control over the disclosure of information from their education records.
Education records are defined as those documents that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an education agency, institution, or party acting for the agency or institution. Education records do not include sole possession records, law enforcement unit records, employment records, medical records, or post-attendance records. All currently enrolled and former students have the right to review their education records for content and accuracy. A student who wishes to obtain access to his or her education records should contact the Registrar.
Under FERPA, the University is free to release information about students categorized as directory information. Directory information includes such things as the student’s full name; address; major field of study; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; height and weight of members of athletic teams; dates of attendance, including current classification and year, matriculation and withdrawal dates; degrees and awards received; most recent previous educational institution attended; full- or part-time status; and photograph. Students have the right to restrict disclosure of this information by completing and submitting a Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information Form to the Registrar’s Office. A non-disclosure request that is in effect when a student graduates or leaves the University remains in effect until rescinded by the student in writing.
The University may release a student’s records to their parents (1) with the written consent of the student, (2) in compliance with a subpoena, or (3) upon receipt of evidence indicating the student was declared a dependent by their parent on their parent’s most recent income tax return. Consent forms are available in the Registrar’s Office.