The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of a student’s education records. Student rights under FERPA are:
- The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the institution receives a request for access.
- The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records to ensure that they are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights.
- The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the institution to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605
- The right to secure a copy of the institution’s policy regarding how the institution meets the requirements of the Act. A copy of the policy may be secured in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, 116 Overstreet Hall.
- The right to restrict directory information from being released to the public. Directory information includes the student’s name, address, telephone listing, university e-mail address, major field of study, participation in officially recognized sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended.
Should an enrolled student not wish directory information released to the general public, the student should notify the Office of Vice President for Student Affairs, 116 Overstreet Hall, no later than the end of registration week of each semester or term that all or part of the directory information should not be released without prior consent.
Related forms
- FERPA release form [pdf]
- FERPA brochure [pdf]
