THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ("the Act", often referred to as FERPA or the "Buckley Amendment") is designed to protect the confidentiality of the records that educational institutions maintain on their students and to give students access to their records to assure the accuracy of their contents. The Act affords you certain rights with respect to your education records. They are:
- The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. Students should submit to the registrar, academic department chair, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected within 45 days from receiving the request. If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
- The right to request the amendment or correction of the student’s educational records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading or in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights.
- Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write to the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
- If the College decides not to amend the records as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
- The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosures without consent.
- It is the intent of this institution to limit the disclosure of information contained in students’ educational records to those instances when prior written consent has been given for the disclosure.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College 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
More information regarding FERPA can be found here.