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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended (sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment) is a federal law regarding the privacy of student records and the obligations of the institution, primarily in the areas of release of the records and the access provided to these records. Any educational institution that receives funds under any program administered by the U.S. Secretary of Education is bound by FERPA requirements. Institutions that fail to comply with FERPA may have funds administered by the Secretary of Education withheld.
What are Education Records?
Under FERPA, education records are defined as records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an education agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. Education records can exist in any medium, including: typed, computer generated, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche, and email, among others.
Education records do not include such things as:
- Sole possession records, i.e., records/notes in sole possession of the maker, used only as a personal memory aid and not revealed or accessible to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record (this might include notes an instructor makes while providing career/professional guidance to a student);
- Medical treatment records that include but are not limited to records maintained by physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists;
- Employment records when employment is not contingent on being a student, provided the record is used only in relation to the individual's employment;
- Records created and maintained by a law enforcement unit used only for that purpose, are revealed only to law enforcement agencies of the same jurisdiction, and the enforcement unit does not have access to education records;
- Post-attendance records, i.e., information about a person that was obtained when the person was no longer a student (alumni records) and does not relate to the person as a student.
Access to Student Education Records
According to FERPA, personally identifiable information in an education record may not be released without prior written consent from the student. Some examples of information that may not be released without prior written consent of the student are: birth date, ethnicity, Social Security number, student ID number, religious affiliation, gender, grades/exam scores, citizenship, GPA, disciplinary status, marital status, and progress reports.
The university will not release personally identifiable information from a student's education record without the student's prior written consent. Even parents are not permitted access to their son or daughter's education records unless the student has provided written authorization permitting the parents' access. Exceptions are noted in the university's policy (located in the Office of the General Counsel and in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs) concerning the privacy of student education records and includes: access by "school officials" who the institution has determined to have a "legitimate educational interest;" access by school officials at other schools where the student seeks to enroll; access for the purpose of awarding financial aid and subpoenas.
What is a "University Official"?
"University official" is any person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position, a person elected to the Board of Trustees, a student serving on an official university committee, or a person employed by or under contract to the university to perform a specific task. University officials have a "legitimate educational interest" whenever they are performing a task that is specified in their position, description, or by a contract agreement, performing a task related to a student's education, performing a task related to the discipline of a student, providing a service or benefit relating to the student or student's family (such as health care, counseling, job placement, or financial aid) or disclosure of information in response to a judicial order or legally issued subpoena. (NOTE: At NYIT all subpoenas are first reviewed by the Office of General Counsel to determine an appropriate response.)
Student’s Right to Review and Correct His/Her Records
Students and former students have rights to inspect and review their education records within 45 days from making such a request. The right of inspection and review includes: the right to access, with an explanation and interpretation of the record; the right to a copy of the education record when failure to provide a copy of the record would effectively prevent the student from inspecting and reviewing the record. The institution may refuse to provide a copy of a student's education record provided such refusal does not limit access.
Limitations exist on students' rights to inspect and review their education records. For example, the institution is not required to permit students to inspect and review the following:
- Financial information submitted by parents;
- Education records containing information about more than one student (however, the institution must permit access to that part of the records that pertains only to the inquiring student);
- Confidential letters and recommendations placed in the student's file before Jan. 1, 1975;
- Confidential letters and statements of recommendation, placed in the records after Jan. 1, 1975, to which the student has waived his or her right to review and that are related to the student's admission, application for employment or job placement, or receipt of honors. Upon a request from a student, he/she will be notified of the names of persons making the recommendations and that such recommendations cannot be used other than for the purposes for which they were intended.
Students may request that their education records be amended if they believe such information is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of privacy rights. Students must request in writing that the office that maintains those records amend them. Students should identify the part of the records they want corrected and specify why they believe it is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of privacy rights.
What is Directory or Public Information?
FERPA has specifically identified certain information called directory information that may be disclosed without student consent.NYIT has designated the following information as directory information and will release this information, unless the student has submitted a request for non-disclosure: name, NYIT degree(s) earned with dates, major, minor, degree objective, previous schools attended, address and phone number (permanent and local), academic honors, class level and enrollment status, NYIT attendance dates, expected date of graduation, participation in activities and sports.
Restricting Release of Directory Information
According to FERPA, students can request that the institution not release any directory information about them. Institutions must comply with this request, once received, if the students are still enrolled.
At NYIT, students who wish to restrict the release of directory information about themselves must complete a Request To Restrict Directory Information Form, available in the Student Solutions Center (link to Student Solutions Center). The completed form must be submitted in person to the Office of the Registrar and must be accompanied by a photo I.D. Students will be required to submit the request within 30 days of enrolling at NYIT.
Students who wish to restrict directory information should realize that their names will not appear in the commencement bulletin and other university publications. Also, employers, credit card companies, loan agencies, scholarship committees, and the like will be denied any of the student's directory information and will be informed that we have no information available about the student's attendance at NYIT. Students who wish to have specific directory information released may do so by providing a written authorization to the Office of the Registrar.