FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Introduction
The Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, was designated to protect the privacy
of education records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of
inaccurate or misleading data through informal and formal hearings.
Hamline University intends to comply fully with the Act. Students who
have questions or wish to take action with respect to any of the FERPA
statements below should do so with their respective Registrar’s Office.
Education Records
FERPA affords students certain rights regarding their education records which include:
- The right to inspect and review their education records within
forty-five (45) days of Hamline University receiving the request.
Students must submit a signed, written request to the registrar
identifying the records they wish to inspect. The registrar will notify
the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
Student records are available to them with the following exceptions:
confidential letters of recommendation submitted prior to 1975; records
of their parents’ financial status; records related to their student
employment that are subject to other laws and are administered by the
Human Resources office; medical and psychological records, which will
be released only to a healthcare professional designated by the
student; and, if the student signed a voluntary waiver of access,
letters of recommendation related to admission, candidacy for awards,
and candidacy for employment — these records may be used only for the
purpose originally intended.
- The right to request an amendment to education records that
they believe are inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask Hamline
University, in writing via the registrar, for such an amendment by
clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed, and
specifying why it is inaccurate or misleading. If Hamline University
decides not to amend the record, the registrar will notify the student
of the decision and advise the student of the right to a hearing.
Additional information about the hearing procedures will be provided to
the student with the notification.
- The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable
information contained in their education records, except to the extent
that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One such exception is
disclosure to a school official with legitimate educational interest. A
school official is a person employed by Hamline University including
law enforcement and health staff; contractors, consultants, volunteers,
and other outside service providers used by Hamline University to
perform institutional services and functions; a person serving on the
Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee or
assisting another school official. An official has a legitimate
educational interest if they must review an education record in order
to fulfill professional responsibility. Upon request, Hamline
University discloses education records without consent to officials of
another school in which the students seeks or intends to enroll and to
officials of another educational agency or institution if the student
is enrolled in or receives services from the other agency or
institution. Students must submit a signed request to the registrar for
grade reports or transcripts to be released to a third party (such as a
parent or spouse).
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of
Education concerning alleged failures by Hamline University to comply
with the rights of FERPA.
Directory Information
As required by FERPA,
Hamline University designates the following categories of student
information as public or Directory Information. Such information may be
disclosed by Hamline for any purpose, at its discretion:
Name, student ID number, address, e-mail address, telephone number,
dates of attendance, class, full-time or part-time status, photographs
taken and maintained by the university for various purposes.
Previous institutions attended, major and minor fields of study,
awards, honors (including dean’s list), degrees and dates conferred.
Past and present participation in officially recognized sports and
activities, physical factors (height, weight) of athletes, and date and
place of birth.
Release of Student Information to Others
Except
as specified above, your records will be released only upon completion
of a consent form or letter you have signed. Any such release will
include a notice that further release by the recipient is prohibited by
law. A record of the release will be maintained.
Records about you will be released without your consent to your
parents if you are a dependent as defined by the Internal Revenue
Service; to federal officers as prescribed by law; as required by state
law; to agencies or individuals conducting educational research,
provided that the administrator of the records is satisfied concerning
the legitimacy of the research effort and the confidentiality to be
maintained by the researcher; to agencies responsible for accreditation
of the institution or its programs; in response to a lawful subpoena,
after making reasonable attempts to provide prior notification and
opportunity for objection by you; and to institutional security
officers when necessary for a criminal investigation.
Election of Confidentiality
Under FERPA,
currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of directory
information (see above) by notifying their registrar and completing a
request form. Electing confidentiality has significant consequences.
Please see your registrar for more information. Hamline University
assumes that non-notification by the student to withhold directory
information indicates individual approval for disclosure.
Retention of Records
Hamline University reserves
the right to maintain only those records it considers useful and to set
retention schedules for various categories of those records according
to American Assembly of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
(AACRAO) professional guidelines. However, the administrator
responsible for each category of records will ensure that a record
being challenged is not destroyed prior to resolution of the dispute.
