Notification of Student Rights Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They are:
- The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access.
Students should submit to the Office of the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will arrange for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the Office of the Registrar, the Registrar shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
- The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading.
The student should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record he or she wants changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. FERPA was not intended to provide a process to be used to question substantive judgments that are correctly recorded. The rights of challenge are not intended to allow students to contest, for example, a grade in a course because they felt a higher grade should have been assigned. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the University will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her 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 in writing to disclosures of personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. For purposes of compliance with FERPA, the University considers all students, regardless of age or tax dependency status to be independent. Therefore, educational records will not be provided to parents without the written consent of the student, except where one or more of the exceptions below applies.
One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to University Officials with legitimate educational interests. A University Official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff). University Officials also include any contractor, consultant, volunteer, or other party to whom the University has outsourced institutional services or functions where the outside party performs an institutional service or function for which the University would otherwise use employees, is under the direct control of the University with respect to the use and maintenance of education records, and is subject to the requirements of FERPA governing the use and re-disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records. Examples include, but are not limited to: attorneys, auditors, collection agents, officials of the National Student Clearinghouse; persons serving on the Board of Trustees; Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadre members (limited to their relationship with students enrolled in the ROTC program and/or enrolled in ROTC courses); and students serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A University Official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the University.
For more information, contact: Office of the Registrar at registrar@uconn.edu