The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)

What is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 helps protect the privacy of student education records. The Act provides for the right to inspect and review education records, the right to seek to amend those records and to limit disclosure of information from the records. The intent of the legislation is to protect the rights of students and to ensure the privacy and accuracy of education records. The Act applies to all institutions that are the recipients of federal aid administered by the Secretary of Education, including Rockford University.

Information on student rights is outlined in the FERPA Notification to Students. Although Rockford University does not publish a Student Directory, it does define "directory information" in keeping with the requirements of FERPA. For more information about what directory information is and what is included in Rockford University’s definition, see the section below regarding Directory Information.

Notification to Students of Rights under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)

FERPA provides students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:

1. 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 Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The University official responsible for the record will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the University official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate. Students may ask the University to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate.

   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.

3. 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.

   One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including Security personnel and Wellness Center staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

   A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

   There exists the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Rockford University to comply with the requirement of FERPA.

The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202-5920

Directory Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), a federal law, requires that Rockford University, with certain exceptions, obtain a student’s written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information in their education records. However, Rockford University may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless a student has advised Rockford University to the contrary in accordance with University procedures. Designating certain information as "directory information" allows the University to include this type of information from student education records in certain publications, without violating their right to privacy. Examples include but are not limited to:

• A playbill, showing a student’s role in a drama production;
• Dean's List or other recognition lists;
• Commencement program;
• Sports program, such as for basketball, showing weight and height of team members.

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without prior written consent. Rockford University has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student’s name
• Address (home, local, e-mail)
• Telephone listings
• Degrees, honors, and awards received
• Date of birth
• Major field of study
• Dates of attendance
• Current Enrollment Status
• The most recent educational agency or institution attended
• Class level
• Anticipated graduation date
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Athletic rosters (name, weight and height)
• Photograph/video for University and other publications

If students do not want Rockford University to disclose directory information from their education records without prior written consent, they must contact Student Administrative Services (SAS) as soon as possible to discuss this option. Please consider very carefully the consequences of the decision to withhold directory information. Such requests are binding for all information to all non-institutional persons or organizations other than for educational purposes for the duration of enrollment at Rockford University. This includes the omission of a student’s name from any list of student names published by Rockford University, including the Dean's List and the Commencement program.

Rockford University will honor student requests to withhold directory information but cannot assume responsibility to contact students for subsequent permission to release their information. Regardless of the effect upon them, Rockford University assumes no liability as a result of honoring student instructions that such information be withheld.

Prior written consent from students is needed before records can be disclosed to third parties unless they are exempted from the law. Exemptions include:

• school officials (any person who is a trustee, officer, agent or employee of Rockford University including students serving on university committees where legitimate “need to know” exists) to use information contained in students' educational records to complete an assigned task that is an employment responsibility for the requestor or is properly assigned subject matter for the requestor’s employment or committee responsibility;
• requests in accordance with a lawful subpoena or court order;
• representatives of agencies or organizations from which students have received financial assistance;
• to others specifically exempted from prior consent requirement of the act (including certain federal and state officials, organizations conducting student surveys on behalf of the University, accrediting organizations, etc.);
• requests for "directory information";
• parents of dependent students (as determined by the Financial Aid Office according to IRS regulations);
• United States Office of Immigration and Naturalization Service (for international students only);
• emergencies where the information is necessary to protect the health and safety of the student or others.