FERPA – Understanding the Privacy Act
Office of the Registrar

FERPA stands for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, sometimes called the Buckley Amendment.  Passed by Congress in 1974, the Act grants four specific rights to the student:

• The right to see the information that the institution is keeping concerning the student.
• The right to seek amendment to those records and in certain cases appends a statement to the record.
• The right to consent to disclosure of his/her records.
• The right to file a complaint with the FERPA Office in Washington.

What is a Student Educational Record?

Just about any information provided by a student to the University for use in the educational process is considered a student educational record.  The storage media for information does not matter:

• Personal Information
• Enrollment Records   
• Student Grades
• Student Schedules
• Participation in Activities
• Photographs
• Grade Rosters

Student’s Permission to Release Educational Record

Students may request the University to release their full or partial educational records by completing a Waiver Form (PDF, 75K) and submitting it to the Office of the Registrar.
 
Legitimate Educational Interest

University officials have legitimate educational interest when performing a task that is:

• Related to the student’s education
• Related to the discipline of a student
• Specified in the official’s job description or in a contractual agreement with RU associated with providing a service or benefit to the student or the student’s family (i.e. counseling, job placement, financial aid)

Directory Information

Information considered public is called Directory Information.  Directory Information may be defined by individual institutions and may vary from one institution to another.

The following information is Directory Information at Roosevelt University and it is the only information that may be released without permission from the student, however, the student may opt to have Directory Information withheld (PDF, 65K).

• Name
• Major field of study
• Dates of attendance
• Degrees awarded
• Participation in activities