FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student Education Records (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

FERPA protects the Education Records of students who are currently enrolled or formerly enrolled, regardless of age or parental dependency status. A student who is enrolled is covered under FERPA on the first day of classes of the student’s first term of enrollment. The Education Records of students who have applied to but have not attended an institution are not subject to FERPA guidelines, nor are the records of deceased students.

With certain exceptions (noted below), an education record is any record (1) that contains information that is personally identifiable to a student, and (2) is maintained by the university. Examples of Education Records are transcripts, course grades, a student’s schedule, a degree audit report, number of credits enrolled in, GPA, etc.

Information that is not considered part of an education record includes:

• Sole possession records or private notes held by school officials that are not accessible or released to other personnel.
• Law enforcement or campus security records that are solely for law enforcement purposes and maintained solely by the law enforcement unit.
• Records relating to medical treatment, so long as they are shared for treatment purposes only.
• Records of an institution that contain only information about an individual obtained after that person is no longer a student at that institution, i.e., alumni records.

• Students have the right to inspect and review their Education Records within 45 days of the day the student’s Institution receives a request for access.
• The right to request an amendment to the student’s Education Records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading and to place within the Education Record a statement about the contents of the record.
• The right to limit disclosure of information contained in the student’s Education Records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent, and the right to consent to disclosures that are not otherwise authorized by law or by this policy.
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the Institution to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:
  • Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.

Education Records may be disclosed to a person or party internal or external to the Institution, without the student’s consent, as authorized under the FERPA regulations, 34 C.F.R. §99.31, including (but not limited to):

• School officials with legitimate educational interest;
• Other schools to which a student is transferring;
• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student, including Veterans’ benefits;
• Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies;
• Releasing the results of a disciplinary hearing to an alleged victim of a crime of violence.
• Any other exception provided under FERPA applies

Directory information comprises classified information that would not be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Currently, directory information includes the following: a student’s name; Western enrollment status (e.g., full-/part-time, undergraduate/graduate, level); dates of attendance; degrees, honors, and awards received at Western; Western email address; date of birth; major field of study; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; and the most recent educational agency or institution attended by the student. This information may be disclosed to anyone, by any means, for students who do not “opt out” of its release. Discretion will be used in giving out directory information for non-University purposes, and it will not be disseminated for solicitation purposes. Western is not permitted to disclose any non-directory information to anyone without a legitimate educational interest, without written permission from you, the student, or to others as stated in the Act.

When a student officially requests that directory information be withheld, there will be a notation next to their name in Workday that states “Private.” When the “Private” notation is present, you cannot release ANY information on that student to anyone. You cannot even acknowledge that the person is a Western student.

Yes. A student may consent to the release of any or all of his or her Education Record by completing a written consent form and returning it to Registration & Advising Services.

No. Education Records are NEVER to be released to a third party without the student’s signed, written consent. Registration & Advising Services receives and processes all third-party requests. Examples of Education Records are transcripts, course grades, a student’s schedule, a degree audit report, number of credits enrolled in, GPA, etc.

• Call Registration & Advising Services with questions at 970.943.7056
• Or visit the official FERPA website at:http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html