Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Download as PDF

Students’ Rights to Their Academic Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records. An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who is 18 years of age or older or who attends a postsecondary institution at any age. At DigiPen, New Students become FERPA eligible (restrictions and protections apply) on the first day of classes of their first semester. From this point forward, throughout their tenure with DigiPen and until deceased, FERPA restrictions and protection of all student academic records will apply. These rights include:

  1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days after the day the Institute receives a request for access. A student should submit to the Office of the Registrar, Dean, or head of the academic department a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The Institute official will make arrangements 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 Institute 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, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
    • A student who wishes to ask the school to amend a record should write the school official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.
    • If the Institute decides not to amend the record as requested, the Institute will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s 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 provide written consent before the Institute discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
    • The Institute discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official typically includes a person employed by the Institute in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the Institute who performs an institutional service or function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent or a student volunteering to assist another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official typically 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 Institute.
  4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the Institute 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 Avenue, SW 
      Washington, DC 20202

See the List Below of the Disclosures that Postsecondary Institutions May Make Without Consent

FERPA permits the disclosure of PII from students’ education records, without consent of the student, if the disclosure meets certain conditions found in § 99.31 of the FERPA regulations. Except for disclosures to school officials, disclosures related to some judicial orders or lawfully issued subpoenas, disclosures of directory information, and disclosures to the student, § 99.32 of FERPA regulations requires the institution to record the disclosure. Eligible students have a right to inspect and review the record of disclosures. A postsecondary institution may disclose PII from the education records without obtaining prior written consent of the student —

  • To other school officials, including teachers, within DigiPen whom the school has determined to have legitimate educational interests. This includes contractors, consultants, volunteers, or other parties to whom the school has outsourced institutional services or functions, provided that the conditions listed in § 99.31(a)(1)(i)(B)(1) - (a)(1)(i)(B)(3) are met. (§ 99.31(a)(1))
  • To officials of another school where the student seeks or intends to enroll, or where the student is already enrolled if the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer, subject to the requirements of § 99.34. (§ 99.31(a)(2))
  • To authorized representatives of the U. S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or State and local educational authorities, such as a State postsecondary authority that is responsible for supervising the university’s State-supported education programs. Disclosures under this provision may be made, subject to the requirements of §99.35, in connection with an audit or evaluation of Federal- or State-supported education programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with Federal legal requirements that relate to those programs. These entities may make further disclosures of PII to outside entities that are designated by them as their authorized representatives to conduct any audit, evaluation, or enforcement or compliance activity on their behalf. (§§ 99.31(a)(3) and 99.35)
  • In connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or which the student has received, if the information is necessary to determine eligibility for the aid, determine the amount of the aid, determine the conditions of the aid, or enforce the terms and conditions of the aid. (§ 99.31(a)(4))
  • To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, the school, in order to: (a) develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; (b) administer student aid programs; or (c) improve instruction. (§ 99.31(a)(6))
  • To accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions. (§ 99.31(a)(7))
  • To parents of an eligible student if the student is a dependent for IRS tax purposes. (§ 99.31(a)(8))
  • To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. (§ 99.31(a)(9))
  • To appropriate officials in connection with a health or safety emergency, subject to § 99.36. (§ 99.31(a)(10))
  • Information the school has designated as “directory information” under § 99.37. (§ 99.31(a)(11))
  • To a victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense, subject to the requirements of § 99.39. The disclosure may only include the final results of the disciplinary proceeding with respect to that alleged crime or offense, regardless of the finding. (§ 99.31(a)(13))
  • To the general public, the final results of a disciplinary proceeding, subject to the requirements of § 99.39, if the school determines the student is an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense and the student has committed a violation of the school’s rules or policies with respect to the allegation made against him or her. (§ 99.31(a)(14))
  • To parents of a student regarding the student’s violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or of any rule or policy of the school, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if the school determines the student committed a disciplinary violation and the student is under the age of 21. (§99.31(a)(15))

Proxy and FERPA Forms

Please be aware that while students can create Proxies and submit FERPA Forms as soon as they gain access to CSS, they are not considered FERPA eligible until the first day of classes. Consequently, the FERPA restrictions on sharing student information do not take effect until that date. DigiPen staff will only share student information when absolutely necessary to fulfill their official duties.

Proxy 

In Colleague Self Service, students may grant ‘proxy’ to an individual to access certain aspects of their student account. By adding a proxy, students waive all or some of their privacy rights under FERPA to the designated individual. Proxy access is set by the student and can allow universal access or restrict proxy access to certain information (such as billing information, financial aid information, or grades). The designated individual will be able to view, print and download information to which the student has granted them access. Proxy access also grants the designated individual the right to communicate with Financial Aid, Bursar, Student Success Advising, Faculty, and Registrar about ONLY the information to which the student has permitted proxy access. A separate, paper FERPA waiver is not required to release information to a proxy as long as the only information released aligns with the access the student has granted their proxy.

FERPA Release Form for Employment Reference 

A Proxy in Colleague Self Service is not broad enough to cover any and all FERPA required permissions. To allow a faculty or staff member permission to support a student as a reference for a job or other university application (written or oral), a separate Student Reference Request/FERPA Release form must be completed and submitted. The Proxy module in CSS has a link to the form required for this.

Full FERPA Block 

A Proxy in Colleague Self Service is not broad enough to cover a complete block of all Directory Information. Without a Full FERPA Block, the school may share basic directory information.

This includes

  1. Name
  2. Primary telephone number
  3. Institute email address (This is a DIT policy, whereas FERPA does not limit to institute emails only.)
  4. Major field of studies
  5. Dates of attendance
  6. Degrees and awards received
  7. Full-time or part-time enrollment status
  8. Number of credits for which a student is registered each semester.
  9. Educational institutions attended

While we will not share this information without good reason, you should be aware that it is allowed under the FERPA regulations. If you would like to create a Full FERPA Block, you may click on the link, found within the CSS Proxy module. However, you should know that this will remove your name from ALL publications, events, announcements, etc.