国产传媒

FERPA

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (also sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment), is a federal law regarding the privacy of student records and the obligations of the institution, primarily in the areas of release of records and the access provided to these records. Any educational institution that receives funds under any program administered by the U.S. Secretary of Education is bound by FERPA requirements. Institutions that fail to comply with FERPA may have funds administered by the Secretary of Education withheld.

Directory Information

Who:

Student initiated (only applies to current students)
Where:

Registrar’s Office
Why:

To withhold Directory Information. According to FERPA,an institution can publish and distribute directory information without a student’s written consent. Mount Saint Mary’s University considers the following items as Directory Information:

  1. Name
  2. Address
  3. Phone number
  4. Class
  5. Major
  6. Campus of attendance
  7. Degree program
  8. Degree(s) and awards received
  9. Enrollment status/Dates of attendance
When:

This form must be filed in the Registrar’s Office each semester that Directory Information is to be withheld.
How:
  1. Student completes the form
  2. Student signs and turns the form in to the Registrar’s Office

Students walking in front of some buildings on the 国产传媒 Chalon Campus

Quick tips:

DO NOT:

  • Disclose confidential non-directory information about a student to the media. The official spokesperson for the university is Debbie Ream, Senior Director, External and Community Relations and Communications, 213.477.2505 or dream@msmu.edu.
  • Link a student’s name with his/her social security number, 国产传媒 student ID number, or any portion of these numbers in any manner.
  • Send confidential information such as grades in an email.
  • Leave graded tests, papers, or other student materials for students to pick up in a stack that requires sorting through the papers of all students.
  • Include confidential information such as grades or GPA in a recommendation without the written consent of the student.
  • Discuss the progress of any student with anyone other than the student or the student’s advisor without the consent of the student. Refer inquiries from any other parties including the student’s parents to the student’s academic Dean.
  • Provide anyone with lists or files of students enrolled in your classes for any commercial purpose.
  • Provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than university employees in finding a student on campus. Refer such inquiries to Campus Security.
  • Access the records of any student for personal reasons.
  • Release your password for ANY reason

For Students

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They are:

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, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Mount Saint Mary’s University 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 Mount Saint Mary’s University official to whom the request was submitted, the official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

2. The right to consent to disclosure 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 Mount Saint Mary’s University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom Mount Saint Mary’s 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. More information concerning Personally Identifiable Information (Directory Information)

The primary focus of FERPA is to ensure that a student has reasonable access to his / her educational records (as mentioned above in #1) and, along with this openness, must come the assurance of the privacy of the record. All information belongs to the student and cannot be released without written permission. The only exception to this written permission clause pertains to what the institution defines as directory information. Directory information is information the institution may publish and distribute without written consent. Mount Saint Mary’s University considers the following items directory information – (1) Name;(2) Address; (3) Phone Number; (4) Class; (5) Major; (6) Campus of attendance; (7) Degree program; (8) Degree(s) and awards received;(9) Enrollment status/ Dates of attendance.

3. Students have the right to withhold directory information and can do this by filing an Information Hold Request with the Registrar’s Office. The form must be filed each semester in order for the information to be withheld.

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Mount Saint Mary’s University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is: U.S. Department of Education 600 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-4605