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FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
POLICY STATEMENT ON PRIVACY OF STUDENT ACADEMIC AND EDUCATIONAL RECORDS
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 USC § 1232g et seq. (FERPA) affords St. John International University (SJIU) students certain rights with respect to their education records. Educational records are records directly related to a student and maintained by SJIU or a party acting for SJIU. The term "educational record" does not include the following: a. Records of an instructional, supervisory, administrative, and educational nature, maintained by SJIU officials for their personal use only. b. Student employee records. c. Alumni records. d. Student health, psychiatric, and counseling records maintained in connection with the treatment of the students. (These records may be protected under other laws that protect health records.)
Student rights in regard to education records include:
- The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day SJIU receives a request for access.
A student should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The SJIU 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 SJIU official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
- The right to request amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA.
A student who wishes to ask SJIU to amend a record should write the SJIU official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed. If SJIU decides not to amend the record as requested, SJIU 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.
- The right to provide written consent before SJIU discloses personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
FERPA permits disclosure of student educational records to school officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the records, without requiring prior written consent of the student. SJIU discloses educational records without a student's prior written consent under this exception to the FERPA requirements. A “school official” is a person employed by SJIU 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 SJIU has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using SJIU employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Directors; 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 educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for SJIU. FERPA permits disclosure of student education records, without prior written consent from the student, to schools in which a student seeks to enroll or is already enrolled. Upon request, SJIU will disclose education records without written consent, under this exception to the FERPA requirements. SJIU will make a reasonable attempt to notify each student of these disclosures.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by SJIU 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 20202-5901
Directory Information
FERPA permits disclosure of “directory information” without prior written consent of the student. FERPA also permits students to request that their directory information not be released. SJIU discloses “directory information” without the student’s specific prior consent, unless the student has requested that their directory information be withheld from release by following the procedure outlined below.
For this purpose, directory information is defined to include:
• Name (including both maiden name and married name, where applicable) • Address, telephone listing, and electronic mail address • Date and place of birth • Major field of study • Anticipated graduation date • Enrollment Status (undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time)
• Dates of attendance • Degrees and awards received • Participation in officially recognized sports and activities • Weight and height (members of athletic teams)
Any student who would prefer that SJIU not release such information about himself or herself should so notify the Office of the University Registrar, in writing, prior to the first week of classes in the fall semester. Students entering the university at mid-year may submit such notice during the first week of classes of the spring semester.
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