Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Grambling State University adheres to a policy of compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Therefore, it is the policy of the University to:
- Permit students (and eligible parents) to inspect and review their educational records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access.
- Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, written requests which identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The 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 University official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
- Limit disclosure to others of personally identifiable information from education records without student’s prior written consent, 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 interest. A school official is a person employed by the 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 the 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.
- Upon request, the University may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
- Students may ask the University to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the University will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedure will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
- The right to file with the U. S. Department of Education a complaint
concerning alleged failures by the University 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 20202-4605
The right to obtain a copy of the University's student records policy. This policy can be obtained from the Registrar's Office.
Additional Information:
DIRECTORY INFORMATION AS DEFINED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974:
Student name, address, telephone number, degrees, awards/honors and date received, dates of attendance, full or part-time status, date and place of birth, classification, photographs, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student, and email addresses may be released by the University without prior consent of the student. Nevertheless, this information can only be released by the Registrar's Office. A student may request in writing to the registrar that directory information not be released.
QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE PRIVACY ACT MAY BE REFERRED TO THE REGISTRAR LOCATED IN GRAMBLING HALL, ROOM 18.
