FERPA

What is FERPA? 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, sets forth requirements regarding the privacy of student records. This law applies to postsecondary institutions as well as K-12 schools. FERPA governs the disclosure of education records maintained by an educational institution; and access to these records.

Notification of Rights under FERPA

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include: 

  • 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 Office of the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The university official responsible for the record will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where 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. 

  • The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate. 

    Students may ask the university to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. 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. 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 procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.  

  • The right to consent to disclosures 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 the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including security personnel and Wellness Center 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. 

  • The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Dominican University to comply with the requirement of FERPA.  

The name and address of the office that administers FERPA are: 

Family Policy Compliance Office 
U.S. Department of Education 
400 Maryland Avenue, SW 
Washington, DC 20202-5920

Dominican University Notice for Directory Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law, requires that Dominican, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information for your education records. However, Dominican may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless you have advised Dominican to the contrary in accordance with Dominican procedures. Dominican does not publish a student directory; rather, designating certain information as "directory information" allows Dominican to include this type of information from your education records in certain publications, without violating your right to privacy. Examples include:

  • A playbill, showing your role in a drama production
  • Dean's List or other recognition lists
  • Commencement program
  • Sports program, such as for basketball, showing weight and height of team members.

Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without prior written consent. For example. Dominican releases enrollment information to the National Student Clearinghouse and releases directory information to companies that provide student insurance and class rings; Dominican does not release information to credit card companies, loan consolidation companies, etc. Dominican has designated the following information as directory information:              

  • Student’s name
  • Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
  • Address (home, local, email)
  • Telephone listings
  • Weight and height of members of athletic teams
  • Photograph/video for university and other publications
  • Degrees, honors, and awards received
  • Date of birth
  • Major field of study
  • Dates of attendance
  • Current enrollment status
  • The most recent educational agency or institution attended
  • Class level
  • Anticipated graduation date

If you do not want Dominican to disclose directory information from your education records without prior written consent, you must contact the Office of Registrar as soon as possible to discuss this option. Please consider very carefully the consequences of the decision to withhold directory information. Such requests are binding for all information to all non-institutional persons or organizations other than for educational purposes for the duration of your enrollment at Dominican University. This includes the omission of your name from any list of student names published by Dominican University, including the Dean's List and the Commencement Bulletin. Dominican University will honor your request to withhold directory information but cannot assume responsibility to contact you for subsequent permission to release your information. Regardless of the effect upon you, Dominican University assumes no liability as a result of honoring your instructions that such information be withheld.