Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

Date of Current Revision or Creation: July 5, 2016

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 guarantees 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 Registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, written requests that 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.
• The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. 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 procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
• 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 the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement 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.
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Old Dominion University hereby designates the following information as public or directory information. Such information may be disclosed by the institution at its discretion.

Name
Date of birth
Photograph
Major field of study
Participation in officially recognized activities
Weight and height of athletic team members
Dates of attendance
Degrees, honors, and awards received
The most recent educational institution attended

Withholding Disclosure of Directory Information
Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of directory information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. To withhold disclosure, written notice must be received in the Office of the University Registrar, 116 Rollins Hall. Requests can be made in person at the Office of the University Registrar to prevent disclosure for the same term. Students who opt to prevent disclosure of directory information should carefully consider the consequences of any decision made to withhold directory information. The institution will not release any information to non-institutional persons or organizations, including requests for verification of attendance for insurance, employment or any other reason without the express, written consent of the student. The institution assumes no responsibility to contact students for subsequent permission to release information and assumes no liability for honoring student instructions that directory information be withheld.

Old Dominion University assumes that any student who does not specifically request that directory information be withheld indicates individual approval for disclosure. A directory may be published in accordance with this policy.

Parental Access to Student's Education Records
"Student" refers to a person who has reached the age of 18 or is attending an institution of post-secondary education. At the post-secondary level, parents have no inherent rights to inspect a student's education records. The right to inspect is limited solely to the student. Records may be released to parents only if one of the following conditions have been met:

• through the written consent of the student, or
• by submission of evidence that the parents declare the student as a dependent on their most recent Federal Income Tax form (see Appendix 7, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 162).

Possible Federal and State Data Collection and Use
As of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education's FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records - including your Social Security Number, grades, or other private information - may be accessed without your consent.

First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities ("Federal and State Authorities") may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is "principally engaged in the provision of education," such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution.

Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research.

Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities.

In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.