Attachment I
NOTIFICATION OF
RIGHTS UNDER FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974 (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their
education records. These rights include:
1. The
right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of
the day Texas State receives a request for access. Students
should submit to the registrar, academic dean, department chair, or other
appropriate official, written requests that identify the records they wish to
inspect.
Texas State 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.
2. 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
within a reasonable time 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.
3. 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 or the Texas State University System 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, information
processor or
collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Regents, Texas State
University System; 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 or maintain a
student education
record in order to fulfill his or her professional or contractual responsibility.
Upon request, the university discloses student education records without
consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to
enroll.
4. The right to file a complaint
with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Texas
State to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
5. The right to know the types of personally
identifiable information that Texas State deems directory information that it
may release without consent. Texas State has designated the following information as
directory information: 1) name; 2) date and place of birth; 3) fields of study,
including major and minor; 4) enrollment status (actual hours enrolled,
undergraduate, graduate, etc.) 5) degrees, certificates and awards received; 6)
type of award received (academic, technical, continuing education, etc.) 7)
dates of attendance; 8) student classification; 9) name of the most recent
previous educational agency or institution attended; 10) telephone number; 11)
current and permanent addresses, excluding e-mail addresses; 12) weight and
height of athletes; 13) participation in officially recognized activities and
sports; 14) names of prospective graduates; 15) parking permit records; 16)
names of parents; 17) photographs of students; 18) gender; and 19) any other
records that could be treated as directory information under FERPA.
6. The right to refuse to let Texas State
designate the types of directory information. Any student may refuse to
let Texas State designate any or all of the above types of information about
the student as directory information. To do so, the student should file a
written request in the Registrar’s Office during the first twelve class days of
a fall or spring term, or the first four class days of a summer term. The
student should specify in his or her request, the types of information that
should not be designated as directory information, or the student may direct
that all of the above types of information not be designated as directory
information. Texas State will apply the request to the student’s education records
until the student notifies the Registrar’s Office otherwise.
Texas State may release the results of
campus disciplinary proceedings concerning alleged perpetrators of violent
crimes to the victims of those violent crimes.