The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974

 

Student Rights Related to Educational Records
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records as noted below. Additional information regarding students' rights under FERPA may be found in the University of New Orleans’ Administrative Policy 51.01 at http://www.uno.edu/chancellor/ap/PDF/AP-51.01-Educational_Privacy_Rights_of_Students.pdf.  For further explanation, consult the University Registrar in Administration Building 112.

Those rights include:

The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the custodian of the record receives a request for access. That request must be made in writing to the specific custodian of the record in question.  For definition of “educational record, see the web site listed above.

The right to request the amendment of the student's education record that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights. Any student who desires amendment of his or her record shall follow the procedure set forth below:

A student shall submit to the custodian of the record a written request asking that the record be amended if the student has reason to believe that the educational record contains information that is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's rights of privacy.   The custodian of the record shall decide whether to amend the record as requested within a reasonable time after receiving the request.

If the custodian decides not to amend the record, the student shall be informed of his or her right to a hearing regarding the amending of the record. In cases regarding educational records, a request for a hearing should be submitted in writing to the Office of Academic Affairs.
 
If a hearing is requested, the University shall follow the procedure set forth below:
A hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the request has been received.
The student shall be given notice of the date, time, and place, reasonably in advance of the hearing.

The Office of Academic Affairs will determine the school official who will conduct the hearing; the school official must be an official of the institution who does not have a direct interest in the outcome of the hearing.  The student may present relevant evidence and may be assisted by individuals of their choice at the hearing.

The official in charge of the hearing shall make his or her decision in writing within a reasonable period of time after the hearing. The decision must be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing and must include a summary of the evidence and the reasons for the decision.
NOTE: The above procedure shall not be available to challenge the validity of a grade given by a professor or any other decision of a University professor or official but only whether the recording of such grade or decision is accurate and complete.

Students have 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 (including those associated with the Louisiana State University system)  is defined as a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic, or support staff position;  a person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as attorney, auditor or service provider); those persons in an emergency, in order to protect the health and safety of students or other persons; accrediting agencies; persons in compliance with a judicial order and others as outlined in AP 51.01. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her responsibilities to University of New Orleans.

The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirement 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, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202-4605