Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA stands for The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA, passed by Congress in 1974, requires educational institutions to provide students access to their educational records, to allow students to correct inaccurate or misleading information in these records, and to limit the release of information to third parties.

Any student who is or has been in attendance at Lander University has FERPA rights. The rights parents exercise with respect to their children's education records transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

Lander University may discuss information about a student's educational records with the parents or other designated persons if the student completes the FERPA release through their MyLander account.

Directory information is information contained in an educational record of a student which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Directory information may be made public unless the student has submitted a written request to the Registrar's Office. Lander University designates the following items as Directory Information:

• student's name
• address
• telephone number
• electronic mail address
• date and place of birth
• classification (freshman, etc.)
• enrollment status (full/part-time)
• dates of attendance
• major and minor field of study
• degrees (dates) conferred
• most recent school attended
• honors conferred
• awards and scholarships
• height and weight of athletes
• athletic participation
• Lander organizational memberships
• admission status (date of acceptance)

Students have the right to request that directory information not be released to outside parties. To request non-disclosure, students must complete the Student Privacy Request Form in the Registrar's Office.

The following student rights are covered by the Act and afforded to all eligible students of the university:

1. The right to inspect and review information in the student's educational records.
2. The right to request amendment of the contents of the student's educational records if believed to be inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy or other rights.
3. The right to prevent disclosure without consent, with certain exceptions, of personally identifiable information from the student's informational records.
4. The right to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the university to comply with the provisions of the Act.

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 20202-8520