Academic Records/FERPA

Postsecondary Student Rights under Family Education Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all educational institutions that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. 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 the University receives a request for access.A student should submit to the registrar, Dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s)the student wishes 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.
  2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.A student who wishes to ask the University to amend a record must complete the Educational Record Amendment and Appeal Form (ERAAF) and submit the form to the University Custodian of Educational Records – the University Registrar – to initiate a review of the record. The ERAAF requires the student to clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, specify why it should be changed, and provide all requested documentation for the change.If the University decides not to amend the record as requested, the University will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s 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 provide written consent before the University discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.The University discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for 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 unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using University employees or officials (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 responsibilities for the University.In addition, the University reserves the right to release and publish directory information without consent, such as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance, as required by § 99.37 of the regulations. Student has the right to restrict disclosure/ release of directory information to third-parties by completing the Request to Restrict Directory Information form available from the Registrar or the University’s website.
  4. 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.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 20202-5901

  1. The right to obtain a copy of Faulkner University’s student records policy. This policy is available in the Office of the Registrar.In accordance with relevant federal and state laws and guidelines Faulkner University has established clear policies for the handling of all student related records. Students enrolled at Faulkner will have an educational record created that constitutes their academic record or transcript. The academic record is subject to the aforementioned FERPA policies. Students may also have non-academic records maintained by the University. The access to these records may be subject to federal and state laws other than FERPA. The identified custodians for these records should be contacted for questions about access to these records. Academic records containing admissions and matriculation information, transcripts, and other essential data are maintained by the Registrar. The student has the right to request a copy of any materials contained in the record. A duplicating fee will be assessed.

Policy of Educational Record

The University’s educational record policy is in compliance with the Postsecondary Student Rights under FERPA previously detailed. In addition the following policies and procedures apply to a student’s educational record.

Policy for Copies of Educational Record

A student may request either an official or unofficial copy of their educational record (transcript) via the Transcript Request Form (TRF). A student must complete the TRF and submit the signed form with payment by mail, fax or hand delivery to the Registrar’s Office on any Faulkner campus. Faulkner University will only send official transcripts via this form when specifically requested by the student.

Procedure to Inspect Student Records

A student may inspect and review their student records upon request to the appropriate record custodian. A student must complete the Student Record Inspection Request Form and submit the signed form with any required payment by mail, fax, email, or hand-delivery to the relevant record custodian on any Faulkner campus.

  1. Submit to the record custodian, or appropriate University staff personnel, a written request which identifies as precisely as possible the record(s) the student wishes to inspect.
  2. The record custodian or an appropriate University staff person will make the needed arrangements for access as promptly as possible. The student will be notified of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Access must be given in 45 days or less from the receipt of the request.
  3. When a record contains information about more than one student, the student may inspect and review only the documents, which relate to his or her record.

Rights of the University to Refuse Access

Faulkner University reserves the right to refuse permission for a student to inspect the following records:

  1. The financial statement of the student’s parents.
  2. Letters and statements of recommendation for which the student waived his or her right of access, or which were placed in file before January 1, 1975.
  3. Records connected with an application to attend Faulkner University if the application was denied.
  4. Those records which are excluded from the Family Education Rights and Privacy Acts (FERPA) definition of education records.

Refusal to Provide Copies

Faulkner University reserves the right to deny transcripts or copies of records not required to be made available by the FERPA if the student has an unpaid financial obligation to the University or there is an unresolved disciplinary action against the student. Grades, reports of excessive absences from class, and other information relating to the current status of a student may only be released to a parent or guardian if the student is a dependent as defined and claimed on Federal income tax return or the student submits a signed release form granting permission to release information. This procedure may be followed until such time as the Registrar is informed, in writing, that the student is no longer a dependent. Grade reports and transcripts will not be released for any student until all financial obligations have been satisfied.

Refusal to Provide Copies of Documents Originating from another Institution or Agency

Faulkner University does not release documents that have been furnished to it by another educational institution or agency. Faulkner is not the official, legal custodian of record for any documents that did not originate at Faulkner University and therefore declines to release them. This includes documents such as high school records, ACT/SAT scores, AP/IB scores or college transcripts from other institutions. These records are for our internal university purposes only. Please contact the originating agency, organization or institution that produced the original records to obtain an official copy.

This information is also located in the Academic Catalogs.

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