Student Privacy: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

General Information

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (also known as FERPA, and/or the Buckley Amendment) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They are:

  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.

    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.

    Note: Students must provide photo identification in order to access their education records.
  2. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading.

    Students who believe their record is inaccurate or misleading should write to 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 about the request for amendment. Additional information about the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

    Note: FERPA does not address grade disputes or grievances, which are pursued through other university and/or college procedures.

  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. School officials are administrators, faculty, professional staff, academic advisors, clerical or support employees, including ASU law enforcement unit personnel and ASU health staff; a person or company with whom the university has contracted as its agent, acting with a legitimate educational interest, to provide a service instead of using university employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent, service provider); a person serving on the Board of Regents; 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 interest in an education record is justified under one or more of the following conditions:
    • the information or records requested are relevant and necessary to accomplish some task or determination related to the legitimate educational interest of the student
    • the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the university
    • the task or determination is an employment responsibility or a properly assigned subject for the inquirer's determination and/or
    • the task or determination is consistent with the purpose for which the records, information, or data are maintained.

    Note: A parent of a dependent student may challenge denial of access to the dependent student's record by producing the most current copy of Internal Revenue Form 1040. (Dependency is defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code.) If that form lists the student in question as a dependent, the parent will be required to sign an Affidavit of Dependency which affirms that the student is his/her tax dependent. The affidavit will be retained by the University Registrar's Office and must be renewed each tax year. Upon receipt of these documents, the dependent student records will be made available to the parent as specified under FERPA.

  4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Arizona State University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

    Students are encouraged to first contact the University Registrar's Administrative Office at (480) 965-7302. A complaint may be filed with the Department of Education at the following address:

    Family Policy Compliance Office
    U.S. Department of Education
    400 Maryland Avenue, SW
    Washington, DC, 20202-4605

Definitions

Student —is any individual formally admitted to and registered for at least one class at Arizona State University.

Education Record —any record(s) directly related to a student and maintained by Arizona State University or by a party acting for the university. This includes any information or data recorded in any medium, including, but not limited to: handwriting, print, tapes, film, microforms, and electronic media.

Directory Information (or releasable information)—is general information that may be released to anyone without the consent of the student, unless the student indicates otherwise:

  • Student Name
  • Addresses: (e.g., Local, Home, Mailing and ASU e-mail, including directory number)
  • Local Telephone Number
  • Date of Birth
  • Degrees, Honors, and Awards Received (including National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholars)
  • Academic Level
  • Major
  • College
  • Dates of Attendance
  • Participation in Officially Recognized Activities/Sports
  • Weight/Height of Members of Athletic Teams
  • Most Recently Attended Institution

Personally Identifiable Information (or non releasable information)—includes all information not defined as directory information, plus, any information including directory information that the student has instructed ASU not to release. Personally identifiable information may not be released without the prior written consent of the student, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

Student Control of Directory Information

Students may control release of directory information by submitting a form to any Registrar site .

Unless otherwise requested, a student's name, local address, local telephone number, home address, academic level, college and major will appear both in the directory of faculty, staff, and students on ASU's web directory and in the printed ASU Directory of Faculty, Staff, and Students, which is published each fall semester. (The web directory also lists the student's ASU e-mail address.) To avoid the release of directory information in the printed directory, the appropriate form must be submitted to a Registrar site , before the end of the third week of the fall semester. Students may limit the release of directory information on the Web page and/or in response to general inquiries at any time, by submitting the appropriate form.

ASU has a policy that regulates and permits the sale of enrolled student directory information only through the University Registrar's Office. Unless otherwise directed by the student, directory information is subject to sale to outside purchasers.

Students accessing education records or receiving university services must provide proof of identification.

Questions or requests for additional information may be directed to the University Registrar's Records Information Section, Tempe campus, Student Services Building, 144, (480) 965-3124.

FERPA FAQs