FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of, and limit access to, the education records of students. FERPA identifies the following privacy rights of students:

• The right to inspect and review their education records
• The right to seek to amend their education records
• The right to have some control over the disclosure of information from their education records

At the postsecondary level, parents, guardians, and other individuals associated with a student are not automatically granted access to the student's education records.  Regardless of the student's age, all rights and responsibilities associated with a student's education records transfer from the parent or guardian to the student when the student begins attendance at a postsecondary institution (such as the University of Hartford), even if the parent or guardian is paying for the student's education. Therefore, according to federal law, we may not discuss certain aspects of a student's education record with a parent, guardian, or other third party unless consent is granted by the student. The University of Hartford offers a Consent to Release Student Information form, which may be completed and submitted by a student to provide this consent. These forms are also available in the Student Administrative Services Center.

View complete FERPA regulations at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/reg/ferpa/index.html.