Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notification and Rights

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) requires the University to provide an annual notification to students of their FERPA rights. 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 custodian of the education record, 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 should write the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.
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 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 official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the University.

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 Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5901

The University may release to the general public certain information about the student which has been identified by the institution as directory information. Directory information at Washburn University includes: student's name, photo, current address and phone number, permanent address and phone number, university assigned e-mail address, classification status (i.e. freshman, sophomore, etc.), major field of study, dates of attendance, honors and awards received, degrees and certificates received and dates awarded, enrollment level and status (full-time, half-time, less than half-time, undergraduate or graduate), most recent educational institution attended, participation in officially recognized activities and sports and height and weight of members of athletic teams.

Students may "opt out" of the disclosure of directory information by completing a form in the Student One Stop (SOS). If a student "opts out", the University will not disclose directory information without the student’s written consent. The "opt out" will remain in effect until the student submits a written revocation.