Notification of Rights under FERPA

        The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. They are:       

 

(1) The right to inspect and review your student education records within 45 days of the day Union Graduate College receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect.  The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. UGC will respond to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records.

     

 

(2) The right to request an amendment of your student education records that you believe are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of your privacy rights. FERPA, however, only allows students to challenge and correct "ministerial errors" in their records, not to bring substantive claims regarding the reasons for a particular notation having been made. Students may ask UGC to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If UGC decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, UGC will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her 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 consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in your student education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.  One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to UGC officials with legitimate educational interests.  A UGC official is a person employed by UGC in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position, or a person or company with whom UGC has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, security personnel or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees of UGC; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another UGC official in performing his or her tasks.  A UGC official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional or job responsibilities.          

  

(4) The right to refuse to permit the designation of any or all of the following categories of personally identifiable information , hereafter “directory information,” which is not subject to the above restrictions on disclosure and may be disclosed by the College at its discretion:   

  

a.         name and campus e-mail address 

b.         city, town or village and state or country of residence       

c.         class, anticipated date of graduation, major field of study, including the college, division, department, or program in which the student is enrolled 

d.         participation in officially recognized activities and sports       

e.         weight and height of members of athletic teams       

f.          the most recent educational institution attended and previous educational institutions attended and dates of graduation therefrom      

g.         honors and awards received, including selection to a Dean’s list or honorary organization,      

h.         photographic, video or electronic images of students taken and maintained by UGC   

i.          marital status and spouse’s name

j.          parents names and city, town or village and state or country of their residence  

 

Any student wishing to exercise this right must inform the UGC Registrar in writing, by completing a form available in the Registrar’s office, within two weeks of the date you receive this notice, of the categories of personally identifiable information which are not to be designated as directory information with respect to that student.       

 

(5) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by UGC 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

               600 Independence Avenue, SW

               Washington, DC 20202-4605

 

Gerald H. Katzman, Esq.

General Counsel

Graduate College of Union University

Direct Dial: (518) 445-7298

Fax:               (518) 445-7341 

Email: katzmang@ACP.edu