Administrative Guidelines for Academic Department Chairs

Section Ten - FERPA & Travel Policy

FERPA 10:0
Gustavus FERPA Policy (Family Educational Rights and Privacy)

Section 10:0

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

Gustavus Adolphus College accords its students all rights under The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, and will annually notify students and their parents of their rights pursuant to FERPA through notifications in the College Catalog, Gustavus Guide, and Information Please. The College will not disclose information from students' education records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, to persons or organizations providing students financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons.

At Gustavus only those persons acting in the students' educational interest are allowed access to student education records. These include personnel in the offices of the Dean of Students, Provost, Registrar, Admissions, Academic Advising, Student Financial Assistance, Career Services, and to faculty members within the limitations of their need to know.

At its discretion, the institution may provide directory information in accordance with the provisions of the Act to include: student name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, the most recent previous educational institution attended, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and weight and height of members of athletic teams.

Students may withhold directory information by filing the appropriate form with the Registrar within two weeks after the first day of classes for the fall semester. Request for nondisclosure will be honored by the institution for only one academic year; therefore, authorization to withhold directory information must be filed annually.

Students may inspect their education records, challenge any contents, have hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory, and submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if they feel the decisions of the hearing panel are unsatisfactory.

Student education records at Gustavus are maintained in the offices of the Dean of Students, Registrar, Student Financial Assistance, and Career Services.

Students wishing to examine their education records must make written requests to the appropriate office listing the item or items of interest. Only records covered by the Act will be made available, within thirty days of the requests. Students may have copies made of their records, except for an academic record for which a financial "hold" exists, or a transcript of an original or source document. Copies will be made at the student's expense at prevailing rates.

Education records do not include records of instructional, administrative, and educational personnel which are the sole possession of the maker and are not accessible or revealed to any individual except a temporary substitute, records of the security department, student health records, employment records, or alumni records. Health records, however, may be reviewed by physicians of the students' choosing.

Students may not inspect the following as outlined by the Act: financial information submitted by their parents; confidential letters and recommendations associated with admissions, employment, job placement, or honors to which they have waived their rights of inspection; or education records containing information about more than one student, in which case the College will permit access only to that part of the record which pertains to the inquiring student.

The College is not required to permit students to inspect and review confidential letters and recommendations placed in their files prior to January 1, 1975.

Students who believe that their education records contain information that is inaccurate or misleading may discuss the matter with the chief administrator of the office involved. If that person is in agreement with the students' requests, the appropriate records will be amended. If not, the students will be notified within a reasonable period of time that the records will not be amended and be informed of their rights to a formal hearing.

Requests for a formal hearing must be made in writing to the Dean of Students who, within a reasonable period, will inform students of the date, place, and the time of the hearing. Students may present evidence relevant to the issues raised and may be assisted or represented at the hearing by one or more persons of their choice, including attorneys, at the students' expense. The hearing panel will be comprised of the students' faculty adviser, a representative of the Dean of Students, and the Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Decisions of the hearing panel will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing, will consist of written statements summarizing the evidence and stating the reasons for the decisions, and will be delivered to all parties concerned. The education records will be corrected or amended in accordance with the decisions of the hearing panels, if the decisions are in favor of the students. If the decisions are unsatisfactory to the students, the students may place with the education records statements commenting on the information in the records, or statements setting forth any reasons for disagreeing with decisions of the hearing panels. The statements will be released whenever the records in question are disclosed.

Students who believe that the adjudications of their challenges were not in keeping with the provisions of the Act may request, in writing, assistance from the President of the College. Further, students who believe that their rights have been abridged, may file complaints with The Family Educational Rights Privacy Act Office (FERPA), Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C. 20201, concerning the alleged failures of Gustavus to comply with the Act.

Approved by the Gustavus Adolphus College Board of Trustees: June 28, 1993.

Appendix A

Travel Policy

For more information on the Gustavus Adolphus College Travel Policy, please view the complete policy online at: www.gustavus.edu/finance/travel.php

Last modified: July 14, 2010, by Shanon Nowell