Notification of Rights under FERPA for Postsecondary Institutions

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) afford eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records. (An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who is 18 years of age or older or who attends a postsecondary institution.) These rights include:

1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days after the day the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) receives a request for access. A student should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, 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 (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

   UMHB discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to university officials with legitimate educational interests. A university official is a person employed by UMHB in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person serving on the board of trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee. A university official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the university who performs an institutional service of function for which the university would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the university with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent or a student volunteering to assist another university official in performing his or her tasks. A university 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 UMHB.

   Upon request, UMHB also discloses education records without consent to officials of another college/university in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by UMHB 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 Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202

FERPA further provides that certain information designated as “Directory Information” concerning the student may be released by UMHB unless the student has informed the university that such information should not be released. To withhold disclosure, written notification must be received in the Office of the Registrar. Forms requesting the withholding of “Directory Information” are available from the Registrar’s Office.

UMHB assumes that failure on the part of any student to specifically request the withholding of “Directory Information” indicates individual approval for disclosure.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor hereby designates the following student information as public or “Directory Information.” Such information may be disclosed by the institution to an inquirer, either in person, or by mail, telephone, email, etc., or otherwise made public for any purpose, at its discretion.

Directory Information: Name; current and permanent addresses; telephone number(s); email address(es); dates of attendance; enrollment status (e.g. full-time or part-time); school or division of enrollment; classification; major field(s) of study; awards; honors (including Provost’s and Dean’s Honor Rolls); degree(s) conferred (including dates); previous institution(s) attended; past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities; physical factors (height/weight) of athletes; date and place of birth; and digitized image(s)/photograph(s)/video(s). A student identification number may be disclosed as directory information provided that the number cannot be used to access your student records without the use of a password or PIN which is never considered directory information.

The policy that such information will be made generally available is communicated to presently enrolled students through the publication of these guidelines. An individual student currently enrolled may request that such directory information not be disclosed by completing the nondisclosure form which is available in the Registrar’s Office and providing the completed form to the Registrar’s Office.

FERPA permits the disclosure of PII from students’ education records, without consent of the student, if the disclosure meets certain conditions found in §99.31 of the FERPA regulations. Except for disclosures to university officials, disclosures related to some judicial orders or lawfully issued subpoenas, disclosures of directory information, and disclosures to the student, §99.32 of FERPA regulations requires the institution to record the disclosure. Eligible students have a right to inspect and review the record of disclosures. A postsecondary institution may disclose PII from the education records without obtaining prior written consent of the student:

• To other university officials, including teachers, within UMHB whom the university has determined to have legitimate educational interests. This includes contractors, consultants, volunteers, or other parties to whom the university has outsourced institutional services or functions, provided that the conditions listed in §99.31(a)(1)(i)(B)(1) - (a)(1)(i)(B)(2) are met. (§99.31(a)(1))
• To officials of another university where the student seeks or intends to enroll, or where the student is already enrolled if the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer, subject to the requirements of §99.34. (§99.31(a)(2))
• To authorized representatives of the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or State and local educational authorities, such as a State postsecondary authority that is responsible for supervising the university’s State-supported education programs. Disclosures under this provision may be made, subject to the requirements of §99.35, in connection with an audit or evaluation of Federal- or State-supported education programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with Federal legal requirements that relate to those programs. These entities may make further disclosures of PII to outside entities that are designated by them as their authorized representatives to conduct any audit, evaluation, or enforcement or compliance activity on their behalf. (§§99.31(a)(3) and 99.35)
• In connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or which the student has received, if the information is necessary to determine eligibility for the aid, determine the amount of the aid, determine the conditions of the aid, or enforce the terms and conditions of the aid. (§99.31(a)(4))
• To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, UMHB, in order to: (a) develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; (b) administer student aid programs; or (c) improve instruction. (§99.31(a)(6))
• To accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions. ((§99.31(a)(7))
• To parents of an eligible student if the student is a dependent for IRS tax purposes. (§99.31(a)(8))
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. (§99.31(a)(9))
• To appropriate officials in connection with a health or safety emergency, subject to §99.36. (§99.31(a)(10))
• Information UMHB has designated as “directory information” under §99.37. (§99.31(a)(11))
• To a victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense, subject to the requirements of §99.39. The disclosure may only include the final results of the disciplinary proceeding with respect to that alleged crime or offense, regardless of the finding. (§99.31(a)(13))
• To the general public, the final results of a disciplinary proceeding, subject to the requirements of §99.39, if UMHB determines the student is an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense and the student has committed a violation of the university’s rules or policies with respect to the allegation made against him or her. (§99.31(a)(14))
• To parents of a student regarding the student’s violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or of any rule or policy of UMHB, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if the university determines the student committed a disciplinary violation and the student is under the age of 21. (§99.31(a)(15))

As of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s FERPA regulations expanded the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records—including your Social Security Number, grades, or other private information—may be accessed without your consent. First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is “principally engaged in the provision of education,” such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.