Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act Information
The
College provides annual notification of the required information concerning our
compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in the
Lafayette College Student Handbook. Please refer to that document for
detailed information. This document is a brief summary of student rights
under the Act.
The Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with
respect to their educational records. The types and locations of
educational records are listed in the Student Handbook.
Rights under FERPA
are:
1. The
right to inspect and review educational records within 45 days of the day the
college receives a request for access.
Normally access to
the record is granted in a much quicker time frame. The College will make
arrangements for access and notify the student of a time and place where the
records may be inspected. If the official, to whom the request was
submitted does not maintain the records, 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 educational record that the student
believes is inaccurate or misleading.
The student should
write the College official responsible for the record, identifying the part of
the record they want changed. The must specify why it is inaccurate or
misleading. If the College decides not to amend the record the student will be
notified of that decision and of the their right to a hearing.
3. The
right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information
contained in the student's educational record, except to the extent that FERPA
authorizes disclosure without consent.
Disclosure is
permitted to College officials, including persons or organization under
contract to the College, with a legitimate educational interest. A
College official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to
review the record in order to fulfill their professional responsibility.
Disclosure is also permitted to the parents of an eligible student who claim
the student as a dependent for income tax purposes. In addition
Directory Information may be released without written consent unless the
College is notified in writing not to disclose.
Other instances are
described in the Student Handbook under Policy on Student Records.
4. The
right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning
alleged failures by Lafayette College to comply with the requirements of
FERPA. The office that addresses FERPA issues is:
Family Policy
Compliance Office
U.S. Department of
Education
600 Independence Avenue,
SW
WASHINGTON DC 20202-4605