Policy on Privacy of Student Educational Records
Annual Notification

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the California Education Code afford parents (of dependent students 17 years old and under) and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. They are:

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.  Parents or eligible students should submit to the Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
2. The right to request an amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes is inaccurate or misleading.  Parents or eligible students may ask Holy Names University to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the Registrar, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the University will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their rights to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the parent or eligible student when notified of the right to a hearing.
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.  One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to “university officials” with “legitimate educational interests”. A “university official” is a person employed by the University as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, or support staff; a person serving on the Board of Trustees; a person or company with whom the University has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant, or therapist); a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee: or a student assisting 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 responsibility and/or clearly specified duties.
4. The University has designated the following student information “directory information”, and at their discretion may release this information:
   
   
   1. Category 1: name, address, email, telephone number, dates of attendance.
   2. Category 2: major field of study, awards, honors (including Dean’s List), and degree (s) conferred (including dates).
   3. Category 3: past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities, physical factors (height, weight of athletes), date and place of birth.

As required by Section 99.37 of the FERPA regulations, this serves as annual public notice of this action. Students have the right to withhold any item in “directory information”, but must notify the University of such in writing (completion of university form, Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information, available in the Student Resource Center), by the first day of their first term at the University. This hold will remain in effect until and unless changed subsequently by re-submitting a request form to the Student Resource Center.

5.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
600 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605