The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) establishes a set of regulations governing access to and the release of personal and academic information contained in student records. FERPA gives students who have reached the age of 18, or who attend a postsecondary institution, the right to inspect and review their education records, the right to amend their records and the right to exercise some control over the disclosure of certain information contained in these records.

This act allows release of the following directory information to the public without student consent: student name, address, date and place of birth, telephone number, major field(s) of study, e-mail address, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of athletic team members, dates of attendance, full-time/part-time status, degrees and awards/honors received and the most recent educational institution attended.

The Solomon Amendment establishes guidelines for the release of directory information to the United States military for recruiting purposes.

This congressional act allows release of the following directory information without student consent to military recruiters for present and previously enrolled students at least 17 years of age: student name, address, date and place of birth, telephone number, level of education, major field(s) of study, degrees received and the educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled.

Students may request to suppress the release of directory information by completing the Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information form in the Registrar's Office.

Students may consent to release personally identifiable information such as semester grades, class schedule, academic record and transcript, current academic standing and the student and/or social security number. The act allows disclosure of this information without student consent to certain government agencies/officials, sponsoring agencies, parents of dependent students and to selected university personnel determined to have legitimate educational interest in such records.

Students may consent to release of personally identifiable information to others by completing the Authorization for Release of Student Information form in the Registrar's Office.

Disclosure is defined as: permitting access to or the release, transfer or other communication of the education records of a student or the personally identifiable information contained therein to any party, orally, in writing, by electronic means or by any other means. Disclosure of confidential information to a school official having a legitimate educational interest does not constitute authorization to share that information with a third party without the student's written permission.

One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position, including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff; and a person or a company with whom the university has contracted, such as attorney, auditor or collection agent.

Upon request, the university may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll; a person serving on the board of trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest as opposed to a personal private interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill his or her professional responsibility, and such determination is made by the University Registrar on a case-by-case basis.

Student Rights Under the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974:

1. The right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of the day the university receives a request for access.

2. The right to request amendment of their education records the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. FERPA was not intended to provide a process to be used to question substantive judgments that are correctly recorded. The rights of challenge are not intended to allow students to contest, for example, a grade in a course because they felt a higher grade should have been assigned or to request removal of a test grade.

3. The right to exercise some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Florida Tech to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

The Family Compliance Office reviews and investigates complaints from the respective student(s) for alleged violations under FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Compliance Office
United States Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605

Information about the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended may be found in the University Catalog and the full text of the law from the Federal Register may be obtained from the University Registrar.