Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

General Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) deals specifically with the educational records of students, affording them certain rights with respect to those records. For purposes of definition, education records are those records which are:

• Directly related to a student and;
• Maintained by an institution or a party acting for the institution

FERPA gives students who reach the age of 18, or who attend a postsecondary institution, the right to inspect and review their own education records. Furthermore, students have other rights including the right to request amendment of records and to have some control over the discussion of personally identifiable information from these records.

FERPA applies to all educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under most programs administered by the Secretary of Education (34 C.F.R. 99.1).

Almost all postsecondary institutions, both public and private, generally receive such funding and must, therefore, comply with FERPA. Under FERPA, students are given three primary rights. They have the right to:
1) inspect and review their education records;
2) have some control over the disclosure of information from their education records; and
3) seek to amend incorrect education records.

Electing FERPA Confidentiality

The university may release certain directory information to the public on a routine basis unless a student requests, in writing, that the university not release it. Requests for non-disclosure remain in effect until a subsequent written request to release directory information is received.

Students who request non-disclosure of direction information:

• Will not have their name printed in the published in the president/dean’s lists or commencement program
• Will not have attendance and/or degree verified for employers, insurance companies, etc.
• Will only be able to discuss their HINU records in person with photo identification

PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to elect the “confidentiality” option for your educational records, information for you will be withheld from a variety of sources, including you – the student. This also includes friends, relatives, prospective employers, and the news media. Each student is advised to consider carefully the consequences of a decision to elect “confidentiality.” Once elected, the University cannot acknowledge the existence of, or release information about, the record of any student who has elected the confidentiality option. (You can change this election at any time by submitting a request in writing). No information or services will be available to you via telephone if you have elected the confidentiality option. Your only options for conducting business transactions with the University would be in person, after presenting a valid State, student photo I.D. or Tribal Identification card, or through secure login on HINU systems.