The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records.
ANNUAL NOTIFICATION TO STUDENTS UNDER FERPA FOR POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS AND DIRECTORY INFORMATION DISCLOSURE NOTICE 2023-2024
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA, (sometimes called the Buckley Amendment) was passed by Congress in 1974 to afford eligible students certain rights with respect to their own education records. Consistent with federal regulations, Henderson State University is providing this annual notice of student rights. Henderson State University is also taking this opportunity to provide students with a Directory Information Disclosure Notice. For purposes of this Annual Notice of Student Rights and the Directory Information Disclosure Notice, the following definitions apply:
Student: “Student” means an individual who attends or has attended classes at Henderson State University. “Student” does not include applicants for admission who are not accepted to Henderson State University or applications who are accepted but choose not to attend Henderson State University.
Education Record: “Education Records” are those records, files, documents, and other materials which contain information directly related to a student and which are maintained by Henderson State University or a person acting for Henderson State University.
ANNUAL NOTICE OF STUDENT RIGHTS
A Henderson State University student’s rights under FERPA include:
1. The student’s right to inspect and review their own education records.
a. Students should submit written requests to the Registrar (registrar@hsu.edu) that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. Henderson State University is not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for students to review the records. A fee may be charged for copies.
2. The right to seek amendment of education records the student believes to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights.
a. Students should write to the Registrar (registrar@hsu.edu) to clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
3. The right to have some control over the disclosure of information from their education records. FERPA grants students the right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in their education records, except to the extent that FERPA and its implementing regulations authorize disclosure without consent. Online forms can be found here: https://hsu.edu/academics/registrar/forms/
a. A student may consent in writing to disclosure of education records. The student’s written consent must be signed, dated, and specify which records are to be disclosed, to whom, and for what purpose. The consent must be delivered to the office of the Registrar (registrar@hsu.edu). The student may retract the consent in writing at any time. Proper proof of identity may be required by the Registrar’s office before consent is retracted.
b. Henderson State University may disclose “directory information” related to individual students without their consent unless the student has opted out of such disclosure by submitting a request for non-disclosure of directory information form to the registrar@hsu.edu. Please see the “Directory Information Disclosure Notice” section below for additional information, including the applicable definition of the term “directory information.”
c. Henderson State University may disclose education records without consent to a “school official” with a “legitimate educational interest.”
i. “School officials” include administrators, supervisors, faculty members, instructors, support staff, members of the Board of Trustees, persons or companies with whom the university has contracted for special tasks (e.g., National Student Clearinghouse), and university committee members.
ii. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill their professional responsibility.
d. Upon request, Henderson State University may disclose education records without consent to officials of another college or school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
e. In connection with an emergency, if such information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or another person, Henderson State University may disclose education records without consent.
f. Henderson State University may disclose education records without consent in accordance with a lawful subpoena or court order.
g. The parent of a student may exercise inspection rights under FERPA if the student is claimed as a dependent by the parent for income tax purposes. Dependency must be proven by submission of a copy of the parent’s most recent income tax return to the Registrar registrar@hsu.edu.
h. Henderson State University may otherwise disclose education records without consent as permitted under FERPA and its implementing regulations, including but not limited to 34 CFR § 99.31.
4. Students have the right to file a complaint with Bobbie Lee, Director of Compliance and Student Advocacy. Although students are not required to file a FERPA complaint with the university prior to filing a complaint with the Department of Education, they are strongly encouraged to do so. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome achieved through the on-campus process, they may still file a complaint with the Department of Education, provide the time has not run for them to do so.
5. Students have 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 and its implementing regulations. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:
U.S. Department of Education
Student Privacy Policy Office
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-8520
See: https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/file-a-complaint
The Office of the Registrar maintains a copy of the full text of FERPA, posts electronic information on FERPA, and processes all FERPA requests and challenges.
Additional information on FERPA can be found on the Henderson State University Registrar’s website using this link https://hsu.edu/compliance/family-educational-rights-and-privacy-act-ferpa/
DIRECTORY INFORMATION DISCLOSURE NOTICE
Directory information may be disclosed to any person or entity without student consent unless the student submits a completed request for non-disclosure of directory information form to the Office of the Registrar. The written request for non-disclosure of directory information may be submitted to the Registrar at any time. If a student elects not to allow disclosure of directory information, Henderson State University cannot share information regarding the student with any person or entity including prospective employers, licensing agencies, government agencies, the media, and others, except as otherwise allowed by FERPA and its implementing regulations. The student may retract the directory information non-disclosure in writing at any time. Proper proof of identity may be required by the Registrar’s office before the directory information non-disclosure is retracted.
“Directory information” is designated to be the student’s name; local and permanent physical addresses; electronic mail addresses; telephone listings; photographs and electronic images; date and place of birth; major field of study; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; dates of attendance; degrees and awards received; and most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.