Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
In order to safeguard student educational records, Congress passed the Buckley Amendment in 1976. The Buckley Amendment is the basis of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in which schools are charged with upholding the safety of student information. The primary focus of FERPA is to ensure that a student has reasonable access to his/her educational records and along with this openness must come the assurance of the privacy of the record. All information belongs to the student and cannot be released without written permission. The only exception to this written permission clause pertains to what the institution defines as directory information. Directory information is information the institution may publish and distribute without written consent. Mount Saint Mary’s University considers the following items directory information:
Name
Address
Phone Number
Class
Major
Campus of Attendance
Degree Program
Degree(s) and Awards Received
Enrollment Status/Dates of Attendance
Students have the right to withhold all information, directory and non-directory, and can do this by filing an Information Hold Request with the Registrar’s Office. Requests to withhold information are granted for one semester. See current Student Handbook for more information.