Editor's notes:
POLICY TITLE: Policy on Student Privacy Rights
DATE OF ISSUANCE: This policy was originally issued in August 1976. The most recent revisions were approved by the President's Council on May 15, 2001. This policy is issued to the campus community every year in the Undergraduate Catalog.
ACCOUNTABLE DEPARTMENT/UNIT: Enrollment Services. Questions about policy content should be directed to the University Registrar’s Office, ext. 8-7404.
ABSTRACT: This policy notifies students of their rights under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Policy on Student
Privacy Rights
Policy Statement
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), you have the right to:
- inspect and review your education records;
- request an amendment to your education records if you
believe they are inaccurate or misleading;
- request a hearing if your request for an amendment is
not resolved to your satisfaction;
- consent to disclosure of personally identifiable
information from your education records, except to the extent that FERPA
authorizes disclosure without your consent;
- file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Family Policy
Compliance Office if you believe your rights under FERPA have been
violated.
1. Inspection
What are education
records?
Education records are records maintained by the university that are directly related to students. These include biographic and demographic data, application materials, course schedules, grades and work-study records. The term does not include:
- information contained in the private files of
instructors and administrators, used only as a personal memory aid and not
accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute
for the maker of the record;
- Campus Police records;
- employment records other than work-study records;
- medical and psychological records used solely for
treatment purposes;
- records that only contain information about individuals
after they have left the university;
- any other records that do not meet the above definition
of education records.
How do I inspect my
education records?
- Complete an Education
Inspection and Review Request Form (available online as a PDF document
or from The HUB, 12C Warner Hall)
and return it to The HUB in order to notify the University
Registrar’s Office.
- The custodian of the education record you wish to
inspect will contact you to arrange a mutually convenient time for inspection,
not more than 45 days after your request. The custodian or designee will
be present during your inspection.
- You will not be permitted to review financial
information, including your parents' financial information; or
confidential letters of recommendation, if you have waived your right to
inspect such letters.
- You can get copies of your education records from the
office where they are kept for 25 cents per page, prepaid.
2. Amendment
How do I amend my
educational records?
- Send a written, signed request for amendment to the
Vice President for Campus Affairs, Carnegie Mellon University, 610 Warner
Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Your request should specify the record you
want to have amended and the reason for amendment.
- The university will reply to you no later than 45 days
after your request. If the university does not agree to amend the record,
you have a right to a hearing on the issue.
3. Hearing
How do I request a
hearing?
- Send a written, signed request for a hearing to the
Vice President for Campus Affairs, Carnegie Mellon University, 610 Warner
Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. The university will schedule a hearing no
later than 45 days after your request.
How will the
hearing be conducted?
- A university officer appointed by the Vice President for
Campus Affairs, who is not affiliated with your enrolled college will
conduct the hearing.
- You can bring others, including an attorney, to the
hearing to assist or represent you. If your attorney will be present, you
must notify the university ten days in advance of the hearing so that the
university can arrange to have an attorney present too, if desired.
- The university will inform you of its decision, in
writing, including a summary of the evidence presented and the reasons for
its decision, no later than 45 days after the hearing.
- If the university decides not to amend the record, you
have a right to add a statement to the record that explains your side of
the story.
4. Disclosure
Carnegie
Mellon generally will not disclose personally identifiable information from
your education records without your consent except for directory information
and other exceptions specified by law.
What is directory
information?
Directory information is personally identifiable information of a general nature that may be disclosed without your consent, unless you specifically request the university not to do so. It is used for purposes like compiling campus directories.
If you do not want your directory information to be disclosed, you must notify the University Registrar’s Office, in writing, within the first 15 days of the semester.
Notifying the University Registrar’s Office covers only the disclosure of centralized records. Members of individual organizations such as fraternities, sororities, athletics, etc. must also notify those organizations to restrict the disclosure of directory information.
Carnegie Mellon has defined directory information as the following:
- your full name
- local/campus address
- local/campus telephone number
·
email
user id and address
(User ids cannot be completely suppressed from our
electronic systems. While it may be possible to suppress the association of an
individual's name with their user id, doing so may adversely impact the
delivery of electronic mail or other electronic services.)
- major, department, college
- class status (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior,
undergraduate, or graduate)
- dates of attendance (semester begin and end dates)
- enrollment status (full, half, or part time)
- date(s) of graduation,
- degrees awarded
- sorority or fraternity affiliation
For students participating in intercollegiate athletics, directory information also includes:
- height, weight
- sport of participation
What are the other
exceptions?
Under FERPA, Carnegie Mellon may release personally identifiable information from your education records without your prior consent to:
- school officials with legitimate educational interests
("School officials" are Carnegie Mellon employees in
administrative, supervisory, academic or support staff positions; Carnegie
Mellon trustees; individuals and companies with whom the university has
contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using university
employees such as attorneys, auditors, or collection agencies; and
individuals assisting school officials in performing their tasks. School
officials have a "legitimate educational interest" if they need
to review an education record in order to fulfill their professional
responsibilities.);
- certain federal officials in connection with federal
program requirements;
- organizations involved in awarding financial aid;
- state and local officials who are legally entitled to
the information;
- testing agencies such as the Educational Testing
Service, for the purpose of developing, validating, researching and
administering tests;
- accrediting agencies, in connection with their
accrediting functions;
- parents of dependent students (as defined in section
152 of the Internal Revenue Service Code);
- comply with a judicial order or subpoena (after making
a reasonable effort to notify the student in advance of compliance so that
the student can take protective action, except in cases where the
university is legally required not to disclose the existence of the
subpoena);
- appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency, if
necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other
individuals;
- officials of another school in which the student seeks
or intends to enroll;
- victims of violent crimes or non-forcible sexual
offenses (the results of final student disciplinary proceedings);
- parents or legal guardians of students under 21 years
of age (information regarding violations of university drug and alcohol
policies);
- courts (records relevant to legal actions initiated by
students, parents or the university);
- comply with federal laws concerning sex offenders and
other individuals required to register under section 170101 of the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
5. Complaints
If you believe the university has not complied with FERPA, you can file a complaint with the:
Family Policy Compliance
Office
Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202-4605
Footnote: Your Carnegie Mellon GUID (global user identification) number is also designated as directory information under FERPA, but does not contain personally identifiable information and therefore cannot be used by itself to determine your identity or to access your records.
