Carnegie Mellon University
Division of Student Affairs  ›  Office of Community Responsibility  ›  Student Educational Records Retention & Reporting

Student Educational Records Retention & Reporting

The Office of Community Responsibility (OCR) is responsible for maintaining the centralized records of all community standards and academic integrity actions cases consistent with the university policies on Community Standards Records Retention and Reporting and Academic Integrity Actions Records Retention and Reporting, respectively.

A student educational record consists of the official notification from investigating parties, any supporting documentation, and any subsequent correspondence. Student conduct records are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and are not released to parents, employers, or graduate schools without the written consent of the student. Records are reported for up to three years after the student graduates or withdraws from the university. These records may become part of a background check if the student provides the necessary permission to access the records.

Students who fail a course as a result of an academic integrity violation or who otherwise receive point deductions that impact their final grade will see that grade appear on their transcript. However, the reason why that grade was assigned will not appear. So while it will not explicitly state that a student failed a class due to an academic integrity issue, a failing grade that is an outlier on a transcript with otherwise solid grades will warrant further explanation.
Employers and graduate schools often perform background checks that require candidates to authorize the release of full academic records from all institutions previously attended. A full academic record includes a student’s transcript and their records related to community standards and academic integrity actions. To initiate an educational records check, click HERE and fill out the form.

In order for OCR to release information about a student’s educational record to a prospective employer or graduate school, the student must authorize the release of that information in writing. OCR is notified of the authorization and once it is received, OCR contacts the student to confirm that the authorization has been received.

Student Affairs provides the employer or graduate school with a letter that notes the number of violation(s), the specific policy that has been breached with each violation, and the semester(s) in which the violation(s) occurred.

All reports of academic integrity violations that are submitted to the Office of Community Responsibility become part of a student's educational records, consistent with the universty policy on Academic Integrity Actions Records Retention and Reporting.
If you have any questions or need more information about a educational records check, please contact communityresponsibility@andrew.cmu.edu or call (412) 268-2140.