Disclosure of Education Records
Student education records may not be
disclosed to anyone unless
- the student has given written consent, or
- the request fits one of the legal exceptions.
One of the exceptions is the release of "directory information" about a student. Consent from a
student is not generally required for the release of directory information and
it may be viewed and released to the public, unless the student has placed an
affirmative "restriction" on its release.
The Registrar is charged with defining “directory information” at the University
of Arizona. FERPA provides a list of
data elements from which the University’s list is selected.
At the present time, the University of
Arizona defines directory information as the following:
- student’s name;
- date of birth;
- local/residence hall address (no dorm room numbers);
- local/residence hall telephone number;
- official university electronic mail address;
- college;
- class standing/classification;
- academic program (degree, major, minor);
- dates of attendance;
- status (full or part-time registration);
- degrees received;
- honors and awards received;
- participation in officially recognized activities; and
- weight and height of members of athletic teams.
Under the Solomon Amendment, student
military recruiting information (name address, telephone number, age or year of
birth, level of education [e.g. freshman, sophomore] and major of currently
enrolled students will be released to military recruiters unless students have
previously requested that no directory information be disclosed to third parties
under FERPA.
Note: Recruiters should only
ask registrars for Solomon Amendment student lists. Registrars,
as student records managers, should be the only school officials
responsible for providing student lists to recruiters.
Before releasing directory
information, you must check to see if the student has placed a restriction on
the release of his/her directory information. This can be done by checking
the student information systems (e.g. SIS screen 103,
or COSMOS Person Bio Demo), or by
contacting the Office of the Registrar - Registration and Transcripts (621-3113).
Note that "dates of attendance" is
intended to refer to general information, such as "from the fall/spring
semester of (year) through the fall/spring semester of (year)."
Specific records of a student's attendance or non-attendance at classes are not
directory information.
In general, a student has a right to access
and review his/her education records, subject only to reasonable time, place
and manner restrictions. However, a student does not have the right to
see confidential letters of recommendation (those to which the student has
waived access to in writing), confidential financial information of parents,
those items not defined as education records, and records that contain
information on more than one student. In the last instance, the student
may see only those portions of the record that pertain to him/herself.
If there is any doubt about the student's
identity, ask to see some form of identification before granting the student
access to the file requested.
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