FERPA Annual Notice

STUDENT RIGHTS PROTECTED UNDER THE ‘FAMILY
EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT’ (FERPA) OF 1974

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 afford students certain rights with respect to
their education records. They are;

The Right to Inspect and Review Records
Students have the right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days after the day EOU
receives a request for access. A student should submit to the registrar a written request that identifies the
record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the
student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the
registrar, the registrar shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be
addressed.

The Right to Request Amendment of Records
Students are granted the right to request the amendment of the education record(s) the student believes is
inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. A student who
wishes to ask EOU to amend a record should submit to the registrar a written request clearly identifying the
part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed. If EOU decides not to
amend the record as requested, EOU will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s right
to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures
will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

The Right to Consent to Disclosures of Personally Identifiable Information
FERPA gives students the right to consent before information contained in the student’s education records is
released, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. For further information
regarding these exceptions see the registrar’s FERPA website under 99.31 (prior consent not required).
One of the commonly used exceptions that permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school
officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the university in an
administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including health staff and
members of the law enforcement office); a person or company with whom the university has contracted; a
person or company acting as consultant or volunteer for the university; a person serving on the Board of
Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or
assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.
A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an educational record in
order to fulfill their professional responsibility.

The Right to File a Complaint with the U.S. Department of Education
Students are granted the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged
failures by EOU to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that
administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202

Another commonly used exception that allows Eastern Oregon University to release student information without the students’ written consent is ‘Directory Information’.

We define Directory Information as;
The student’s full name,
The student’s mailing address and phone number,
The student’s permanent address and phone number,
The student’s EOU email address,
The student’s class level and academic major and minor,
The student’s dates of attendance at EOU,
The student’s status at EOU as presently or formerly enrolled,
Degrees, honors, and certificates awarded to the student (including dates),
The student’s cumulative credit hours,
The student’s enrollment status at EOU as full time, three-quarters time, half-time, or less than half-time,
The student’s participation in officially recognized activities,
The height and weight of students participating in EOU Athletics.

Normally EOU will release Directory Information to any inquiry, however students have the right to restrict
EOU from releasing Directory Information. Students who wish to do so must request confidential/non-
disclosure status by filling out the ‘update confidential status form’ on the registrar’s FERPA website. A
student’s request that EOU restrict the release of directory information will take effect no later than two days
after the submission of the request. The request has no effect on information released prior to that date.
Directory information will be withheld indefinitely until the request to withhold disclosure is revoked via the
‘update confidential status form’ on the registrar’s FERPA website. The non-disclosure of directory
information will call for EOU not to release any directory information for any non-institutional persons or
organizations requests, this includes dean’s list participation and commencement program releases.

11/20/2018