Skip to main content

What is FERPA?

The Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA), or the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law designed to protect the education records of students from kindergarten to graduate school. FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records within a university setting, regardless of age. They are:

  1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the date the University receives a request for access.
  2. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading.
  3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
  4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
  5. The University may disclose Directory Information without a student's prior written consent.
  6. Students may restrict the release of Directory Information, except to school officials with legitimate educational interests and others as indicated in point #3 above.