The Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) affords student certain rights with respect to
their education records. They are:
The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day UW Stevens Point receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar's Office written requests that identify the record(s) they wish 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's Office, the student shall be advised of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate. Students may ask UW Stevens Point to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the Registrar, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If UW Stevens Point decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the student shall be notified of the decision and advised as to his or her 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 contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by UW Stevens Point in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom UW Stevens Point has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent, degree conferral & transcript processing agent, document managing agent, and placement sites for internship or similar student work/study opportunities); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; 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; consultants, volunteers or other outside parties to whom UW Stevens Point has outsourced institutional services or functions that it would otherwise use employees to perform. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. As allowed within FERPA guidelines, UW Stevens Point may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school, upon request, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of
Education concerning alleged failures by UW Stevens Point 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, 20202-4605. At its discretion UW Stevens Point
may provide Directory Information in accordance with the
provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
Directory Information is defined as that information which would
not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if
disclosed. Designated
Directory Information at UW Stevens Point includes the
following: student name, home address, local address, home and
local telephone number, email address, place of birth,
major/minor field of study, and college, participation in
officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height
of members of athletic teams, attendance (including beginning,
ending, registration and withdrawal dates; credits carried by
term; current classification; and graduation (dates), degrees
and awards, previous school attended, name of parents or
guardian, and high
school.
Students may withhold Directory Information by completing the
request to
withhold directory information form. Please note that such
withholding requests are binding for all information to all
parties other than for those exceptions allowed under the Act.
Students should consider all aspects of a Directory Hold prior
to filing such a request. Requests for non-disclosure will be in
effect until the student authorizes a change.