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I hope your semester is off to a great start. Please take a moment to review the notification below concerning student rights and FERPA.

The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is designed to protect the privacy of students. It does this by giving students certain rights with respect to their education records. In brief, these rights are:

  1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of receipt of such request.
  2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education record that the student believes is inaccurate or misleading. The right to a hearing if the request to correct an alleged inaccuracy is denied.
  3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records by written permission, with the student’s signature and date. Excluding that which FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
  4. As of January 3, 2012, the regulations expand the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records―including your Social Security number, grades, or other private information—may be accessed without your consent. First, the US Comptroller General, the US Attorney General, the US Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is “principally engaged in the provision of education,“ such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.
  5. The right to file a with the US Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the university to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
  6. The right to obtain a copy of the complete university policy regarding FERPA.

The university may establish categories of information known as “Directory Information” and release this information without student consent upon request to individuals external to the institution. Certain categories of Directory Information are also available through the “Find People” search on IUP’s website.

Directory information includes the following:

  • Name, address, telephone number, email address (local, campus, and permanent)
  • Dates enrolled, status of attendance, previous institutions attended, and anticipated date of graduation.
  • Program and concentration(s) and minor(s)
  • Degrees conferred and awards and honors (including Dean’s List and Provost Scholar)
  • Past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities as well as physical factors of athletes (such as height and weight)
  • Email username

In addition, access to a student’s education record may be permitted by university faculty and staff for legitimate educational purposes where access is necessary to complete their university-related duties.

In accordance with FERPA and its underlying regulations, IUP may release directory information related to students without violating privacy rights. IUP, however, does not make directory information available to the public. IUP limits the release of directory information for official university purposes, e.g., (1) identifying athletic team members; (2) publishing names of scholarship recipients and students on graduation and dean’s lists; (3) issuing academic awards; (4) verifying enrollment or degree status and (5) providing such information to organizations that are officially affiliated with the university or with whom the university has a contractual relationship. See 34 C.F.R § 99.37(d).

Currently enrolled students may block the public disclosure of all directory information by completing a Non-disclosure Form. Non-disclosure Forms are available at the Registrar’s Office, third floor Clark Hall, or can be downloaded from the web. A non-disclosure block will prohibit IUP from releasing any of the student’s “directory information;” thus, any future requests for such information from non-institutional persons or organizations will be refused.

IUP will honor a student’s request to withhold directory information, but cannot assume responsibility to contact the student for subsequent permission to release this information. Regardless of the effect upon the student, IUP assumes no liability as a result of honoring the student’s instructions that such information be withheld. Once such a request has been filed by a student, the request will be honored by the university until removed, in writing, by the student.

Thank you for your time and attention, and if there are questions regarding this procedure, please feel free to contact the Registrar’s Office at 724-357-2217.

Michael R. Powell Jr.
Registrar