http://www.touro.edu/registrar/ferpa.asp
Confidentiality of Student Education Records
The Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act of 1974
(FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended, grants all eligible students the right of access to their own
educational records as defined in the law. The law prohibits access to or
release of personally identifiable information without the prior written
consent of the student except under certain limited circumstances. Touro
College policy does not permit access to or release of student records to any
party except as authorized by this law. It should be noted, however, that this
legislation concerning privacy is affected by Section 510 of the Veterans
Education and Employment Act of 1976, which provides that, P.L. 93-568 notwithstanding,
records and accounts pertaining to veterans, as well as those of other
students, shall be available for examination by government representatives. It
is also affected by Sections 507 and 508 of the Patriot Act of 2001, which
provides that officials designated by the U.S. Attorney General may petition
the court to examine records deemed relevant to certain authorized
investigations or prosecutions. If a student wishes to inspect or review his
or her records, he or she may contact the office concerned. Complete
information concerning this policy is available in the Office of the
Registrar.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as
amended (FERPA), was designed to protect the privacy of education records. Education
records include records, files, documents, or other materials in hard
copy or in electronic format, maintained by Touro College or a party acting on behalf of Touro College, which contain
information directly related to a student. FERPA specifies some limited
exceptions including certain personal memory aids and employment records.
FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to
their education records. These rights include:
- The right to inspect and review the student’s education
records within a reasonable period of time, but not more than 45 days after the College receives a request for access.
Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic
department, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify
the record(s) they wish to inspect. The College official will make
arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place the
records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the
College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall
advise the students of the correct official to whom the request should be
addressed.
- The right to request an amendment to the student’s
education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's rights of privacy. Students may
ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They
should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly
identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is
inaccurate. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested
by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and
advise the student of 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 provide signed and dated written consent before the College discloses personally
identifiable information contained in the student’s education records,
except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
- One exception that permits disclosure without consent is
disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A
school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative,
supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including
law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company
with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or
collection agent); 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 education record in order to
fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
- A second exception that permits disclosure without
consent is disclosure of Directory Information. Directory information is
information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of
privacy if released.
The following is considered
“Directory Information” at Touro College and may be made available to the
general public unless the student notifies the Office of the Registrar in
writing before the last day to add classes in a semester:
·
Name
·
Address
·
E-mail address
·
Telephone Listing
·
Date and Place of birth
·
College
·
Major
·
Honors and Awards
·
Photo
·
Classification
·
Dates of enrollment
·
Status
·
Degrees conferred
·
Dates of conferral
·
Graduation distinctions
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of
Education concerning alleged failures by Touro College 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.