Student Rights Under FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records. An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who is 18 years of age or older and who attends or has attended a postsecondary institution. Students at Appalachian State University are notified by email of these FERPA rights annually to their Appalachian State University email account at the beginning of each term. These rights include:

 

1. The right to inspect and review your education records.

The Registrar's Office is designated by the University as the official custodian of education records. A student should submit to the Registrar's Office a written request which identifies as precisely as possible the record or records he or she wishes to inspect. The Registrar's Office will make the necessary arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Access will be given within forty-five (45) days or less from the date of the request. When a record contains information about more than one student, the student may inspect and review only that portion of the record which pertains directly to him or her.

 

2. The right to request the amendment of your education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.

A student must contact the Registrar's Office, in writing, asking that a record be amended. In so doing, the student should clearly identify the part of the record to be amended and specify why the student believes it to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's rights. The University, represented by the Registrar's Office and, if applicable, in consultation with the office that maintains the record in question, will decide either to comply or to not comply. If the University decides to comply, it will amend the record and notify the student, in writing, that the record has been amended. If the University decides to not comply, it will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing to challenge the information believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's rights. If the University does not comply, and upon receiving a written request from the student, the University will arrange for a hearing and notify the student, in sufficient time, of the date, place, and time of the hearing.


3. The right to have some control over the disclosure of information from your educational records.

The right to provide written consent before the university discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
For more information on release of student information, visit our section on Release of Student Information.

 

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.

Please check with the Office of the Registrar for current contact information for the U.S. Department of Education.