Annual Notice of FERPA Rights
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords 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 or who attends a postsecondary institution at any age.) These rights include:
The right to inspect and review
Students have the right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of the date the University receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will coordinate access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the Registrar does not maintain the records, the Registrar will forward the student’s request to the office where the records are maintained to facilitate the student’s inspection either with the Registrar or with the office.
The right to seek an amendment of the student’s educational records
A student has the right to seek an amendment to that student’s education records if the student believes the record to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student’s privacy rights. The University will follow its internal processes to review any request for amendment.
If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, it will notify the student of that decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Students may request a hearing within three (3) days of receiving this notice by sending their reasons for challenging the denial of amendment to the Registrar. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of this right.
The right to prevent disclosure of student’s personally identifiable information
A student has the right to provide signed and dated written consent before disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in their education records, except to the extent that FERPA and its implementing regulations authorize disclosures without consent.
One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with “legitimate educational interests.” A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official has a “need to know” information contained within a student’s education record in order to fulfill their official responsibilities.
Examples of people who may have access, depending on their official duties, and only within the context of those duties, include: university faculty and staff, agents of the institution, students employed by the institution or who serve on official institutional committees, and representatives of agencies under contract with the University.
Directory information
Directory information may be released without a student’s express consent. KCU defines directory information as: the student’s name, student’s photo and video; student ID, user ID, or other unique personal identifier that is displayed on a Student ID; city and state of residence; telephone number; institutional e-mail address; date of birth; program of study; dates of attendance; enrollment status; participation in officially recognized activities; degrees, honors and awards received; the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student, and the location, training institution and medical specialty identified for postdoctoral education.
The right to withhold the release of directory information
To do so, students can make this change via their profiles in Workday. Please note these important details regarding placing a FERPA hold on your record:
- KCU receives many inquiries for directory information from a variety of sources inside as well as outside the institution, including friends, parents, relatives, prospective employers, the news media and honor societies. Having a FERPA hold on your record will preclude release of such information, even to those people.
- A FERPA hold applies to all elements of directory information on the student’s record. KCU does not apply a FERPA hold differently to the various individual directory information data elements.
- KCU assumes no liability for honoring your FERPA hold and will not contact students for permission to remove the hold.
KCU may forward a student’s education records to another educational institution, on the institution’s request, where the student seeks or intends to enroll or is already enrolled so long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the student's enrollment or transfer.
Complaints
Students may file a complaint concerning alleged failures by this University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. Students are encouraged to first allow the University policy or process to resolve the matter. Nevertheless, complaints may be sent to [email protected] or mailed to the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-5920. Students can read more about their right to file a complaint here
Questions concerning FERPA should be referred to the Office of the Registrar at [email protected] or by calling the Office of the Registrar at (816) 654-7190.