Student Educational Records

Gustavus Adolphus College accords its students all rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and related state laws.

Under FERPA provisions, as amended in December 1974, enrolled students have the right to inspect their education records. Education records do not include personal records of instructional, administrative, and educational personnel; security department records; student health records; employment records; or alumni records.

In addition, under Minnesota law, individuals, whether enrolled students or not, have the right to be informed, upon request, of the content and meaning of their Gustavus student records (except those confidential by statute).

Students may request the amendment of their education records to ensure that they are not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy or other rights. Written requests for such amendment should be made directly to the office where the information is maintained.

The College will not disclose information from students’ education records without their written consent except to the extent authorized by law.

At its discretion, the College may provide directory information to any inquirer. Directory information includes: periods of enrollment, degrees awarded, honors, major(s), date of graduation, home and College addresses, e-mail and telephone numbers, photographs, and date of birth. Students may prevent directory information about them from being disclosed by formally notifying the Office of the Registrar.

As of January 3, 2012, the US Department of Education’s FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which student education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records—including Social Security Number, grades, or other private information—may be accessed without a student’s 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 student records and PII without 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 education records and PII without prior 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 students’ 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 consent PII from the education records, and they may track a student’s participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about the student 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.

Students who believe that their rights under FERPA have been abridged may file complaints with the Family Policy Compliance Office, Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20201.

The complete College policy on student education records is available to any individual upon request from the Registrar’s and Dean of Students’ offices.