ACADEMIC POLICY
39
Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2014-2015
ACADEMIC RECORDS
The Right to Privacy
The privacy of student records is protected under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment). The
Registrar has the institutional responsibility for interpreting both the Act
and the rules and regulations issued by the Department of Education
to enforce this Act. Under FERPA, students have the right to see their
educational records at any time, and the right to request a change if there is
an error in any record. FERPA addresses two types of information: directory
information and non-directory information.
Directory information includes the student’s name, address, e-mail
address, telephone listing, major field of study, dates of attendance, degrees
and awards received, most recent previous educational agency or institution
attended, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and
a photograph. A student’s directory information is usually provided to
anyone who requests it, including persons outside the College. A student
may withhold his or her directory information by notifying the Records
Office in writing within ten days of the first day of classes for a particular
term. A request to withhold directory information remains in effect as long
as the student continues to be enrolled, or until the student files a written
request with the Records Office to discontinue the withholding. Each
student is responsible for keeping the College informed of his or her correct
mailing address, both school and home. Any change in address should be
updated by the student through the address change function on TheSIS.
Parent address change information should be submitted to the Records
Office using the change of address form located on the Records Office
home page.
Non-directory information includes the student’s academic status and
other academic information, such as transcripts, midterm assessments,
course grades, and class attendance. Students must give permission to allow
their academic information to be disclosed to any individual. Faculty and
staff with a “need-to-know” (i.e., academic advisors and administrators),
however, have access to this information without the student’s permission.
Students may sign a FERPA
Academic Privacy Rights Waiver
form, giving
a designated individual (usually a parent or guardian) access to their
academic information. FERPA also allows academic information to be
shared with parents/guardians who certify their student is claimed as a
dependent. The waiver form is available at the Records Office website
).
The school discloses education records without a student’s prior written
consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with
legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by
Birmingham-Southern College in an administrative, supervisory, academic,
research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit
