Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, also known as the Buckley Amendment, is designed to protect the privacy of all student academic records. Records specifically affected by this law are maintained in the Career Readiness Office, the Office of the Registrar, Student Life, Financial Aid and Student Accounts.

The student's academic file, kept in the Office of the Registrar, contains a permanent record which lists courses, credits, and grades achieved at Lakeland; courses and credits accepted in transfer from other colleges which contributed to the Lakeland degree; date and type of degree awarded; major field(s) of study; minor field(s) of study; and honors awarded at graduation. A student's academic file may also contain information related to course withdrawals, including medical withdrawals.

The Rights and Privacy Act requires that both the academic file and credential file must be available for personal review by the student within 45 days after a formal written request has been communicated to the university. The central purpose of this act is to guarantee the right to examine the contents of personal files and challenge the factual accuracy of the contents or the inclusion of supplementary documents. At Lakeland, any student may examine his or her file by asking at least one day in advance for an appointment to do so. Requests for credential file review should be directed to the Career Development Office, and requests for academic file review should be directed to the Office of the Registrar.

A college transcript is a record of the student's academic progress including courses, credits, grades, major(s), minor(s), and honors earned at Lakeland University and credits accepted in transfer from other schools. In accord with the Rights and Privacy Act, transcripts are considered confidential and will not be released to a third party, other than authorized university personnel, without the written permission of the student. Requests for transcripts should be presented, in writing, to the Office of the Registrar, giving notice of at least one week. All transcript requests must include the student's signature, social security number, and name when attending Lakeland University. The cost of each transcript is $12.00 and will be fulfilled by the next business day if received by 12:00 p.m. Please note that all financial obligations to the university, including the full payment of all fines, must be arranged to the satisfaction of the manager of Student Accounts before transcripts will be released or sent.

Lakeland University makes available to the public, upon request, all consumer information required by the United States Office of Education. Consumer information includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the following: academic programs, academic progress requirements, career planning services, educational costs, financial aid, job placement outcomes, and student retention. This information is available from the Office of the Registrar. Lakeland University ensures student access to official college records and placement files and maintains the confidentiality of personally identifiable information in accord with federal law.

The student has the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged compliance issues on the part of Lakeland University. The contact information is as follows:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW
Washington, D.D. 20202

Authorizing Release of Education Records

Students may authorize the release of education records by completing this form and returning it to the Office of the Registrar.

Correction of Education Records

Students have the right to request the correction of education records they believe are inaccurate or in violation of their rights. To correct an education record, a student must take the following steps:

1. Contact the office responsible for the oversight of the record, i.e. the Office of the Registrar or Career Readiness.
2. The student must identify what part of the record is inaccurate, why it is inaccurate and how they would like it amended.
3. After a thorough review of the record, the appropriate party will determine if a correction is warranted. If so, the student will be notified of the correction. If not, the student has the ability to appeal the decision.
4. To appeal, the student must indicate an intent to appeal. The appeal will be heard by a party, who may be an Official of the University, who is not part of the office responsible for the student record.
5. The University official will render a decision on the student's request for record correction based on evidence provided by the student during the appeal process.
6. Should the student disagree with the outcome of the hearing, he/she may include a statement contesting the result in his/her official file.
   Note: Grades may be appealed in this process only on the accuracy of their transcription.
7. Lakeland University reserves the right to review and modify its procedures under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act at any time.

Consent Not Required

Lakeland University may disclose personally identifiable information without student consent to:

• School officials with legitimate educational interests;
• The U.S. Comptroller General, U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Department of Education;
• State and local officials;
• Authorized organizations conducting educational research;
• Accrediting agencies;
• Alleged victim of a crime;
• Parent of a dependent student as defined by the IRS;
• Parent of a student under 21 regarding the violation of a law regarding alcohol or drug abuse.

The university discloses personally identifiable information from an education record to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency only if this information is necessary to protect the health and/or safety of the student or other individuals.

FERPA Policy Updates

The University's FERPA policy will be published annually in the traditional undergraduate academic catalog and the William R. Kellett School of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies academic catalog. Policy updates will also be published as needed.