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Student Records Policy

Policy and Procedures Guide
to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The University of Kansas affords all of its students their full rights as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This law was enacted to protect the privacy of students and to provide for the right to inspect and review education records. A notice of this policy is published each semester in the Timetable of Classes. Questions regarding the University of Kansas' policy should be directed to the Office of the University Registrar or the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success on the Lawrence campus, or the offices of the Registrar or Dean of Students at the KU Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas.

Index

1. Definitions
   • Consent
   • Directory Information
   • Disclosure
   • Education Records
   • Legitimate Educational Interests
   • Parent
   • Personally Identifiable Information
   • School Official
   • Student
   • Custodian of Student Records
2. Student Access to Education Records
3. Waiver of Rights
4. Disclosure of "Personally Identifiable" and "Directory" Information
5. Notice to Third Parties
6. Maintaining Education Records and Records of Requests and Disclosures
7. Student's Right to Request Amendment of Information Contained in Education Records
8. Complaint Procedure
9. Primary Records Custodians and Locations
   • Lawrence Campus
     • Academic Records
     • Placement Offices
   • Medical Center Campus
     • Academic Records
   • Code Explanation

1.      Definitions

A.   Consent: Consent shall be in writing and shall be signed and dated by the student giving consent. It shall include (a) specification of records to be released; (b) purposes of such release; and (c) parties or class of parties to whom such records may be released.

B.   Directory Information: The student related directory information is defined by our policy as: ''name; current address and telephone number; permanent address and telephone number; e-mail address; level and school; date of birth; major field of study; enrollment status (full-time; half-time; less than half-time); participation in officially recognized activities and sports; height and weight of members of athletic teams; dates of attendance; degrees and awards received; and the most recent previous educational institution attended by the student. The name(s) and address(es) of the student's parent(s) or guardian(s) may be disclosed when used for an official University news release about the student's receipt of degrees or awards or about participation in officially recognized activities or sports. Such parent information may also be disclosed for purposes in the interest of University advancement. The name(s), position(s), and length of service and courses taught may be disclosed for student employees.''

C.   Disclosure: Permitting access or the release, transfer, or other communication of education records of the student or the personally identifiable information contained therein, orally, or in writing, or by electronic means, or by any other means to any party.

D.   Education Records: Those records which are directly related to a student and which are maintained by the University or by a party acting for the University. A record means any information recorded in any way, including, but not limited to, handwriting, print, tape, film, microfilm and microfiche.

Records described in items 1-5 below are excluded from the category of ''education records,'' therefore, the law does not guarantee the right of student access to the following:

1. Records created by and kept in the sole possession of an individual staff member that are not revealed to any other individual except to a person who might temporarily substitute for the original staff member.
   
   
2. Medical and psychological records that are maintained only in connection with provision of treatment to the student and that are not available to persons other than those providing treatment except that such records may be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student's choice and with the student's written consent.
   
   
3. Records that contain only information relating to a person after that person is no longer a student at the University. An example would be information collected by the University or the Alumni Association pertaining to the accomplishments of an alumnus.
   
   
4. Employment records of any person if maintained in the normal course of business and used only for purposes relating to the employment, unless the person is employed at the University only because of her/his status as a student. In such cases, student employment records are education records and are covered by this policy.
   
   
5. Records of the KU Police Department created and maintained by that department for the purpose of law enforcement.

E.   Legitimate Educational Interests: The interest of University personnel who have a demonstrably legitimate need to review records in order to fulfill their official professional responsibilities. Such responsibilities must involve the University in its primary educational and scholarly functions and/or secondary administrative functions of maintaining property, disbursing funds, keeping records, providing living accommodations and other services, sponsoring activities, recognizing student educational achievements, and protecting the health and safety of persons or property in the University community. If a question arises concerning the legitimacy of a request to review records, such questions shall be referred to the vice phancellor for student support.

F.   Parent: Includes a parent, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent of a student in the absence of a parent or guardian.

G.   Personally Identifiable Information: Includes the name of the student, the student's parent or other family members, the address of the student or parent, personal identifiers such as social security or student numbers, personal characteristics or other information that would make the student's identity easily traceable.

H.   School Official: Faculty, staff, student employees, or committees (when the members of the committee are appointed or elected to an officially constituted committee) who perform a function or task on behalf of, and at the request of, the University, its faculty, colleges, schools or divisions.

I.   Student: For purposes of this policy, anyone who is or has attended the University of Kansas. Attendance is considered to begin on the announced first day of classes for the initial semester (Fall, Spring or Summer) for which a person is enrolled in one or more classes, with the following exception: A person who has applied for admission to, but has never been in attendance at, a component unit of the University (such as the various schools and colleges of the University), even if that individual is or has been in attendance at another component unit of the University, is not considered to be a student with respect to the component to which an application for admission has been made.

J.   Custodian of Student Records: Except as otherwise designated in this policy, the head of each academic or administrative unit responsible for the education records within the unit.

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2.      Student Access to Education Records

A student has the right and shall be accorded the opportunity to inspect, review, and/or receive copies of his or her educational records upon written request to the appropriate record custodian, except as provided below. The University must comply with the student's request within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 45 days after the request is received.

Such copies will be provided at the student's request and expense; however, the charge to the student for any such records, except for academic transcripts, may not exceed 25 cents per page. The University may not charge a fee to search for or retrieve a record. If any question arises as to the identity of the requesting student, the student shall be asked to provide his or her University I.D. and/or other positive identification.

A student who is financially indebted to the University will not be allowed to receive a copy of his or her academic transcript, nor will a request to transmit the academic transcript to another person or agency be honored as long as the debt remains; however, the student will be permitted to review the academic transcript in accordance with the provisions of this policy. Academic transcript requests may also be denied in connection with disciplinary actions.

The University is not required to afford inspection and review of the following records:

1. Financial records of the student's parents submitted as part of the financial aid process or for other official University purpose;

2. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation that were placed in the student's education records prior to January 1, 1975, as long as they are used only for the purpose for which they were specifically intended;

3. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation received after January 1, 1975, for which the student has signed a waiver of the right to access and that pertain to (a) admission to this or any other educational institution or agency; (b) application for employment; or (c) receipt of an honor or honorary recognition; so long as these letters are used solely for the purpose for which they were specifically intended.

If an education record contains information on more than one student, the student may inspect only the information on him or herself.

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3.      Waiver of Rights

The University may request, but not require, students to waive rights under this policy; the waivers must be in writing and signed by the student. A student may waive his or her right to inspect and review confidential statements and confidential letters of recommendation only if: (1) the student, upon request, is notified of the names of all persons providing letters/statements; (2) the letters/ statements are used only for the purpose for which they were originally intended; (3) the waiver is not required as a condition of admission to or for any other service or benefit of the University.

The student may revoke any waiver in writing, the revocation to apply only to documents received or entered into the record after the date of execution of the revocation.

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4.      Disclosure of "Personally Identifiable" and
         "Directory Information"

The University shall obtain the written consent from the student before disclosing personally identifiable information from the education records of the student, other than directory information, except as otherwise provided in this policy.

The University may, without the consent of the student, disclose directory information, as described in Section 1.B. If a student wishes to have such information withheld, he/she must notify the registrar at either the Lawrence or KUMC campuses in writing. If a student wishes to prevent the publication of such information in the University telephone directory, he/she must notify the registrar at either the Lawrence or KUMC campuses, wherever the student is enrolled, in writing, by the end of the first week of the term.

The University may disclose personally identifiable information from the education records without the consent of the student to:

1. school officials within the institution determined to have legitimate educational interests.

2. authorities to comply with a judicial order or subpoena, provided the University makes a reasonable effort to notify the student in advance of compliance, except that the University will not disclose to any person any information about a grand jury subpoena or a subpoena issued for a law enforcement purpose when so ordered; and when required by law or government regulation.

3. certain officials of the U.S. Department of Education, the Comptroller General and state and local educational authorities in connection with an audit or evaluation of Federal or State supported education programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with Federal legal requirements which relate to those programs.

4. financial aid personnel in conjunction with an application for or receipt of financial assistance, provided the disclosure is needed: (1) to determine the eligibility of the student for financial aid; (2) to determine the amount of financial aid; (3) to determine the conditions that will be imposed; or (4) to enforce the terms or conditions of the financial aid.

5. parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of dependent students (written record of grades only). Board of Regents policy provides that the University may not withhold the written record of grades earned by any dependent student when the University receives a written request for any such grades from a student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s). Dependency, for this purpose, is defined by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, Section 152. The student will be notified in writing of any disclosure of grades made to his or her parent(s) or legal guardian(s). Should the student be financially indebted to the University, the academic transcript request will not be honored and the person submitting the request will be so notified. Academic transcript requests may also be denied in connection with disciplinary actions.

6. appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals. Disclosures for this purpose shall take into account: (1) the seriousness of the threat to the health or safety of the student or individuals; (2) the need for the information to meet the emergency; (3) whether the parties to whom the information is disclosed are in a position to deal with the emergency; and (4) the extent to which time is of the essence in dealing with the emergency.

7. Kansas Department of Health or local law enforcement officials for the following purposes. The University Student Health Services is required to report to the Kansas Department of Health the names and current address of students who have certain communicable diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases. Student Health Services is also required to report to local law enforcement officials the name of any student who is wounded with a deadly weapon.

8. organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions to develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; to administer student aid programs; to improve instruction; or to accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions.

9. an outside contractor who is a party acting for the institution and is performing a service which the institution would otherwise have to perform for itself.

10. to initiate legal action against a parent or student, or to defend the University if a parent or student initiates legal action against the University, when the student’s education records are relevant to the legal action. The University will make timely and reasonable efforts to notify the parent or student of the release of the information so that protective action may be sought.

11. individuals requesting academic information for deceased students. The Office of the University Registrar will evaluate each request for the release of a transcript or other academic records of a deceased student on the individual merits of that request. The University of Kansas reserves the right to deny the request in whole or to release only part of the academic records that are requested. The decision will be based on what is in the best interest of the University of Kansas.

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5.      Notice to Third Parties

The University must inform the parties to whom personally identifiable information is given that they are not permitted to disclose that information to others without the written consent of the student and that the information is to be used only for the purpose(s) intended. However, parties to whom personally identifiable information is given may make further disclosures of the information if they are acting on behalf of the University. The names of the additional parties to which the receiving party may disclose the information and the legitimate interests of each of these additional parties must be provided as part of the request process. If a third party outside the University permits access to personally identifiable information in violation of University policy, the University shall not permit access to information from education records to that third party for a period of not less than five years.

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6.      Maintaining Education Records and Records of
         Requests and Disclosures

Each office that maintains education records shall adopt its own policy with regard to destruction of education records. No education record, however, may be destroyed if there is an outstanding request to inspect and review the record. Also, the record of requests for and disclosures of the education record and any explanations that are a part of the record must be maintained for as long as the education record to which it pertains is maintained.

The record custodian shall maintain documentation of requests and disclosures of personally identifiable information from a student's education records. The record shall include, whether requests are granted or not, the name(s) of the person(s) who requested the information; the names of the additional parties to whom the receiving party may disclose the information on behalf of the institution; and their legitimate interests in the information. Records of requests and disclosures will not be maintained for: (1) requests made by the student him/herself; (2) requests for which the student has given written consent; (3) requests made by school officials with legitimate educational interests; or (4) requests for directory information.

The record of requests and disclosures may be inspected by the student, by school officials responsible for the custody of the records, and by federal and state officials for the purpose of auditing record keeping procedures.

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7.      Student's Right to Request Amendment of Information
         Contained in Education Records

A student may request amendment of the content of an education record on the grounds that the record is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy of the student. If the University does not amend the record as requested, then the student has an opportunity for a hearing. No hearing under this policy shall be granted for challenging the underlying basis for a grade. However, the accuracy of its recording could be challenged.

The following procedure for challenging the content of an education record shall apply:


1. The student has the right to receive a brief explanation and interpretation of the record in question from the respective record custodian.

2. The custodian of the challenged education record, after reviewing the record with the student, may settle the dispute informally with the student with regard to the deletion or modification of the education record. The custodian shall make his or her decision within a reasonable amount of time and shall notify the student of the decision.

3. In the event the custodian disapproves the student's request to delete or modify the record in question, the student shall be notified by the custodian, in writing, of the decision and of the student's right to a formal hearing upon the request.
   1. All requests for formal hearings by the student shall be directed to the vice provost for student support, and shall contain a concise written statement of the specific facts constituting the student's claim.

   2. The hearing shall be conducted by a University staff member (Hearing Officer) who does not have a direct interest in the outcome of the challenge and who shall be appointed by the vice provost for student support or his/her designee. The hearing shall be held within a reasonable time of receipt of the student's request and the student shall be notified reasonably in advance by the hearing officer of the date, place and time of the hearing.

   3. At the hearing, the student shall be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to his/her claim and may, at his or her expense, receive assistance or be represented by any individuals of his/her choice.

   4. Based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing and within ten (10) working days of the hearing, the hearing officer shall make a written recommendation to the vice provost for student support or his/her designee together with written findings of fact concerning the student's request. Within an additional fourteen (14) working days of receipt of the hearing officer's report, the vice provost for student support or his/her designee shall notify the student in writing of the decision. The decision must include a summary of the evidence and the reasons for the decision.
      1. In the event the decision of the vice provost for student support is adverse to the student's request, the student shall be notified of the opportunity to place with the education record a summary statement commenting upon the information in the records and/or setting forth any reason for disagreeing with the decision. If the questioned document is released to a third person, the student's summary statement shall accompany the release of any such information. The summary information shall be maintained for as long as the contested record is maintained.

      2. If a student challenge to the content of a given record is successful, the University shall amend the education record accordingly and so inform the student in writing. Upon the student's specific written request to the vice provost for student support, the University shall make a reasonable effort to contact student-designated third persons who have received copies of the previous record to inform them of the change that has been made.

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8.      Complaint Procedure

If a student believes that the University is not in compliance with the Privacy Act, he/she should check first with the office involved and/or the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Support in Strong Hall, Lawrence campus.

If a student wishes to file a complaint with the federal government concerning the University's failure to comply with the Privacy Act, he/she must submit the complaint, in writing, to the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202. The Family Policy Compliance Office will notify the student and the University when the complaint has been received. They will investigate the complaint, and may require further information. Following its investigation, they will provide written notification of its findings and basis for such findings. In the event the University is found not to be in compliance, it will be afforded the necessary time to comply. If it does not then comply, additional action may be taken by the Family Policy Compliance Office. For guidelines concerning this complaint procedure, see 34 CFR Paragraph 99.64 and the subsequent regulations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

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Primary Records Custodians and Locations

Lawrence Campus

University of Kansas Medical Center

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Code Explanation

Published by the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success, University of Kansas.

NOTE:

Revised Policy Approved July 2001
Printed July 2001

• (05/26/04 Contact information updated in "Primary Records Custodians and Locations on Lawrence Campus" section.)
• (07/28/04 Contact information updated in "Primary Records Custodians and Locations on Lawrence Campus" section.)
• (11/29/05 Contact information updated in "Primary Records Custodians and Locations on Lawrence Campus" section.)

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