What is FERPA?
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), passed by Congress in 1974, requires educational institutions to provide students access to their educational records, to allow students to correct inaccurate or misleading information in these records, and to limit the release of information to third parties.
The rights parents exercise with respect to their children’s education records transfer to the student when they reach the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.
Any individual who is taking or has taken a course at University of South Carolina Beaufort, regardless of age. In addition to degree-seeking students; this includes, but is not limited to:
- Dual Enrollment students
- Transient students
- Students auditing a course
- Distributed learning students (students taking online courses)
- Non-degree seeking students
In accordance with section 99.7 of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the University of South Carolina Beaufort provides students annual notification of their FERPA rights. The University of South Carolina Beaufort has designated certain items as Directory Information. At USCB, these items are as follows:
- Student name
- Permanent mailing addresses
- E-mail address
- Major and minor fields of study
- Classification (freshman, sophomore, etc.)
- Date of admission
- Dates of attendance
- Current or previous enrollment status (full- or part-time)
- Whether or not currently enrolled
- Anticipated date/term of graduation and expected degree(s)
- Degrees, honors, and awards received (including scholarships and fellowships)
- Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
- Weight and height of athletic team members
The University may disclose Directory Information without prior written consent, unless the student has submitted a written request to the Registrar's Office not to release Directory Information. Students may submit a Student Privacy Request form to request not USCB not to release Directory Information. Students are notified annually of their rights under FERPA.
Under FERPA the following are examples of what is considered to be private information:
- Grades
- USCB ID number
- Social Security Number
- Telephone numbers
- Class schedule
- Residency
- Class rank
- Age
- Birth date
- Place of birth
Essentially any information not listed as directory is considered private information.
Private information may only be released with the student’s consent.
Students may give consent to certain individuals for specific private information to be released by completing the Release of Student Information Form and submitting it to the Registrar’s Office.