FERPA

Download as PDF

The following guidelines represent the policy of the Universal Technical Institute, Inc., and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Institute”) concerning the rights of students with respect to their education records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g et seq; 34 C.F.R. Part 99). FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. This law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

It is Institute policy to annually inform individuals attending educational institutions of students’ rights under FERPA. Students’ rights include the right to inspect and review their education records; to request the amendment of their education records; to provide written consent before the Institution discloses personally identifiable information from their education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent; and to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education.

  1. Students’ Rights to Inspect and Review Education Records

    Under FERPA, students have the right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of the day the Institution receives the request for access.

    A student is any person who is or has been in attendance at an educational institution.

    Education records are any records that are directly related to the student and maintained by an educational institute or an agent of the Institution. Such records include information recorded in any way, such as typewritten, handwritten, computer‑generated, video, audio, film, microfilm, microfiche or e‑mail.

    Students do not have the right to inspect and review the following information:
    • Records kept in the sole possession of the maker thereof that are used only as a personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any other individual except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.
    • Records that are created or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting or assisting in their professional capacity and created, maintained, or used only in connection with the provision of treatment to the student and not disclosed to anyone other than individuals providing that treatment. However, the student may have those records reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student’s choice.
    • Grades on peer‑graded papers before they are collected and recorded by an instructor.
    • Records relating to a student who is employed by an educational agency or institution as long as the individual is not employed as a result of his or her status as a student. The records must be made and maintained in the normal course of business and relate exclusively to the individual in that individual’s capacity as an employee.
    • Records created for a law enforcement purpose by a law enforcement unit of an educational institution and maintained by the law enforcement unit.
    • Records created or received by an educational institution after the individual is no longer attending the institution and that are not directly related to the individual’s attendance as a student.
    • Financial records, including any information those records contain, of the parents of a student.
    • Those portions of a student’s records that contain information on other students.
    • Confidential letters and statements of recommendation placed in a student’s education records before July 1, 1975, as long as the statements are used only for the purposes for which they were specifically intended.
    • Confidential letters and statements of recommendation placed in the student’s education records after July 1, 1975 and to which the student has waived the right to review and access as long as the waiver is made in writing and signed by the student. The waiver may be used for confidential letters or statement of recommendation that relate to the student’s admission to the Institution, application for employment, or receipt of an honor or honorary recognition.
    • The Institution may not require the waiver as a condition for admission to or receipt of any service or benefit from the Institution. If the student chooses to waive his or her right of access, he or she will be notified, upon request, of the names of all persons making confidential recommendations. Such recommendations will be used only for the purpose for which they were specifically intended. A waiver may be revoked by the student in writing at any time and the revocation will apply to all subsequent recommendations.
       
  2. Procedure with Respect to Inspection and Review of Records

    A student’s request to inspect and review his or her records shall be made in writing (whether or not the student personally appears) and shall identify the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The request should be addressed to the Director of Student Services at the relevant educational institution.

    The Institution will provide access within a reasonable period of time but not more than forty‑five (45) days after it has received the request. The Director of Student Services will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

    The Institution may require the presence of an Institution official during the inspection and review of a student’s records.

    If circumstances effectively prevent the parent or eligible student from being able to inspect and review the records, a copy of the record may be provided or other arrangements may be made for the individual to inspect the records. A fee of 25 cents per page may be assessed unless UTI/MIAT determines such cost would prevent the student’s access to the records. In such cases, the fee may be reduced or waived.

    The Institution will respond to reasonable requests from the student for explanations and interpretations of records inspected and reviewed.

    The Institute will not destroy any education records if there is an outstanding request to inspect and review the records.

    No fees will be charged to search for or to retrieve the education records of a student in response to requests made in accordance with this policy.
     
  3. Students’ Rights to Request Amendment of Their Education Records

    A student who believes that information contained in his or her educational records is inaccurate or misleading, or violates his or her privacy may request that the Institution amend the records. The Institution will decide whether to do so within a reasonable period of time. If the Institution declines to amend the student’s records, it will inform the student of that decision and the student’s right to a hearing.  A hearing may not be requested by a student to contest the assignment of a grade unless the grade was recorded inaccurately in the student’s record.
     

    If as a result of a hearing the Institution determines that a student’s record is not inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, the Institution will inform the student of his or her right to place a statement in the record commenting on the contested information in the record or stating why he or she disagrees with the Institution’s decision. Any such explanation will be kept as part of the student’s record as long as the contested portion of the record is kept and will be disclosed whenever the contested portion of the record is disclosed.

    If as a result of a hearing the Institute determines a student’s record is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, the Institution shall amend the record accordingly and inform the student of the amendment in writing.

  4. Student’s Rights to Consent Before the Institution Discloses Personally Identifiable Information Contained in the Student’s Education Records, Except to the Extent That FERPA Authorizes Disclosure Without Consent

    Generally, the Institution may not disclose education records or personally identifiable information from education records to anyone other than the student without prior consent of the student. The consent must be written, signed and dated, and must specify the records to be disclosed, the purpose of the disclosure, and the party to whom the disclosure may be made. A copy of the record disclosed will be provided to the student upon request and at his or her expense.

    The Institution may only disclose education records without prior written student consent if it redacts all personally identifiable information such that the student’s identity is not personally identifiable or, under certain limited circumstances, to include:

    • Disclosures to school officials with legitimate educational interests. School officials of an educational institution include instructional or administrative personnel, attorneys, accountants, and any other individuals or parties with whom the Institution has contracted to provide services to or on behalf of the Institution (such as an auditor or collection agent). A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review the education record in order to fulfill his or her instructional, supervisory, advisory, administrative, or other authorized professional responsibilities or duties for the educational Institution.
    • Disclosures to officials of other schools in which a student seeks or intends to enroll or is enrolled as long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer.
    • Disclosures to authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and state and local educational authorities, but only in connection with an audit or evaluation of federally or state‑supported educational program, or for the enforcement of or compliance with federal legal requirements relating to those programs.
    • Disclosures in connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or which the student has received, if the information is necessary to determine eligibility, amount of the aid, the conditions of aid or enforcement of terms or conditions of the aid.
    • Disclosures to state and local officials to which such information is specifically required to be reported by effective state law if the disclosure concerns the juvenile justice system and the system’s ability to effectively serve the student whose records are released. With respect to such laws adopted after Nov. 19, 1974, the recipients of the information shall certify in writing to the Institute that the information will not be disclosed to any other party (except as provided under state law) without the prior written consent of the student.
    • Disclosures to organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of an institution to develop, validate or administer predictive tests; administer student aid programs or improve instruction. The studies must be conducted in a manner that does not permit data access by anyone other than representatives of the organization with legitimate interests in the information. The information must be destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes of the study and the Institution must enter into a written agreement with the organization limiting the use of the information.
    • Disclosures to accrediting organizations for purposes necessary to carry out their functions.
    • Disclosures to parents of a student who is a dependent for income tax purposes.
    • Disclosures to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena, but only after the Institution makes a reasonable effort to notify the student of the order or subpoena so the student may seek protective action unless the order or subpoena prohibits such notification.
    • Disclosures to appropriate parties in connection with a health or safety emergency, where knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.
    • Disclosures to a victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non‑forcible sex offense. Such a disclosure may only include the final results of any disciplinary proceedings conducted by the school with respect to that alleged crime or offense.
    • Disclosures in connection with Institutional disciplinary proceedings. The Institution must not disclose the final results of the disciplinary proceeding unless it determines the student is an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or non‑forcible sex offense, and, with respect to the allegation made, the student has committed a violation of the Institution’s rules or policies.
    • Disclosure to the parent or legal guardian of a student under the age of 21 information regarding any violation of Institutional policy or state, federal or local law governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if the school determines the student has committed a disciplinary violation with respect to that use or possession.
    • Disclosures concerning sex offenders and other individuals required to register under the Violence Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
    • Disclosures of directory information as described in this Catalog.

      Generally, an educational institution may only make disclosures without the student’s prior consent under one of the exceptions above on the condition the recipient will not disclose the information to any other party without the prior consent of the student and the information may only be used for the purposes for which disclosure was made. Failure to obey the limitations on redisclosure of personally identifiable information may result in a party being prohibited from receiving further information for at least five (5) years.

Directory Information

Educational institutions may disclose to anyone, without prior student consent, information designated as directory information that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Under this policy, directory information includes:

  • Student’s full name
  • Addresses
  • E‑mail address
  • Telephone listing
  • Date of birth
  • Field of study
  • Degrees and awards received
  • Most recent previous school attended
  • Photograph
  • Dates of Attendance
  • Enrollment status
  • Class schedule

Directory information never includes:

  • Social Security Number
  • Student identification number
  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • Nationality
  • Gender
  • Next-of-kin information

The Institute will give annual public notice to students of additional categories of information designated as directory information and will allow a reasonable period of time after such notice for the student to inform the Institute that he or she does not wish any or all of the information designated as directory information to be disclosed.

Students may prohibit the disclosure of directory information by completing the FERPA Revocation Form or by submitting a written request to the Student Services Director. The request should be dated and signed by the student.

Records of Disclosure

The Institute generally must maintain a record for each request for access to and each disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records of each student. The record must be maintained with the education records of the student for as long as the education records are maintained.

This record of the request for access and disclosure must include the identity of the requester, the identity of the recipient and the requester’s legitimate interests. Disclosures in response to a health or safety emergency must include a record of the articulable and significant threat to the health of a student or other individual that formed the basis of the threat as well as the parties to whom the information was disclosed. Records

of requests for access and disclosure of information are not required to be made for certain disclosures.

Revisions to Policies and Procedures

At its discretion, the school reserves the right to revise all terms, provisions, policies, requirements and procedures contained in this Catalog. Each student will be bound and must comply with all terms, provisions, policies, requirements and procedures contained in this Catalog.