The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and grants students rights regarding the access and control of their information.
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under a program administered by the U. S. Department of Education. The statute is found at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and the Department's regulations are found at 34 CFR Part 99. For more information on how you and your records are protected by FERPA, visit the U.S. Department of Education website and Reach University’s Student Records Policy website. Under FERPA, schools must generally afford students who are 18 years or over, or attending a post-secondary institution access to their education records, an opportunity to seek to have the records amended, and some control over the disclosure of information from the records.
The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that the law authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception is the release of "directory information," which may be released without a student's consent unless specifically prohibited by the student. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) designates certain information related to students as “Directory Information.” This gives Reach University the right to disclose such information to anyone inquiring without having to ask students for permission, unless the students specifically request in writing that all such information not be made public without their written consent.
The categories of “Directory Information” at Reach University are as follows:
- Student’s legal name
- Mailing Address and Telephone Number
- Date and place of birth
- Major field of study
- Dates of attendance and Enrollment status for a particular semester (FT, HT, LT)
- Class standing (if an Undergraduate – Foundation Year, Intermediate, etc.)
- Expected date of graduation
- Degrees and awards received including Dean’s/President’s lists and graduation honors
- Most recent previous educational institution attended by the student
- Relevant statistics and personal data if a member of a school sponsored course, organization, or activity
- Student ID number
I acknowledge and understand that to facilitate my participation in the program, certain Education Records and Personally Identifiable Information (as defined in FERPA) may be disclosed to my employer school partner as well as local or state workforce agencies (“Workforce Agencies”) as required for oversight of apprenticeship programs such as the one in which I am participating. Further, I understand and acknowledge that such information may be re-disclosed by my employer school partner to Workforce Agencies. I understand that if I do not want such information disclosed I might not be permitted to participate in the program.
Except as outlined above, Reach University requires written consent from candidates before releasing any personally identifiable information from their education records. Such written consent for release must specify what information/record is to be released, state the purpose for release, identify the party to whom the information/record will be released to, and be signed and dated by the candidate. Please use the FERPA Release of Information Authorization Form (linked here).
Requests will be maintained as part of the student record. Authorization may be revoked by the candidate at any time by submitting a written request to the Registrar’s Office at Registrar@reach.edu. Questions or concerns about the privacy of the candidate's education records or these procedures may be brought to the attention of the Registrar’s Office at Registrar@reach.edu.