Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
Undergraduate Policy | Graduate Policy
Student Records Policy
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, better known as the Buckley Amendment or FERPA, generally provides that: students shall have the right of access to their educational records; and with limited exceptions, educational institutions shall not release educational records to third parties without consent of the student unless specifically permitted by law.
Except in certain narrowly-defined circumstances, “students” as used in this notice includes former students.
“Education records” as used in this notice are records that are directly related to “students” and maintained by the university. “Education records” do not include peer-graded papers before they are maintained by the university (e.g., collected and recorded by a teacher).
Right of Access
With a few exceptions provided by law, students at Azusa Pacific University may see any of their educational records upon request. In general, access will be granted immediately upon request to the record custodian, but if delay is necessary, access must be granted no later than 45 days after request. Students further have the right, under established procedures, to challenge the factual accuracy of the records and to enter their viewpoints in the records. Students may waive their right of access to recommendations and evaluations in the cases of admissions, application for employment, and nomination for awards. Azusa Pacific University may not require students to sign a waiver of their right of access to their records, but students should be aware that recommendations and evaluations may not be very helpful or candid without a signed waiver.
Disclosure of Student Records
With certain exceptions provided by law, Azusa Pacific University cannot release information concerning students, other than directory information, from their education records to anyone other than university officials without the written consent of the student. Students and alumni applying for jobs, credit, graduate school, etc., can expedite their applications by providing the university with written permission to release specific records and to which parties the releases should be made.
The student’s written consent is not required for the disclosure of grades, disciplinary action, or other information to parents of students who are dependents for federal income tax purposes. Parents requesting information regarding dependent students must demonstrate federal income dependency by submitting their most recent federal income tax return.
In addition, the university may disclose to the parents of a student the student’s violation of any federal, state, or local law or any rule adopted by APU governing the possession or use of alcohol or a controlled substance if the student is under age 21.
Further, the university may disclose information from the education records of a student to his or her parents in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.
If the university determines that there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of the student or other individuals, the university may disclose information from the student’s education records to appropriate parties (including parents of the student) whose knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health and safety of the student or other individuals. The university must keep a record of the threat and the parties to whom the information was disclosed.
Further, the university may disclose information received under a community notification program about a student who is required to register as a sex offender.
