FERPA is a federal law that, along with federal regulations implementing the law, protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA generally requires a university to have written permission from a student attending the university before the university may release any information from the student’s education record.

An education record is broadly defined as “those records that are directly related to a student and maintained by an education agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.”

Regardless of the age of the student, the parents of a student enrolled in a university do not have automatic access to the student’s education record.

FERPA provides an exception that permits a university to disclose to the parent of a student under the age of 21 that the student has violated an applicable law or institutional policy governing alcohol or controlled substances.

What are my rights under FERPA as a student?

Students have the right to:

Inspect and review their educational record
Request to make amendments to their information if their inaccuracy on record
Have some control of disclosure of information from his or her educational record

Under FERPA what is considered Directory Information?

FERPA identifies certain information as directory information, which can be disclosed without the student's permission. Here is what the University defines as directory information:

Name
Local and permanent addresses
email address
telephone number
place of birth
field of study
dates of attendance
enrollment status
student classification (freshman, sophomore, etc.)
degrees awarded
certificates awarded
photographs
participation in officially recognized activities and sports
weight and height of members of athletic teams
most recent previous educational agency or institution attended

Please note my.utpb.edu has your profile information which you must select DO NOT PUBLISH if you do not want to share contact information with anyone.

UTPB Faculty/Staff will not speak to your parents or others about subjects other than that which will endanger your health or confidentiality unless we have a FERPA Consent to Release Student Information Form on file with the Registrar's office.

You are adults. If your family members wish to “know what is going on” you should communicate directly with them.

For more information about FERPA, visit UTPB Office of the Registrar.