Bellarmine University’s FERPA Statement (The Family Education Rights & Privacy Act) affords Bellarmine University students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
- The right to inspect and review the student's Bellarmine University education records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access. A student should submit to the University Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
- The right to request the amendment of the student's Bellarmine University education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA. A student who wishes to ask the University to amend a record should write the Vice President for Academic Affairs, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested, the Vice President will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student's right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
- The right to provide written consent before the University discloses personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. The University discloses education records without a student's prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using University employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the University.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5901
Directory Information
FERPA permits the public release of what is termed “directory information.” For Bellarmine University’s purposes, this information includes the following: the student’s name, all addresses (including email) and telephone number, photograph, date and place of birth, degree/major/minor information (field of study), dates of attendance, class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, post baccalaureate, graduate), degrees and awards received, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.
A request for nondisclosure of “directory information” must be filed with the University Registrar and will be honored by the institution for only one academic year, whether or not the student is currently registered. Upon the death of a student, all privacy holds are removed.
For more information on requesting nondisclosure, including procedures for submitting the request and consequences of doing so, contact the University Registrar directly.