Â鶹AV

As a student at Â鶹AV, you have the following rights under FERPA:

1. Inspect and Review: You have the right to inspect and review your education records within 45 days of submitting a written request to the Registrar's Office, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official. The university official will make arrangements for access and notify you of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
2. Request an Amendment: You have the right to request an amendment if you believe a record is inaccurate or misleading. The request must be submitted in writing, clearly identifying the part of the record to be amended and explaining why it is inaccurate or misleading. This process cannot be used to challenge grades.
3. Provide Written Consent: You have the right to provide written consent before Â鶹AV discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from your education records, except as authorized under FERPA. Directory information, as defined below, may be disclosed without prior consent unless you have opted out.
4. Opt-Out of Directory Information Disclosure: You may choose to opt out of the disclosure of directory information by submitting a written request. Once the request is submitted, the institution will withhold directory information from public disclosure. Important: Opting out does not prevent the institution from disclosing directory information to school officials with legitimate educational interests, including certain administrators, faculty, and contracted service providers.
5. File a Complaint: You have 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.

Â鶹AV may release appropriately designated directory information without the student's written consent, unless the student has advised the university to the contrary in accordance with university procedures.

Â鶹AV has designated the following as directory information:

• Student's Name
• Hometown
• Institution-assigned email address. Under this category, an institution-assigned email address may be disclosed without consent only to other, current students. In addition, students may not request email listings of the entire student body or segments thereof, except for academic purposes.
• Major field of Study
• Dates of Attendance
• Enrollment Status (e.g. undergraduate or graduate; full-time or part-time)
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Dates of attendance
• Degrees, honors, and awards received
• Thesis/Dissertation title
• The most recent educational institution attended
• Height and weight of athletes
• Class level

Â鶹AV reserves the right to withhold directory information at its discretion.

To restrict the release of your information, complete the  and follow the submission instructions. Requesting confidential status will prevent employees of Â鶹AV from providing any directory information or other non-public information about you.

To lift the restriction, remove the confidential status and make directory information available, students must complete the bottom of the . When a confidentiality restriction is in place, the University can only discuss your record with you if you appear in person with picture identification or if you release the restriction.

Students may grant parents/guardians access to their academic records through the and remove or edit access levels at any time.

FERPA Release Forms: Students may complete the  to identify specific education records, the recipient(s), and the purpose of the release. This form authorizes release to specific individuals such as parents or guardians.

FERPA grants you the right to inspect and review your education records within 45 days of submitting a written request: 

Education records do not include:

• Sole possession records kept solely by the maker and not shared with anyone else
• Records created by Public Safety for a law enforcement purpose and maintained by Public Safety
• Certain employment records that relate exclusively to an individual's employment capacity (though student employment records are considered education records)
• Medical and psychological records made, maintained, or used only in connection with the treatment of the student
• Alumni records collected after the individual is no longer enrolled

FERPA grants you the right to seek to amend student records that you believe are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of your privacy rights. Note: This process cannot be used to challenge grades.

How to Request An Amendment

1. Write to the university official responsible for the record, clearly identifying the part of the record you want changed and specifying why it is inaccurate or misleading.
2. If the university decides not to amend the record as requested, you will be notified of the decision and advised of your right to a formal hearing.
3. Additional information regarding hearing procedures will be provided when you are notified of the right to a hearing.

Submit your written request to the university official responsible for the record you wish to amend. For example, if a student wants to amend their admissions application data, the request should be submitted to the Office of Admissions.

Hearing requests must be made in writing by the student and directed to the University Registrar. The university will notify the student within a reasonable time after receipt of the request as to the date, time, and place of the hearing, so the student may prepare for the hearing.

To request a formal hearing, submit your written request to the University Registrar's Office at registrar@augusta.edu or (706) 446-1430.

Â鶹AV may disclose information from a student's education records without written consent in the following circumstances:

• To school officials with a legitimate educational interest — a person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position; a person or company contracted to perform required functions (such as an attorney, auditor, service provider, or collection agent); a member of the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee.
• To officials of other institutions in which the student seeks or intends to enroll, provided the student previously requested a release of their record.
• To authorized representatives of the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Defense (Solomon Amendment), U.S. Attorney General, INS, the Comptroller General, state education authorities, organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of the university, and accrediting organizations.
• In connection with a student's application for, or receipt of, financial aid.
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
• To parents of dependent students as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, Section 152.
• To appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency.
• To the alleged victim of any crime of violence regarding the results of a disciplinary proceeding.
• To a parent or guardian when the student is under age 21 and the proceeding has resulted in a violation of university drug or alcohol policies, or any federal, state, or local law.
• To students currently registered in a particular class — names and email addresses of others on the roster may be disclosed in order to participate in class discussion.

Students who believe their FERPA rights have been violated are encouraged to first contact the institution to address their concerns. You may contact the Registrar's Office at registrar@augusta.edu or (706) 446-1430.

Students who believe the institution has failed to comply with FERPA may file a formal complaint with:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-8520

Complaints may also be submitted online through the .

Â鶹AV forms & documents

• Form
• Form
• PDF
• PDF
• FERPA in a Remote or Virtual Environment PDF
• Joint Guidance on FERPA & HIPAA — Student Health Records PDF
• PDF
• Online

External resources

Students can look up information on their student portal, , print it off, and give or email a copy to their parents. Your student may also request that a copy of their official transcript be sent directly to you.

The quickest, easiest way for you to receive information about your student's grades, financial statement, or other student information is for your student to provide it to you directly through POUNCE.

Â鶹AV must have a completed Authorization to Release Information Form on file before the university can release educational records or information to anyone other than the student.

Students may grant parents/guardians access to their academic records through theand remove or edit access levels at any time.

Exceptions: When a student enters a postsecondary institution, all rights afforded to parents under FERPA transfer to the student. However, FERPA provides ways in which the university may (but is not required to) share information with parents without the student's consent:

• Schools may disclose education records to parents if the student is a dependent for income tax purposes, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, Section 152. AU must have a copy of the parent tax return on file.
• Schools may disclose education records to parents if a health or safety emergency involves the student.
• Schools may inform parents if the student (under age 21) has violated any law or university policy concerning the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance.

Students may complete the to authorize release of academic records information to specific individuals, such as parents or guardians.

Students may remove or edit access levels at any time.

For parents of dependent students

The university may disclose personally identifiable information from a student's education records without the student's consent if the student is a dependent as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, Section 152, and if AU has a copy of the parent tax return on file. Contact the Registrar's Office for more information.

Helpful resources

• Form
• PDF

Â鶹AV employees may not release non-directory or personally identifiable information (PII) about a student to a third party — including parents — without the student's authorization, unless disclosure is permitted through one of the FERPA exceptions.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities. Legitimate educational interest includes:

• Performing a task specified in the position description or contract agreement
• Performing a task related to a student's education
• Performing a task related to the discipline of a student
• Providing a service or benefit to the student or student's family (advising, job placement, financial aid, housing assistance)
• Maintaining the safety and security of the campus

Before sharing any student information, you must first confirm whether the student has opted out and has a confidentiality restriction on file. To check a student's confidentiality status, contact the Registrar's Office or check the Â鶹AV Family Portal (see "View Authorized FERPA Access" below).

• Protect all education records in your possession like computer printouts, class lists, display screens, and advising notes. Store them out of sight, preferably in a locked cabinet or drawer when not in use.
• Do not leave stacked graded papers for students to pick up in a public area.
• Do not post grades using any part of a student's ID number.
• Do not discuss student progress with anyone other than the student without the student's consent — including parents and spouses.
• Do not send grades, grade information, or other PII via email.

In Banner, when accessing a student's record that has been flagged confidential, a pop-up window will appear. If a student has requested that directory information not be released, no information about that student should be shared with any third party.

The recommended response to any external request is: "There is no information available for that individual."

Departments should require that the student appear in person with a picture ID to conduct business. Business should not be conducted over the telephone. Inquiries may be directed to the Registrar's Office.

Upon confirmation that a student has not opted out, the following directory information may be released:

• Student's name
• Hometown
• Institution-assigned email address
• Major field of study
• Enrollment status
• Class level
• Dates of attendance
• Degrees, honors & awards
• Recognized activities & sports
• Thesis/dissertation title
• Most recent institution attended
• Height & weight of athletes

Note: An institution-assigned email address may be disclosed without consent only to other current students. AU reserves the right to withhold directory information at its discretion.

When consent is not required to disclose information: to school officials with a legitimate educational interest; to federal, state, and local authorities involving an audit or evaluation of compliance; in connection with financial aid; to accrediting organizations; to parents who have a tax return on file declaring the student as a dependent; to comply with a judicial order or subpoena; in a health or safety emergency; when releasing directory information; or when releasing the results of a disciplinary hearing to an alleged victim of a crime of violence.

Â鶹AV employees may view a student's authorized FERPA connections through theTo check a student's authorized releases, log in to the portal using your AU credentials and search for the student by name, student ID, or email.

• If the status shows Approved â€” conversations may take place regarding those specific authorized sections only.
• If the status shows Not Approved or Requested â€” conversations may not occur. The recommended response is: "Our records indicate FERPA access is not granted; please contact your student."
• If the status shows No Active Connections â€” contact the Registrar's Office to confirm if an Authorization to Release Information form is on file.
• If the Confidentiality indicator is active — the recommended response is: "Â鶹AV has no record of this individual."

Students' information releases are also recorded in Banner by the Registrar's Office. Banner users may view release information on the SGASTDN form on the Comments tab, which shows the specific type of information that may be released and the party to whom it may be released.

Educational records should never be shared with any third party (including parents) if a release is not in place.

Public posting of grades is a violation of FERPA. Grades must not be posted on websites, in hallways, or in departmental offices using any personally identifiable information.

• Do not post grades using any part of a student's ID number. If you want to post grades outside your office, assign individual numbers to students at random — only the student and the faculty member should know the assigned number, and the order of posting should never be alphabetical by student name.
• Do not leave stacked graded papers for students to pick up — not even in sealed envelopes (unless students have given permission). Instead, mail grades and papers to students via campus or U.S. mail in envelopes that students have pre-addressed and pre-stamped.
• Do not circulate a printed class list for attendance purposes if it shows names and social security numbers or ID numbers.
• Notification of grades via email is a violation of FERPA. There is no guarantee of confidentiality on the internet.

FERPA considers Teaching Assistants to be an extension of the faculty member. Faculty members may share their sole-possession records with their TAs. However, if other faculty or department members can inspect those notes, they are no longer in sole possession and become education records — and students have the right to inspect and review those records.

Consent is required to share grade information of a dual-enrolled student. Faculty should contact the Registrar's Office to determine if consent is on file with the institution. Grade information can be shared with internal AU officials who have a need to know.

Employment records are not education records unless the employment is conditional upon being a student. Student employment records (such as records related to student workers, graduate assistants, or other employment tied to enrollment status) are considered education records under FERPA and must be protected accordingly.

• Student course schedules may endanger the student's safety if shared with a third party other than a university official with a legitimate educational interest.
• Storing education records on devices such as flash drives, laptops, and external drives is prohibited without encryption or password protection.
• PII or confidential information should not be sent, received, or forwarded using email.
• Letters of recommendation for a student should not mention grades unless you have the student's permission. General observations about the student's attendance or qualifications are acceptable.
• Records retention: Follow records retention schedules and retain only the student records necessary to fulfill your job duties.
• Personal observations of a student's behavior or habits may be shared with university officials to assist in identifying barriers to learning. The exchange of messages concerning a student's education records with university officials without a legitimate educational interest is discouraged.
• Judicial orders, subpoenas, or other written requests for records should be forwarded to the Registrar's Office or the Office of Legal Affairs.
• In an emergency, direct requests for student information to Â鶹AV Public Safety or the Registrar's Office.
• CARE reports: In cases where student grades are relevant to a CARE case, grades may be shared. The instructor should be as general as possible when including grade information.

Report any incident or potential data breach involving student personally identifiable information (PII) immediately. Information on a computer screen should be treated the same as printed records — FERPA applies to information stored on any media, including print, audio, digital, video, electronic, and photographic.

Annual FERPA training requirement: The Registrar's Office requires annual FERPA training as part of the Annual Compliance Training for employees. Any user obtaining access to Banner or requesting data from the student information system is required to complete the FERPA System Access Request module through Percipio. Upon completion, you will receive a certificate of completion that should be emailed to banneraccess@augusta.edu.

In-person training: The Registrar's Office can provide tailored, in-person FERPA training sessions for schools, colleges, departments, and other groups interested in learning about student privacy rights and responsibilities. Contact Allyson North to schedule a training session.

Resources

• PDF
• PDF
• FERPA in a Remote or Virtual Environment PDF
• Joint Guidance on FERPA & HIPAA PDF
• Online