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Annual Notification of Rights under FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their Education Records. An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who attends a postsecondary institution at any age. These rights include:

  1. The right to inspect and review the student's Education Records within 45 days after the day the Ƶ (“UMGC” or “University”) receives a request for access.

    A student should submit to the Office of the Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The Registrar (“Custodian”) or designee will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the options available to inspect the records in the presence of a staff member or if that is not feasible, the student may request copies of their Education Records by contacting studentrecords@umgc.edu. If the records are not maintained by the UMGC representative to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
  2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s Education Records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.

    A student who wishes to ask UMGC to amend a record should write studentrecords@umgc.edu, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed and specify why it should be changed.

    If UMGC decides not to amend the record as requested, UMGC 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 and can also be found in UMGC Policy III-6.30 FERPA and Disclosure of Student Records.
  3. The right to provide written consent before UMGC discloses information from the student's Education Records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

    In some limited cases, UMGC can share Education Records without consent. One such instance where this may occur is when information from a student’s Education Record is designated as “Directory Information.”  This information may be disclosed to third parties without prior consent, unless a student has submitted a  to the University. UMGC designates the following categories of information as Directory Information:
    • Name
    • Major field of study
    • Dates of Attendance
    • Degrees, honors, and awards received

    Another instance where this may occur is when UMGC has designated a third party as being a “School Official” who has a legitimate educational interest in the information in the requested Education Record(s).“School officials” include:
    • Instructional or administrative personnel who are or may be in a position to use the information in furtherance of a legitimate educational objective, such as to provide student services or to pursue a debt owed to UMGC. This includes, but is not limited to, faculty, staff members, and security personnel.
    • A contractor, consultant, volunteer, or other party to whom UMGC has outsourced institutional services or functions instead of employees while under the direct control of UMGC. The contractor, consultant, volunteer, or other party will not redisclose personally identifiable information and will destroy the information when it is no longer needed for those purposes.

    "Legitimate educational interests" include interests directly related to the academic environment.
    • Information requested is necessary for the official to perform appropriate tasks that are specified in his or her position description or contract agreement.
    • The information is to be used within the context of official school business and not for purposes extraneous to the official’s areas of responsibilities.
    • The information is to be used consistently with the purposes for which the data are maintained.

    For a list of all instances in which your consent is not required, see the UMGC Policy III-6.30 FERPA and Disclosure of Student Records.
  4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by UMGC to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

    Student Privacy Policy Office
    U.S. Department of Education
    400 Maryland Avenue SW
    Washington, DC 20202

For questions related to FERPA and disclosure of Education Records, please contact The Office of the Registrar at studentrecords@umgc.edu.

FAQs About FERPA

Additional FERPA Resources