The University of La Verne abides by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their educational records. An “eligible student” under FERPA is defined as a student who is 18 years of age, or older or who attends a postsecondary institution. FERPA goes into effect at the University of La Verne upon matriculation. These rights include: the right to inspect and review information contained in their educational records, to challenge the contents of their educational records, to have a hearing if they consider the outcome of the challenge to be unsatisfactory, and to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if they feel the decisions of the hearing panels are unacceptable. An educational record is defined, with certain exceptions as noted below as any record
- which contains information that is personally identifiable to a student, and
- is maintained by the university (school officials).
There are exceptions/limitations for students to review their own educational record. Students may not review a document that has information about other students, financial records of parents, and confidential letters of reference or recommendations to which the student has waived their right of access.
Education records include any records in whatever medium (handwritten, print, email, magnetic tape, electronic data storage, etc.) that are in the possession of any school official. This includes transcripts or other records obtained from a school in which a student was previously enrolled. Records that are not educational records are sole possession records, law enforcement unit records, employment/HR records, medical records, or post attendance records.
The University’s Registrar coordinates the inspection and review procedures for student education records, which include admissions, personal, academic and financial files, cooperative education, and placement records. The Dean of Student Affairs oversees the review of records pertaining to social judicial matters.
For the full policy and more information, please reference the Rights and Responsibilities section of the University Catalog.