Student Rights and Confidentiality of Information

The University of Scranton recognizes the privacy rights of individuals who are or who have been students, as guaranteed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. No information from records, files, or data directly related to a student shall be disclosed to individuals or agencies outside the University without the express written consent of the student unless otherwise permitted or required by law. FERPA does authorize disclosure without consent to school officials with legitimate educational interests who need to review an education record in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities on behalf of the University. Examples of people having legitimate education interest depending on their official duties and within the context of those duties include:  persons or companies with whom the University has contracted (such as attorneys, auditors, or collection agents, contractors, consultants, volunteers, and other outside service providers to whom the school has outsourced institutional functions or services and functions that the institution would otherwise provide with its own employees); students serving on official committees, such as disciplinary or grievance committees, or assisting other school officials in performing their tasks; persons or organizations to whom students have applied for financial aid; persons in compliance with a lawful subpoena or court order; and persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. In January 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s FERPA regulations expanded the circumstances of release to federal, state and local authorities to evaluate federal-or state-supported education programs, to researchers performing certain types of studies, and to state authorities in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems.

The University considers the following to be public information which may be made available, at its discretion, without prior consent of the student:

A student wishing to prevent the public disclosure of any or all of the above information may request so by notifying The Division of Student Life, the Office of the Registrar and Academic Services where she or he may obtain the form prohibiting disclosure.

Except as permitted by law, information regarding a student’s educational records may not be disclosed to a parent, guardian or spouse without the student’s written authorization on file in the Office of the Registrar unless the student has granted access to specific persons through the online Third Party Authorization Form in their Self Service account in the www.scranton.edu portal.

FERPA affords students the right to inspect and review their educational records within 45 days of the day the University receives such requests. Students should submit to the Registrar or other appropriate official written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The University official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

Students have the right to request the amendment of any educational records that they believe are inaccurate or misleading. They should write to the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record that they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the University will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to appeal the decision. Additional information regarding the appeal will be provided to the student when notified.

For more information regarding FERPA, please contact the Office of the Registrar and Academic Services, O’Hara Hall, 1st Floor. Students have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by The University of Scranton 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 20202-4605

In addition, The University of Scranton complies with the Student Right-to-Know Act by providing graduation rate information to current and prospective students upon request. Graduation rate information may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Registrar and Academic Services or the Office of Admissions.