Access to Student Education Records (VIII.A.4)

Volume VIII: Records
Chapter A: Records
Responsible Executive: Provost 
Responsible Office: Office of the Registrar
Date Issued: November 1, 2011
Date Last Revised: May 14, 2026

Table of Contents

Contacts
Statement of Policy
Reason for This Policy
Individuals and Entities Affected
Exclusions
Responsibilities
Definitions (defined terms are capitalized throughout the document)
Related Documents, Forms and Tools
Website Address for This Policy
History and Updates
Appendix

Contacts

Policy Clarification

Office of the Registrar
765-496-0509 | ferpa@purdue.edu

Campus Specific Questions

Fort Wayne Office of the Registrar
260-481-6815 | registrar@pfw.edu

Northwest Office of the Registrar
219-989-2210 or 219-785-5342 | registrar@pnw.edu

West Lafayette Office of the Registrar
765-496-0509 | ferpa@purdue.edu

Statement of Policy

Purdue University complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, the federal law that protects the privacy of Education Records of Students.

Annual Notification of Student Rights under FERPA

FERPA provides Students certain rights with respect to reviewing inspecting and requesting amendments to their own Education Records. The University will annually notify Students currently attending the University of these rights. The annual notice also will inform Students of:

1. The instances in which the University may Disclose Education Records or other Personally Identifiable Information without the Student’s prior written consent; and
2. How to submit a request to restrict the release of Directory Information.

Access to and Disclosure of Education Records

University Officials may have access to Education Records when their legitimate educational interest in those records has been determined by the respective Records Custodian. A University Official has a legitimate educational interest if their professional responsibilities to the University reasonably require access to that information. University Officials who have access to Education Records are obligated to carefully protect them and will be held accountable for safeguarding them. Violations may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment and applicable civil and criminal sanctions.

Education Records and Personally Identifiable Information will be released only with the signed consent of the Student, except when FERPA authorizes Disclosure without consent. When required by FERPA, Disclosures made without the Student’s signed consent will include a notice to the recipient that the information is released upon the condition that it will not be Disclosed to any other party without the prior written consent of the Student.

Reason for This Policy

This policy ensures that Purdue University protects the privacy of Student Education Records in accordance with federal law and regulations and complies with requirements imposed on recipients of federal funding under programs of the U.S. Department of Education.

Individuals and Entities Affected

This policy affects all faculty, staff, Students, Parents/guardians, Contractors, volunteers and third parties.

Exclusions

This policy does not give Students the right to prevent disclosure of their names or other identifiers in the classroom.

This policy does not prohibit faculty members or instructors from carrying out customary practices, such as group grading of team assignments and/or projects.

This policy does not give Students the right to inspect records maintained by the University at a campus at which the Student has not been enrolled.

Personally Identifiable Information related solely to a former Student’s activities as an alumnus of the University is not protected under this policy.

The following materials, information and records are excluded from the definition of Education Records and are not available to Students for inspection, review, challenge, correction or deletion:

1. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation placed in the Education Record prior to January 1, 1975, when they are used for the purpose(s) for which they were specifically intended.
2. Confidential letters and statements of recommendations, used solely for the purposes for which they were specifically intended, if the Student has waived the right to inspect and review recommendations regarding:
   
   
   
   1. Admission to an educational institution,
   
   
   2. An application for employment, and
   
   
   3. The receipt of an honor or honorary recognition.
3. Financial records and statements of the Student’s Parents or any information contained therein.
4. Records of instructional, supervisory or administrative personnel or educational personnel ancillary thereto, kept in the sole possession of their creator and not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute of the creator.
5. Records that are created or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other recognized professional, or paraprofessional acting or assisting in that capacity, and are used only in providing treatment to the Student, and are not available without written consent to anyone other than the person(s) providing such treatment, except that such records can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the Student’s choice.
6. Employment records made and maintained in the normal course of business that relate exclusively to the Student in his or her capacity as an employee and are not available for any other purpose; this exclusion does not apply to a Student who is employed by the University as a result of his/her status as a Student (i.e., interns, teaching assistants, research assistants, etc.).
7. Records that contain only information relating to a person after that person is no longer a Student at the University.
8. Records of a law enforcement unit of the University that were created by that law enforcement unit for the purpose of law enforcement.
9. Records regarding application for admission of a Student of one component or campus of the Purdue system who is seeking to enroll at another component or campus of the Purdue system unless the Student is accepted and attends the other component or campus of the Purdue system.

Responsibilities

Officers (See Appendix A)

• Serve as Records Custodian or assign an employee to serve as Records Custodian for Education Records maintained in their unit.

Records Custodians

• Maintain and protect Education Records under their responsibility.
• Ensure FERPA and the University’s policies and procedures are followed when releasing Education Records.
• Maintain accurate Disclosure Logs with the Education Records under their responsibility.
• Ensure that Education Records and data containing Personally Identifiable Information of Students are retained in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and the University’s procedures on records retention.

Registrars

• Administer this policy for their campus and establish mechanisms and procedures to promote overall compliance.

Students

• Know and understand their rights regarding data and information in their own Education Records documented and maintained by the University.
• Follow procedures outlined by the applicable Records Custodian for reviewing, inspecting and requesting amendments to their Education Records.
• Follow procedures outlined by the campus Registrar for requesting to restrict the release of Directory Information.

University Officials

• Protect Education Records to which they have been granted access.

Definitions

All defined terms are capitalized throughout the document. Refer to the central Policy Glossary for additional defined terms.

Attendance
Presence in person or by paper correspondence, videoconference, satellite, Internet or other electronic information and telecommunications technologies for Students who are not physically present in the classroom. The term also includes the period during which a person is working under a work-study, co-op program or participating in an internship.

Biometric Record
A record of one or more measurable biological or behavioral characteristics that can be used for automated recognition of an individual. Examples include fingerprints, retina and iris patterns, voiceprints, DNA sequence, facial characteristics and handwriting.

Contractors
Non-employees, including university legal counsel, performing institutional services and functions.

Dates of Attendance
The period of time during which a Student attends or attended the University. The term does not include specific daily records of Attendance.

Directory Information
Information contained in an Education Record of a Student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. The University considers the following listed items to be Directory Information: Student’s name; local and home addresses; local and home telephone listings; email address; major field of study; enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time) and credit hour load; classification; Dates of Attendance; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; position, weight, height, and photograph of members of athletic teams; degrees, honors and awards received. The University reserves the right to amend this listing consistent with federal law and regulations and will publish any amendments.

Disclosure orDisclose
To permit access to or the release, transfer or other communication of Personally Identifiable Information contained in Education Records by any means, including oral, written or electronic, to any party except the party identified as the party that provided or created the record.

Disclosure Logs
Documents maintained with a Student’s Education Record by the appropriate university Records Custodian that record each request for and disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information from the Education Record of a Student, and that indicate everyone who has requested or obtained Personally Identifiable Information and their legitimate interests in obtaining it. In accordance with FERPA, logs are not maintained for the following:  

1. Disclosures to the Student.
2. Disclosures pursuant to the written consent of the Student, when the consent is specific with respect to the party or parties to whom the Disclosure is to be made.
3. Disclosures to University Officials, when it has been determined that the official has a legitimate educational interest.
4. Disclosures of Directory Information.
5. Disclosures pursuant to judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena when the University is directed not to disclose the existence of the order or subpoena.

Education Records
Any records maintained in any form by the University that are directly related to a Student. The term does not include:

1. Records created after the individual is no longer in Attendance that are not directly related to the individual’s Attendance or studies.
2. Grades on peer-graded papers before they are collected and recorded by an instructor or faculty member.
3. The materials, information and records identified in the Exclusions section.

FERPA
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended.

Parent
The biological or adoptive mother or father of a Student, or any other individual who stands in loco parentis of the Student.

Personally Identifiable Information
A Student’s name; the name of a Student’s Parent or other family member; the address of a Student or Student’s family; a personal identifier, such as the social security number or Student identification number, or any portion thereof, or Biometric Record; other indirect identifiers, such as the Student’s date of birth, place of birth and mother’s maiden name; other information that, alone or in combination, is linked or linkable to a specific Student that would allow a reasonable person in the University community who does not have personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances to identify the Student with reasonable certainty; or information requested by a person who the University reasonably believes knows the identity of the Student to whom the Education Record relates.

Records Custodian
The University employee responsible for Student records within the area where the record is located. See Appendix A.

Registrar
The staff member who holds the position of registrar on the Fort Wayne, Northwest and West Lafayette campuses.

Student
An individual who is or was enrolled and in Attendance at the University, and for whom the University maintains Education Records. For purposes of this policy, one is deemed to be enrolled and Attending once fees have been paid for a session (semester) or as of the first day of the session (semester) in which the student is enrolled, whichever occurs first.

University Officials
Members of the University faculty and staff and internal or external auditors. The term also includes Contractors, volunteers, lawyers and other non-employees performing institutional services and functions.

Related Documents, Forms and Tools

Acceptable Use of IT Resources and Information Assets (VII.A.4)

Information Security and Privacy (VII.B.8)

Annual Notifications of Student Rights under FERPA:

• Fort Wayne
• Northwest
• West Lafayette

Procedures for Public Records Requests

U.S. Department of Education information on FERPA

Regulations Governing Student Conduct:

• Fort Wayne
• Northwest
• West Lafayette

Website Address for This Policy

www.purdue.edu/vpec/policies/records/viiia4

History and Updates

May 14, 2026: Policy reviewed. Appendix updated.

February 1, 2021: Removed list of Students’ rights from Statement of Policy. Removed Procedures section and included information in the Statement of Policy section on Access to and Disclosure of Education Records. Updated Responsibilities section. Removed definitions no longer referenced in the policy: Alleged Perpetrator of a Crime of Violence, Alleged Perpetrator of a Non-forcible Sex Offense, De-Identified Record, Final Results, Financial Aid, and Health and Safety Emergency. Added language to the definition of Disclosure Log. Updated Appendix A.

November 28, 2018: Updated Contacts and Related Documents, Forms and Tools sections.

June 15, 2016: Interim status removed. Contacts and Appendix updated with Purdue University Northwest information.

February 4, 2015: Revisions were made to the Statement of Policy and Procedures sections to align more closely with current University practices and to reflect recent FERPA guidance that has, among other things, clarified the scope of an Education Record. Definitions redundant to the central Policy Glossary were removed and hyperlinks were updated throughout.

November 18, 2011: Policy number changed to VIII.A.4 (formerly VI.3.1) and website address updated.

November 1, 2011: This policy supersedes Executive Memorandum No. C-51, University Policy Regarding the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974,” issued on August 7, 2000, which was originally issued as Executive No. B-44, February 17, 1977.

Appendix A

Each section below identifies the types of Education Records the University maintains and the Official or Records Custodian responsible for that record.