- Right of Access for Inspection. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day Chapman University receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar's Office written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected, with appropriate confidentiality measures in place if the education records of other students are implicated. If the records are not maintained by the Registrar's Office, the student shall be advised of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
- Right to Seek Amendment of Errors. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate. Students may ask Chapman University to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. While a student has the right to seek to amend non-substantive factual errors in the student’s education records, the right is not unlimited. Chapman is not required by FERPA to afford a student the right to seek to change substantive decisions made by school officials, such as substantive decisions made in the context of grades given to a student based on their performance, other evaluations of the student’s performance, or disciplinary decisions. They should write the Registrar, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If Chapman University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the student shall be notified of the decision and advised as to 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.
- Right to Consent to Disclosure of Information. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent or the information has been designated as Directory Information and the student has not opted out of disclosure.
- One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests.
- A school official is a person employed by Chapman University in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom Chapman University has contracted to serve as its agent or to provide services in support of its operation (such as an attorney, investigator, hearing officer, auditor, collection agent, the National Student Clearinghouse for enrollment and degree verification services, degree conferral & transcript processing agent, document managing agent, and placement sites for internship or similar student work/study opportunities); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks; consultants, volunteers or other outside parties to whom Chapman University has outsourced institutional services or functions that it would otherwise use employees to perform.
- A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill the official’s professional responsibility. As permitted by FERPA, Chapman University may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school, upon request, in which a student intends to enroll or is enrolled.
- Right to File a Complaint. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Chapman University 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.
- Right to Opt Out of Disclosure of Directory Information. At its discretion, Chapman University may provide Directory Information in accordance with the provisions of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Directory Information is defined as that information which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Designated Directory Information at Chapman University includes the following: student name, permanent address, local address, temporary address, electronic mail address, telephone number, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, major/minor field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, final theses/dissertation, photograph, full-time/part-time status, most recent previous school attended, date and place of birth, class schedule.
- Students may withhold Directory Information by notifying the Registrar in writing; please note that such withholding requests are binding for all information to all parties other than for those exceptions allowed under the Act. Students should consider all aspects of a Directory Hold prior to filing such a request.
- Right to Protect Photos and Videos that Meet the Definition of an Education Record
As with any other “education record,” a photo or video of a student is an education record, subject to specific exclusions, when the photo or video is: (1) directly related to a student; and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. Among the factors that may be considered if a photo or video should be considered “directly related” to a student are the following:
- Chapman uses the photo or video for disciplinary action (or other official purposes) involving the student (including the victim of any such disciplinary incident);
- The photo or video contains a depiction of an activity:
- that resulted in Chapman’s use of the photo or video for disciplinary action (or other official purposes) involving a student (or, if disciplinary action is pending or has not yet been taken, that would reasonably result in use of the photo or video for disciplinary action involving a student);
- that shows a student in violation of local, state, or federal law;
- that shows a student getting injured, attacked, victimized, ill, or having a health emergency;
- The person taking the photo or video intends to make a specific student the focus of the photo or video (e.g., ID photos, or a recording of a student presentation); or
- The audio or visual content of the photo or video otherwise contains personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education record.
A photo or video will not be considered directly related to a student in the absence of these factors and if the student’s image is incidental or captured only as part of the background, or if a student is shown participating in school activities that are open to the public and without a specific focus on any individual. If the photo or video is not directly related to a student, it is not an education record protected by FERPA.