FERPA AUTHORIZATION: Students can authorize access for their parent(s) to their education records (grades and academic performance, student account and financial aid, student conduct and campus life) and allow oral and written communication with university personnel by completing a FERPA form at the bottom of this page.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law which affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
- The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the university receives a request for access.
- A student should submit to the registrar, dean, chair of the academic area, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes 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. If the records are not maintained by the University official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
- The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
- A student who wishes to ask the university to amend a record should write to the university official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.
- While an eligible student has the right to seek to amend non-substantive factual errors in the student’s education records, the right is not unlimited. A school is not required by FERPA to afford an eligible 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. If the university decides not to amend the record as requested, the university 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.
- The right to provide written consent before the university discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
- The university discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the University who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent or a student volunteering to assist another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official typically has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the University.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the university 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, D.C. 20202
For more information about FERPA, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website.
Milligan & FERPA
Milligan University accords all these rights under the law to students. The term “student” means any individual who is or has been in attendance at Milligan University (with the exception of those persons enrolled only for Continuing Education Units) and regarding whom Milligan University maintains education records. Attendance begins the first day of any term/session in which the student is enrolled. No one outside the institution shall have access to nor will the institution disclose any information from students’ education records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, to persons or organizations providing students financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or others.
Within the Milligan University community only those members, individually or collectively, acting in the students’ educational interest are allowed access to student education records.
At its discretion, the institution may provide directory information in accordance with the provisions of the Act to include:
- Student name
- Address
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Major field of study
- Dates of attendance
- Degrees
- Honors and awards received
- The most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student
- Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
- Grade level
- Enrollment status
- Weight and height of members of athletic teams
Students may withhold directory information by notifying the Registrar’s Office in writing within two weeks after the first day of class for the fall and spring terms. The institution honors requests for non-disclosure throughout the student’s time at Milligan unless the student rescinds the request.
FERPA permits the disclosure of PII from students’ education records, without consent of the student if the disclosure meets certain conditions found in § 99.31 of the FERPA regulations. Except for disclosures to school officials, disclosures related to some judicial orders or lawfully issued subpoenas, disclosures of directory information, and disclosures to the student, § 99.32 of FERPA regulations requires the institution to record the disclosure. Eligible students have a right to inspect and review the record of disclosures.
Authorization
Students can authorize access for their parent(s) to their education records and allow oral and written communication with University personnel by completing an authorization form.
Filling out this FERPA form requires students to log-in to our student portal with the Milligan username and password that Information Technology (IT) sends via email once students submit the enrollment deposit. (These are the same credentials you will use to log-in to your Milligan email, Canvas learning management system, and the self-service payment portal. If you are unable to find the email, make sure to check your spam or junk folder. If you are unable to locate them, please email the IT help desk at Helpdesk@milligan.edu or call 423.461.8704.