The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (F.E.R.P.A.), also known as the Buckley Amendment, protects the privacy of student records. This Act provides students the right to inspect and review education records, the right to seek to amend those records, and to limit the disclosure of information from the records. Under FERPA, colleges and universities have up to 45 days to comply with a request from a student to view their records.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act strictly limits parental access to the educational records of their University-enrolled children. Judson University intends to comply fully with this Act. However, FERPA guidelines do allow students to voluntarily surrender some of their privacy rights.
As a result, while Judson recognizes the legitimate interest of parents, guardians, and spouses to consult with professional staff about the academic and personal well-being of their students, the University cannot do so without a written release signed by the student. Students may find the FERPA Release form on the Student Info tab in MyJudson. Completed forms should specify what information can be released, to whom it can be released and who at Judson is being authorized to release it.
Judson University Campus Safety is considered the institution’s law enforcement unit, and records created and maintained by that department for law enforcement purposes are excluded from the definition of education records. Campus Safety staff members, and members of the University Behavior Assessment Team, are considered school officials with a legitimate educational interest, and may be granted access to education records as necessary to fulfill their professional responsibilities. Additionally, the FERPA health and safety emergency provision permits information from a student’s education record to be disclosed to appropriate parties in the event of a health or safety emergency such as a natural disaster, terrorist incident, or outbreak of an epidemic disease.
For more information regarding FERPA, please contact Judson's Registrar's Office or visit the Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html