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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, commonly referred to as the Buckley Amendment or FERPA, is designed to protect the confidentiality of student records educational institutions maintain and to give students access to their records to assure accuracy. FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records.

Access to Education Records

You have the right to inspect and review your education records within 45 days of the day BU receives a written request for access, any time after your matriculation. Request for Amendment of Education Records: The right to request amendment of your education records if you believe they're inaccurate or misleading.

Disclosure of Education Records

Directory Information: BU designates the following categories of student information as public or "Directory Information." BU may disclose such information at its discretion. While BU has the right to disclose this information, all necessary precautions are taken to protect the safety and well-being of our students.

While FERPA permits a university to release personally identifiable information designated as “directory Information”, the university is not required to release that information. It is university policy to review each request to release directory information and to NOT release directory information unless a clear case is made that it is in the best interests of the student. It is solely the pervue of the university to determine the “best interest” of the student.

• Awards and honors ( Dean's List)
• Campus e-mail address
• Class standing (e.g. sophomore
• College of enrollment
• Current enrollment
• Date and place of birth
• Dates of attendance
• Degree(s) conferred (including dates)
• Full-time or part-time status, withdrawn
• Home telephone number
• Local address
• Local telephone number
• Major field(s) of study
• Name
• Permanent address
• Picture of Student
• Student Class Schedules

Past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities, including fraternities and sororities, and physical factors of athletes (e.g. height, weight).

Federal and State Data Collection and Use.

As of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records—including your Social Security Number, grades, or other private information — may be accessed without your consent.

First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is “principally engaged in the provision of education,” such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution.

Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities.

In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.

Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of directory information. To withhold disclosure, written notification must be received on a semester basis at:

Office of the Registrar

150 Student Services Center

Bloomsburg University

Bloomsburg, PA 17815-1301

BU will honor a request to withhold directory information. Students should understand that, by withholding directory information, some information considered important to students may not reach them.

Compliance

You are encouraged to contact BU's registrar, buregistrar@bloomu.edu, 150 Student Services Center, Bloomsburg University.

Under FERPA, you have the right to contact the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20202-4605, with a complaint about the BU's compliance with FERPA.

Complete regulations and full definitions of terminology are at FERPA Regulations or FERPA Regulations