Federal Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act Compliance Statement

Rights to Privacy

Educational records of students are maintained officially by the WPI Office of the Registrar. Faculty and staff members may also keep informal records related to their functional role with a student. The education records of WPI students are considered confidential. Right of access to these records is protected under the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974.

Provisions of FERPA

In summary, this law provides:

the right of access to their educational records by persons who currently attend or have attended WPI.
the right to inspect, review and obtain copies of most records.
the right to challenge the content of a record.
the right to waive access to certain items, if a person believes this would be beneficial.
the right to know what records are kept, under whose jurisdiction and for what period of time.

Protections Under the Law

FERPA guards students' and former students' interests through the following provisions:

requires written consent before release of your records, such as transcripts, to others.
requires maintenance of records of all requests for information from your file and indicates reasons for and disposition of the requests. You may inspect this record.
stipulates to the recipient of your record that it may not be released to any one else without your written consent. It also bars use of your record for any purpose other than those specified in the original release.
requires public notice of those elements of school directory information that will be released without the student's consent and provides the student the right to refuse release of this information.

Students Right of Access to Their Own Records

Students and former students are entitled to review, inspect and obtain copies of their educational records (with some limitations). FERPA defines education records as: "records which: (1) are directly related to a student, and (2) are maintained by an educational agency or institution."

Disclosure of Records

For the most part, student records may be released only upon receipt of written consent from the student. Records may be released without the student's consent, however, to school officials who have legitimate education interest in the records. A school official is defined as a person who is employed by the university in:

an administrative, supervisory, academic, research or support staff position, or
employed by or under contract to the university to perform a special task.

Legitimate educational interest is defined as performing a task that is specified in a university job description or contract agreement as it relates to a student's education. Examples of this are:

Officials of another school, upon request, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll
Officials of any federally-supported program or individual acting on their behalf
Financial aid officials in regard to a student's request or receipt of financial aid in determining eligibility, amounts, conditions or enforcement of the terms of conditions
Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the university
Accrediting organizations to carry out their functions
To comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena
Appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency
An alleged victim of any crime of violence, as stated by law, and the results of any disciplinary proceedings conducted by the university against the alleged perpetrator of that crime with respect to that crime

Directory Information

WPI's annual campus directory includes the following information on each student: name, local address, permanent address, e-mail address, class year, WPI mail box number, local telephone number, major and advisor.

The university is permitted by law to provide directory information without a student's consent. However, a student has the right to request that such information not be disclosed in the directory. This request must be in writing and submitted to the Registrar's office during the first week of school each fall. The "Request for Confidentiality" form can be found on the Registrar's Web site.