Educational Records and Privacy

Privacy rights, regarding access to information, are observed in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly known as the Buckley Amendment.

In accordance with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (Section 438 of the General Education Provisions Act 20 USC 1232), below are the regulations that Urban College has adopted to protect the privacy rights of its students. Revisions and clarifications will be published as experience with the law and the institution’s policy warrants.

Students are informed of their rights under this act through the College Catalog and the Student Handbook. In compliance with this federal law, the college has established a policy to protect students from misuse of information in their education records and to allow students access to their own education records.

The policy is summarized as follows:

Student’s Rights: FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. These rights include:

  • The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the college receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) that they wish to inspect. The Registrar will arrange for access and notify the student of the time and place where the record may be inspected.

  • The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate.

    A student may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write to the college official that is responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record that they want changed, and specify why they believe that it is inaccurate.

    If the college decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the college will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of 120 their 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 consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosures without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the college has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another college official in performing their tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibility.

  • The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Urban College of Boston 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

Access to Education Records

Access to records is limited to school officials with a legitimate educational interest. A school official is defined as follows:

  • A person employed by the College in an administrative, counseling, supervisory, or academic, student support services position, or a support person to these positions; or

  • A person employed by or under contract to the College to perform a special task.

Legitimate educational interest needed for a school official to access a record includes:

  • The information requested is necessary for that official to perform appropriate tasks that are specified in their position description or by a contract agreement.

  • The information is to be used within the context of official agency or school business and not for purposes extraneous to the official’s areas of responsibility or to the College.

  • The information is relevant to the accomplishment of some task or to a determination about the student.

  • The information is to be used consistently with the purposes for which the data are maintained.

Those with access to education records are required to maintain confidentiality of the contents of those records.

Directory Information

The following pieces of information are considered Directory Information and may be released with or without notice by the college except in cases where they have been specifically protected by written request from a student:

  • Name as it appears in the College’s records

  • Degrees or Certificates enrolled or conferred and Date of Graduation

  • Dates of Attendance

  • Enrollment status

  • Urban College Email address

  • College Honors including Dean’s List (see “Dean’s List”).