Under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), you have the right to inspect and review your education records at the University and the right to request amendment of those records if they are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of your privacy rights. You also have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the University has not complied with FERPA.

To inspect your education records, file a written request with the individual who has custody of the records you wish to inspect (University registrar, academic dean, department chair, director of housing and residential education, etc.). To request amendment, discuss your request informally with the records custodian. If she or he does not agree to amend them, she or he will notify you of your appeal rights.

In accordance with FERPA, the University, in most cases, will not release personally identifiable information from your education records without your prior written consent. There are exceptions to this rule. For example:

(1)   The University will release information without your prior consent to teachers, officials and employees of UNC-Chapel Hill who have a legitimate educational interest in the information. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if it is in the educational interest of the student in question for the official to have the information, or if it is necessary or desirable for the official to obtain the information in order to carry out his or her official duties or to implement the policies of the University of North Carolina.

(2)   If you are enrolled simultaneously at UNC-Chapel Hill and another school or school system, or if you seek or intend to enroll in another school or school system, the University will forward your education records to officials of the other school or school system, upon request, without notice to you.

(3)  If the University takes disciplinary action against you for conduct that posed a significant risk to your safety or well-being or that of other students or members of the University community, the University may disclose information about that disciplinary action to officials of other schools that have a legitimate educational interest in your behavior. That disclosure will also be made without notice to you.

A number of other exceptions to the rule are set out in the University’s FERPA policy. You may obtain a copy of the policy and additional information about FERPA from the associate university counsel, CB #9150, 110 Bynum Hall. The FERPA policy and federal FERPA regulations are also on the World Wide Web at http://www.unc.edu/campus/policies.html. The Office of the University Registrar will release directory information without your prior written consent unless you have notified that office to restrict the release of directory information.

Directory information is defined as a student’s:

Name; address (local and grade-billing addresses); Person Information Number (PID); telephone listing (local and grade-billing numbers); date and place of birth; county, state, and/or U.S. territory from which the student originally enrolled (if a student enrolled from a foreign country, this is not directory information); major field of study; class (junior, senior, etc.); enrollment status (full-time, half-time, part-time); participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; dates of attendance; degrees and awards received; the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended; anticipated graduation date; and campus electronic mail address.