Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and Access to College Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) provides students who are or have been “in attendance” at Messiah College certain rights with respect to their “education records.” A student is deemed to be in attendance at the College if he/she is enrolled and is either physically present for classes or receives instruction through distance learning. Education records may be paper or electronic and are defined generally as records, files, documents, and other materials maintained by the College which contain information directly related to the student and from which the student can be personally identified.

FERPA affords students the right to:

  1. Review their education records within 45 days of the College’s receipt of the request;
  2. Request an amendment of the student’s education records that are believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA; and
  3. Provide written consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

The full policy and details about education records and directory information can be found on the Registrar’s website.

A student may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures to comply with the requirements by writing to Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20202-4605. This policy is maintained by the Messiah College Registrar and was last reviewed July 2016.