These acts are designed to protect the privacy of students and parents regarding access to records and release of such records, and to provide opportunity for a hearing to challenge such records should they be inaccurate, misleading, or inappropriate.

Under the University’s Open Meetings and Open Records Policy, adopted by the Board of Regents October 30, 1987, public records are closed to public inspection and copying to the extent that they relate to scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals and personally identifiable student records.

However, such records may be subject to public inspection and copying under the following conditions:

1. Personally identifiable student records shall be open for inspection by the student, or by the parents, guardian or other custodian of the student in the case of a student who is a dependent of the parent, guardian, or other custodian as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, Sec. 152. The burden of establishing dependency shall be upon the parent, guardian, or custodian requesting access to the record.
2. Any personally identifiable student records may be disclosed upon the request or with the consent of the student, in writing, dated, and specifying the records to be disclosed, the purpose of the disclosure, and the parties to whom disclosure may be made.
3. Personally identifiable student records which are required by state or federal law to be disclosed to federal or state agencies, or under court order, or in specific circumstances, may be disclosed at the request of such agency, or in response to court order, or upon showing of the specific circumstances requiring disclosure.
4. Directory information, including the following: Name, address, email address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, full or part time enrollment status, number of hours enrolled in a semester, degrees, awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student, may be disclosed without the consent of the student.

A student who objects to the disclosure of any of these specific categories of personally identifiable directory information has the right to refuse to permit the designation of such information as directory information with respect to that student. Such objection must be made in writing to the Registrar not later than 30 days after the start of the student’s first semester of enrollment at the University. The University will attempt to honor written objections not filed within 30 days after the start of the student’s first semester of enrollment, but in such instances will not be responsible for the inadvertent release of information designated by the University as directory information by an agent who is not aware of the student’s objection to that release