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School of Medicine Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Medical Center

Educational Records

Filing cabinets

Audio summary [00:06]



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

  • The right to inspect and review the student’s educational records within 45 days of the University receiving a request for such access. Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect.
  • The right to request the amendment of the student’s education record that the student believes is inaccurate or misleading.
  • The right to consent to disclosures or personally identifiable information contained in the student’s educational records, expect to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
  • A school official may disclose a student’s educational record without consent to other school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
  • Upon request, the University discloses education records without consent from directory information such as student name, date admitted, mailing address and telephone number, etc. Students have the right to withhold the release of information designated as “directory information” by submitting to the Office of Records and Registration, no later that 14 days after the beginning of a term, a request written and signed that “directory information” not be released.
  • Students have a right to file a complaint with the US Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Virginia Commonwealth University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.