FERPA Information
for Students

The right to inspect and review your education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access.

You should submit to the Registrar, or other appropriate official responsible for the record, a written request that identifies the record(s) you wish to inspect.  The College official will make arrangements for access and notify you of the time and place where the records may be inspected.  If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request was submitted, that official will advise you of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

The right to request the amendment of your education records that you believe are  inaccurate or misleading and the right to grieve alleged violation of privacy rights pursuant to the Student Conduct Code.

You may ask the College to amend a record that you believe is inaccurate or misleading.  To do so, you should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record you want changed and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.  If the official decides not to amend the record as requested by you, the College will notify you of the decision and advise you of your right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment.  Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to you when notified of the right to a hearing.  You also have the right to grieve alleged violations of your right to privacy regarding your education records.

The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

FERPA permits the disclosure of records retained by the College as “directory information” without student consent. These items include:

Directory Information 

• student name
• College-issued email address,*
  (*Students’ email addresses are only directory information for the purpose of internal use by the UC Law SF community).
  
• major field of study,
• dates of attendance,
• degrees and honors received,
• the most recent previous educational institution attended,
• photograph**
  (**Students’ photographs are only directory information for the purpose of use in Hastings publications and for internal use by the UC Law SF community (students, faculty and staff)).

The Department of Defense regulations also identify these items as directory information.  However, students may refuse to permit disclosure of any or all of these categories of personally identifiable information designated as public or “directory information.”

Students may refuse to permit disclosure of personally identifiable information designated as public or “directory information” Notice of a student’s refusal to permit disclosure of directory information shall be submitted on WebAdvisor by logging in, selecting “change my address”, then selecting the “Privacy” tab and marking the preferred Disclosure (or restriction) of Directory information field.

The U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to your records and personally identifiable information without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal-or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is “principally engaged in the provision of education,” as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Additionally, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and personally identifiable information without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when the College objects to or does not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your personally identifiable information, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. Also, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent personally identifiable information from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such personally identifiable information to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student record systems.

Another 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 personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (e.g., an attorney, auditor or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Directors; or a student serving on an official committee (e.g., a disciplinary or grievance committee) or that is assisting another school official in performing his/her tasks.

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.

Students may provide a written, dated consent for Hastings to provide personally identifiable information from that student’s educational records to third parties.

Pursuant to FERPA, certain student records are not subject to inspection and review by students. These are set forth in Hastings’ Policies and Procedures Applying to Privacy and Access to Educational Records and referenced below:

1. Financial records and statements of the student’s parents or guardians or any information contained therein. Information from the Parents’ Confidential Statement, or equivalent information, may be disclosed to the student on condition that the proper authorization has been signed by the parent(s) or guardian(s).
2. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation which were placed in a student’s records prior to January 1, 1975, provided that the letters and statements are used only for the
   purposes for which they were specifically intended.
3. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation which were placed in a student’s records after January 1, 1975, with regard to admission, application for employment, or the receipt of an honor, if the student has waived the right to inspect and review those recommendations.
4. Records containing personally identifiable information about other students. If student records contain information on more than one student, students may inspect and review or be
   informed of only the specific information which pertains to themselves.

Students have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by University of California, Hastings College of the Law 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
600 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C.   20202-4605
(202) 260-3887/(202) 260-9001 – FAX