Dear FERPA Professors,
What are FERPA restrictions/guidelines on sending students a copy of their files/records? We have a student who left our institution during their second year. Thank you so much for your help. I am new and still learning the details.
Regards,
Stu Deetz
Dear Stu Deetz,
FERPA requires that institutions provide students the opportunity to “inspect and review” any education records maintained on them. (See § 99.10 of the FERPA regulations.) Education records are defined as those records that are directly related to the student and are being maintained by the institution. (See § 99.3 “Education Records.”) This would generally encompass much more than information maintained in a student’s file and would include such things as emails, graded tests, financial records, etc.
Institutions are only required to provide copies of these records if not doing so would effectively deny access. § 99.10(d) contains this requirement. An example of this would be if the student no longer resides within commuting distance of the institution.
The FERPA Professor
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