Student Records and Privacy Rights
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, complies with the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA affords students
certain rights with respect to their "education records" as that term
is defined in the law. These rights include the following:
1. The student has the right to inspect and review his or her
education records within 45 days of the date Rutgers receives a proper
request for access to such records.
2. The student has the right to request amendment of education
records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading.
3. Rutgers shall obtain the prior consent of the student before
disclosing personally identifiable information contained in the
student's education records, except to the extent FERPA authorizes
disclosure without consent.
4. The student may direct complaints concerning the alleged
failure of Rutgers to comply with the requirements of FERPA to the
Office of Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, 83 Somerset
Street, College Avenue campus (732/932-7312), or to the U.S. Department
of Education, c/o Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.
Students wishing to exercise their rights to inspect and review their
education records should submit a written request to the appropriate
official at the Rutgers office which is custodian of the records they
wish to review. Students requesting amendment of education records
should first review the policies and procedures of their college or
school and/or consult with their dean of students, or equivalent
official. FERPA permits disclosure of directory information
without a student's consent, unless the student has requested such
information be kept confidential. Directory information includes the
student's name, address, phone, school of attendance, and several other
fields of information. For information on how to keep your directory
information confidential, visit the Rutgers Online Directory by using
the "Search: People" link of the Rutgers home page (http://www.rutgers.edu),
or contact the Office of the Registrar on your campus.
Rutgers no longer uses a student's social security number as an
identification number. As of February 13, 2006, Rutgers converted to a
random number identification system to safeguard students' privacy.
Every student will be assigned a random nine-digit number with zeros in
the fourth and fifth places. The Social Security Administration
guarantees that no number with zeros in the fourth and fifth digits
will ever be assigned, making these numbers easily distinguishable. The
official notices are archived on the Office of Compliance, Student
Policy, and Judicial Affairs web site at http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~polcomp.
The notices provide full information on Rutgers' compliance with FERPA, including the current
definition of "directory information." Students with questions about
FERPA or the privacy of their records should consult these notices
and/or contact the Office of Associate Vice President for Student
Affairs, 83 Somerset Street, College Avenue campus (732/932-7312, cspc@rci.rutgers.edu).
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