Fielding Graduate University adheres to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, concerning student access to files and the release of student information.

Students have the right to inspect and review their educational records. Educational records include any data or information about a student, regardless of the media used to create or maintain the record. Educational records include those records maintained by the institution but exclude records maintained by individuals and available only to those individuals or designated substitutes (e.g. "personal files"). Student educational records are located and maintained by administrators in one or more of the following offices: Admission, Alumni Relations, Registrar, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Student Advising and in the academic departments/schools.

Students will be provided access to their educational record file whenever requested within 45 days. Fielding Graduate University reserves the right to deny copies of transcripts or copies of records not required to be made available under FERPA in any of the following situations:

• The student has an unpaid financial obligation to Fielding Graduate University;
• The student is in default in the repayment of a loan obtained while in attendance under Fielding;
• There is an unresolved disciplinary action against the student.

In addition, Fielding Graduate University is not required under FERPA to permit students to inspect and review the following:

• confidential letters and recommendations placed in their files prior to January 1, 1975;
• confidential letters and recommendations placed in their files after January 1, 1975, to which the student has waived his or her rights to inspect and review and that are related to the student's admission, application for employment or job placement, or receipt of honors;
• education records containing information about more than one student; however, we may permit access to that part of the record which pertains only to the inquiring student.

To request access to your educational record, please contact the Registrar's Office in writing.  If copying of any portion of the student record is requested, we reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee based on the number of pages and mailing costs.

If a student wishes to challenge or amend the contents of any portion of the educational record which they consider to be inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of their privacy or other rights they must follow normal grievance procedures; please see the Student Complaint and Grievance Procedure policy.  The exception to this is grade changes; for those please see the Grades and Credit policy.

Educational record files maintained by the Registrar may only be removed from the Registrar's Office with explicit permission from the Registrar.

Deceased Students

Academic records of deceased students may be released or disclosed, at the time of death, upon written request, to a spouse, a parent, the executor of the estate, the eldest surviving child, the eldest surviving sibling, and surviving descendent, or pursuant to a court order or subpoena. The request should be addressed to the Registrar. Only the Registrar or his/her designee may release the academic records of deceased students. FERPA law no longer applies and the disposition of records becomes a matter of institutional policy.

The petitioner must provide as much of the following student information as possible with her/her written request:

• Student's name (and former name, if applicable)
• Student's social security number
• Student's date of birth
• The dates that the deceased student was in attendance at Fielding
• Death certificate (a photocopy is acceptable)

The petitioner must also provide the following personal information within her/her written request:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Evidence that he or she is qualified to receive the records based on the above criteria, or, in the absence of evidence, a statement certifying the same
• Signature
• Date of request

Related Policies:

• Student Complaint and Grievance Procedure
• Grades and Credit
• Student and Institutional Rights of Disclosure of Directory Information (FERPA)

Policy Revised 07/01/2005