Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, gives students certain rights concerning their educational records. The primary rights afforded are the right to inspect and review their educational records, the right to seek to have the records amended, the right to have some control over the disclosure of information from the records, and the right to file a complaint concerning alleged failures by Trinity Lutheran Seminary to comply with the requirements of FERPA. A student who believes that the seminary is in violation of FERPA may file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office, United States Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.
Within the Trinity Lutheran Seminary community, only those members acting in the student’s educational interest are allowed access to student education records. These members include the President, the Academic Dean, the Associate Academic Dean, faculty members of the Academic Affairs and Admissions Committees, the Registrar, the Director of Admissions; the Director of Financial Aid; the Director of Contextual Education; the student’s adviser(s); a staff member acting solely as an agent of one of the above individuals; and other faculty, administrative, clerical, and professional employees of the seminary within the limitation of their need to know. 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, Trinity discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
Directory information is information that can be given out to any requestor at the discretion of the seminary. Directory information at Trinity includes the student’s name, date of birth, home and school address, email address, home and school telephone numbers, photographs, degree program, dates of attendance, enrollment status, and undergraduate and graduate degrees and dates. It also includes class schedules and class rosters. Students may withhold directory information from being released outside of the seminary community by notifying the Registrar in writing within two weeks of the first day of class for the term in which they entered. Forms are available in the Registrar’s office.