Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
About FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. At a postsecondary institution, FERPA rights belong to the student, regardless of age.
Student Rights
FERPA gives eligible students the right to:
- Inspect and review their education records.
- Request correction of records they believe are inaccurate, misleading or otherwise violate their privacy rights.
- Provide written consent before personally identifiable information from their education records is disclosed, except when FERPA permits disclosure without consent.
- File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning an alleged FERPA violation.
Directory Information and University Procedures
FERPA permits institutions to identify certain information as directory information and disclose it without prior consent, subject to institutional notice and student opt-out procedures. Review the Texas Tech Health El Paso Annual Notice to Students for the university's definitions, procedures and complete notice of student rights.