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FERPA and Letters of Recommendations

Student Rights under FERPA

The University of Scranton recognizes the privacy rights of students and former students as guaranteed by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. FERPA governs release of, and access to, student education records. You have several rights under FERPA:

  • The right to inspect and review your education record within 45 days after the University receives a formal written request for access;
  • The right to request an amendment to your education record if you believe it is inaccurate or misleading; 
  • The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.; and 

  • The right to be informed of the elements of personally identifiable information in your education record that The University of Scranton considers to be directory, or public, information that may be released, at the discretion of the University, without your specific written consent. Further, you have the option to prevent disclosure of your directory information to others except where prescribed by law.

The University considers the following elements of student education records to be directory information:

  • Name, Former name, date and place of birth/age, major fields of study, email address, class level, address (local and permanent), photograph, dates of attendance, enrollment status, campus employment, degrees, awards, academic honors, telephone number (campus/local and permanent), weight and height of members of athletic teams, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, expected and actual dates of graduation.

If you wish to prevent the disclosure of public/directory information that may be released without prior consent, including being listed in the Student Directory, print out the Request to Prohibit Disclosure of Student Directory Information form found on the registrar’s webpage or at http://www.scranton.edu/academics/registrar/prohibit-disclosure-student-directory.shtml. Complete, sign and submit the form to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Services, O’Hara Hall, Second Floor or registrar@scranton.edu.

Letters/Statements of Recommendation

A student who seeks a letter or statement of recommendation from a University (School) Official must authorize the action by completing the FERPA Authorization Form for Letters/Statements of Recommendation. Please read and fill out the appropriate sections of the form before delivering it to the School Official(s) whom you are asking to write a letter of recommendation or serve as a reference for you. A separate form must be submitted for each request.

Questions regarding FERPA or the authorization form may be directed to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Services.

 

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