Student Academic Affairs

Academic Advising, Standards, Academic Integrity & Conduct

Student Records Policy

Student Records

LS&A students have an academic advising file containing admissions material, test scores, unofficial copies of academic records, memoranda, correspondence, and notes which academic advisors or members of the Academic Standards Board have made about their conversations with a student. Information of a sensitive nature may be removed from the academic advising file at the discretion of a member of the Academic Standards Board or at the request of the student and placed in a Dean's file, which is a confidential file. Dean's files are also created for those students charged with some form of academic misconduct, for recording grade grievances filed by students, and for other serious violations.

Students have the right to examine most materials in their own academic files. Students who wish to review their advising files may do so by scheduling an appointment with an academic advisor. Access to Dean's files may be obtained by an appointment with Assistant Dean Nurse or his designate. Students may request duplicate copies of most information in their academic files at cost. They may also add clarifying notes and other materials to their advising files during regular business hours. Requests for deletions and additions of material from an advising file or a Dean's file should be addressed in writing to the Office of the Assistant Dean. Students should not expect normally to be able to achieve a change in their student records after the fact, as with, for example, retroactive withdrawals either from a course or from a semester's enrollment.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) governs both the release of and access to student records in the College and University. Access to individual student LSA advising files is restricted to official college academic advisors, members of the Academic Standards Board, and clerical staff who assist in carrying out official advising or Academic Standards Board functions. Only the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Affairs and individuals directly involved in a judiciary case have direct access to individual confidential Dean's files. FERPA grants students the right to inspect and review their education records; to request amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA; and to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College or University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a judicial committee or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. 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.

Dean's files are usually maintained by the Office of the Assistant Dean for Student Academic Affairs for two years after the student has been graduated.