FERPA Privacy Policy

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law which states that an educational institution must establish a written institutional policy concerning the confidentiality of student education records and the fact that students must be notified of this statement of policy and their rights under the legislation. Student records are protected by FERPA policy at the American University of Health Sciences. Please note that this includes release of information to parents if the student is 18 years or older even if the family member is paying for the student’s education.

In accordance with FERPA, students at the American University of Health Sciences have the following rights:

1. The right to inspect and review education records covered by FERPA.
2. The right to challenge (seek correction of) the contents of these records.
3. The right to a formal hearing, if necessary, for a fair consideration of such a challenge.
4. The right to place an explanatory note in the record in the event that a challenge of contents is unsuccessful.
5. The right to control, with certain exceptions, the disclosure of the contents of the records.
6. The right to be informed of the existence and availability of the institutional policy covering FERPA rights.
7. The right to report violations of FERPA legislation to the University Student Services Director, the Registrar, the University Chief Academic Officer/Provost and/or the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures of the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC, 20202-4605.

Students may waive any of their FERPA rights, including the release of their education records, by providing written consent. Such consent must be signed and dated by the student and specify the exact purpose of the waiver or release.