Skip to main content
Compliance and Integrity

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Annual Notice of Student Rights
Revised August 2026

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law and corresponding regulations, gives students certain rights to privacy of their education records and rights of access to their education records.

Student rights include:

1. Inspect and Review of Records

The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access. Students should submit written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official who maintains the requested records. The University official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. However, certain education records may not be inspected by students (e.g., financial records of their parents, certain letters of recommendation, or certain medical records). If the records are not maintained by the University official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed. Copies may be provided to students under certain circumstances, and a reasonable copy fee may be charged.  See Section 3 of REG 11.00.01.

2. Amendment of Records

The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise violate the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. Students should write to the University official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate, misleading, or inconsistent with the student’s privacy rights. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the University will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.  See Section 8 of REG 11.00.01.

3. Consent to Disclosure 

The right to provide written consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information from the student’s education records. However, there are exceptions to this right. One exception which permits disclosure without the student’s consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. School officials include employees or agents of the university, advisors, faculty, university committee members, other educational institutions seeking information for the purpose of admission or enrollment, and persons or companies with whom the university has contracted, provided they have a legitimate educational interest in the records. A legitimate educational interest means an activity that the school official is undertaking in the name of the University for which access to  education records is necessary or appropriate to fulfill that individual’s responsibilities for the University.

Another exception to records privacy is that the University may disclose “directory information” without student consent. Directory information consists of a student’s name, preferred email address, enrollment status (e.g., full-time or part-time), grade level (freshman, sophomore, etc.), major field of study, dates of attendance, honors, degrees and awards received, weight and height of student-athletes, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and most recent educational institution attended. 

The University also designates certain information as limited use directory information, which may be disclosed only for specific purposes. For students residing in University-owned or leased housing facilities, a student’s local and permanent addresses and age may be disclosed solely to respond to requests from the United States Census Bureau as part of census data collection.

In addition, for courses where the University creates audio or video recordings for instructional or educational purposes, certain information captured in those recordings is considered limited use directory information and may be disclosed to other students enrolled in the same course (regardless of class section or academic term). This includes a student’s name as referenced or captured in the recording, photographs or images of the student, audio or video of the student’s participation, and online chats or other recorded communications captured as part of the instructional recording.

Students may block disclosure of directory information. To block disclosure of directory information, a student must establish privacy settings within the MyPack portal as soon as possible after declaring their intention to enroll at the University. Even if a student blocks directory information, it may still be inspected by those persons authorized by law to inspect education records without consent. See 34 CFR 99.31 and 99.37.

The university may notify parents of students under the age of 21 of certain Code of Student Conduct alcohol or drug violations as set forth in more detail in REG 11.00.01. Other exceptions which allow the University to disclose education records without student consent include but are not limited to the following: to parents of dependent students, to other educational institutions, to comply with a lawfully issued subpoena or court order, to protect the health and safety of the student or others in an emergency, in litigation, and where there is an implied waiver by the student.

As of July 2, 2026, records of disciplinary proceedings that reveal personally identifiable information about a student enrolled in a public institution of higher education are confidential and not considered public records. However, the university is permitted to release public records that do not contain personally identifiable information from a student disciplinary proceeding, including aggregated data, guidelines, instructions, or summaries.

4. FERPA Complaints 

The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by NC State University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

The office that administers FERPA and handles complaints is the Student Privacy Policy Office located at 400 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20202-8520.

Resources