What is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as amended (also sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment), is a federal law that assigns certain privacy rights regarding their educational records to students who are 18 years of age or older or enrolled in post-secondary institutions. In general, this means that students need to give their permission for the release of information about their educational record, even to release information to parents.

In accordance with FERPA, Milligan maintains the confidentiality of student education records. No one outside the institution shall have access to nor will the institution disclose any information from students' education records without the written consent of students, except to personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, to persons or organizations providing student financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or others.

FERPA protects information about courses in which the student is enrolled, grades received, locations of courses, academic standing information, financial aid information, student account information, etc.

Directory Information
At Milligan, the following pieces of information are considered "directory" or public information. Directory information can be released to anyone, including parents, without the student's permission. Students do have the right, however, to prevent the release of even directory information by contacting the Student Development Office (423.461.8760). If students have exercised their right not to have directory information released, the college may not release it to anyone without the student's permission. Directory information includes the following:

• Student's name, addresses (including email), and phone numbers
• Date and place of birth
• Degree sought and time
• Major/minor fields of study
• Class year (freshman, sophomore, etc.)
• Enrollment status (full-time/part-time), including credit hours
• Dates of attendance
• Degrees, awards, and honors conferred
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Weight and height of members of athletic teams
• The most recent previous educational institution attended by student

Authorization
Students can authorize access for their parent(s) to their education records and allow oral and written communication with college personnel by completing an authorization form and submitting it to the Registrar's Office, P.O. Box 52, Milligan College, TN 37682; fax: 423.461.8716.

Students may also allow access to view their records in the college database by sharing with their parent(s) their login IDs and passwords to IQ.Web, the Internet access to education records.

Questions
General questions may be directed to the Office of the Registrar, P.O. Box 52, Milligan College, TN 37682. Phone: 423.461.8788. Fax: 423.461.8716.