FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

A full description of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is available on the FERPA website.

Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of directory information by supplying written notification. Students who wish to withhold directory information can do so through Bionic. Assistance is available in the Registrar’s Office.

Bryn Mawr College designates the following categories of student information as public or “directory information.” Such information may be disclosed by the institution for any purpose, at its discretion. To ensure FEPRA information is withheld during the academic year, requests should be received by the end of the first week of classes.

• Name, address, dates of attendance, class, current enrollment status, electronic mail address
• Previous institution(s) attended, major field of study, awards, honors, degree(s) conferred
• Date of birth
• Telephone number
• Marital status

Please call (610-526-5142) or email the Registrar’s Office if you are interested in or have questions.

FERPA Facts

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

• School officials with legitimate educational interest;
• Other schools to which a student is transferring;
• To authorized representatives of the U. S. Comptroller General, the U. S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or State and local educational authorities, such as a State postsecondary authority that is responsible for supervising the university’s State-supported education programs.
• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
• Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
• Accrediting organizations;
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
• To parents of a student regarding the student's violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or of any rule or policy of the school.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, course catalog, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

Requests for Verification of Enrollment and Degrees

Bryn Mawr College works with the National Student Clearinghouse to verify a student or alumnae's enrollment or degree status. Potential employers or other parties who need to verify this information should submit a request to the National Student Clearinghouse. There is a modest fee, but you will obtain instant results.