The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (otherwise known as FERPA), sets forth requirements regarding the privacy of student records. FERPA governs release of records maintained by an educational institution and access to those records. This page explains the rights of students with respect to their educational records, and outlines the University's procedures to comply with the FERPA.
University policy (pdf) was established to outline requirements to protect the privacy of student education records at Ohio State. Questions concerning FERPA should be referred to the University Registrar, your college/extended campus office or the office that maintains the student record in question.
Release of Student Record Information is generally not done by The Ohio State University without the expressed, written consent of the student. There are some exceptions regarding Directory Information, emergency situation, subpoenas (lawfully issued), parent requests of a dependent student and an educational “need to know” (to appropriate faculty or staff of Ohio State).
Note: Due to the University Registrar's contract with the National Student Clearinghouse, verification of enrollment and degree completion must be requested and verified through the National Student Clearinghouse.
Students have the right to withhold the release of Directory Information, visible by searching Ohio State's website. To do so, a student must designate “I wish to withhold the release of my Directory Information” in their Buckeye Link. It should be noted that if a student asks for Directory Information to be withheld, it will be withheld from a variety of sources, including: the student, friends, relatives, prospective employers, honor societies, and the news media. Each student is advised to carefully consider the consequences of a decision to withhold Directory Information. Information regarding email address, previous dates of attendance, degrees and awards received (to include honors, majors, minors and specializations), previous educational agencies or institutions attended is always considered releasable. View instructions in the FAQs below.
The Ohio State University has designated the following information about students as public (directory) information, which may be released without the student’s consent:
Students have the right to withhold the release of Directory Information, visible in Ohio State's search result. To do so, a student must designate “I wish to withhold the release of my Directory Information” in his or her Buckeye Link. It should be noted that if a student asks for directory information to be withheld, it will be withheld from a variety of sources, including: the student, friends, relatives, prospective employers, honor societies, and the news media. Each student is advised to carefully consider the consequences of a decision to withhold directory information. Information regarding email address, previous dates of attendance, degrees and awards received (to include honors, majors, minors and specializations), previous educational agencies or institutions attended is always considered releasable.
Students desiring to withhold release of directory information will be asked to acknowledge an agreement with the understanding regarding the implications of a "no release."
To withhold release of directory information:
The right to review records is effective once a student is enrolled. They have the right to review their educational records, except for those excluded by law, such as: Records kept by a campus health professional, parent financial records and confidential letters of reference.
Educational records are not maintained at The Ohio State University in any one central office, but are kept in the respective colleges and schools, the Graduate School, graduate departments, extended campus offices, the University Registrar, Student Financial Aid, Admissions, Student Affairs, etc. For a complete list of offices that maintain education records, please contact your college/extended campus office or the University Registrar.
Questions regarding the review of individual student records should be directed to the specific location and custodian of the records for that unit. If a student encounters any difficulty in reviewing the appropriate educational record, the questions should be referred to the University Registrar or to the Student Advocacy Center.
A student may challenge the content or the right to review a student record by notifying the Registrar in writing. The Registrar will promptly review such allegations.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects student confidentiality by placing certain restrictions on the disclosure of information contained in a student’s education records. By completing this online form, you agree that university personnel may provide information from your education records as indicated.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects student confidentiality by placing certain restrictions on the disclosure of information contained in a student’s education records. By completing this online form, you agree that university personnel may provide information from your education records as indicated:
For more information, please review our resources:
For questions or for Release of Information Authorization forms, contact Buckeye Link by phone 614-292-0300 or submit a Help Request.
