All education records of students enrolled at Virginia Wesleyan University are maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended commonly referred to as FERPA or the Buckley Amendment. The Act was designed to protect the privacy of educational records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their educational records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through informal and formal hearings.
Student consent is required for the release of records covered by the Act to outside parties (i.e., prospective employers), except for those agencies entitled to access under the provisions of the ACT (i.e., University personnel with a legitimate educational interest, federal educational and auditing officials, federal and state law enforcement and judicial officials, and requests related to the application for or receipt of financial assistance). Any other access must have written authorization from the student, with the exception of "directory information," which includes the following:
- student name,
- address,
- telephone numbers
- e-mail address,
- major field of study,
- dates of attendance,
- degrees, awards and honors received (including dates),
- photographic view or electronic images, and
- most recent previous educational agency or institution attended.
All other information not specifically listed, including grades, courses, days and times of course meetings, withdrawals, age and birthdate cannot be disclosed without the student's written consent.
A student who desires to have directory information about them withheld must submit a request in writing to the Office of the Registrar by September 5 for each academic year. Students may obtain a copy of VWU's policy concerning access to educational records from the Office of the Registrar.
To learn more about FERPA and to view recent policy changes, visit its website at http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html