Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA | Directory Information | Educational Records| Access & Security of Records | Invoking FERPA | FERPA FAQ’s

Educational Records

FERPA covers all information collected once a student matriculates at the University of Chicago.  A student’s education record is always considered confidential and includes the following:

  • Grades
  • GPA
  • Credits earned
  • Courses taken or required to take
  • Names of instructors for courses a student has taken (or will take)
  • Subject of student’s research
  • Admission to candidacy
  • Tuition and fees assessed
  • Amounts paid by the student for tuition and fees
  • Information about financial information, loans, and stipends awarded to the student
  • Birthdate
  • Gender
  • Pronouns
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Family Information: marital status, roommates, names and ages of children
  • Restrictions and disciplinary actions
  • International status and country of citizenship
  • Any directory information a student stipulates should not be released (see below)

All students who are or have been in attendance at the University shall have the right to inspect and review their education records, subject to the limitations provided under FERPA and its applicable regulations.  Students may also consult the student manual for additional details concerning their right to access their records.

Other confidential records that are not considered part of an education record:

  • Sole possession records, e.g. a professor’s or adviser’s private notes on a student
  • Police records
  • Employee records, unless the employment is work study
  • Medical and health records
  • Alumni records