Confidentiality of Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is a federal law that grants to students the right to inspect, to obtain copies, to challenge, and to a degree control the release of information contained in his or her education records. The Act and Regulations are very lengthy, and for that reason SMU has issued guidelines that are available to students in the Division of Enrollment Services. Policy 1.18 of the University Policy Manual, accessible on SMUs Intranet, also discusses this law.

In general, no personally identifiable information from a students education record will be disclosed to any third party without written consent from the student. Several exceptions exist, including these selected examples: (1) Information defined by SMU as directory information may be released unless the student sends a written request to the Registrar that it be withheld; and (2) information may be released to a parent or guardian if the student is declared financially dependent upon the parent or guardian as defined by the Internal Revenue Service Code. A parent or guardian wishing to have access to a students education records must provide to the University Registrar a completed Declaration of Student Dependency form, available in the Registrars Office.