The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law that governs the access to student's information and educational records. The Office of the Registrar maintains student records at ETSU.
In addition, a student's records are confidential under the Tennessee Public Records Act. Specifically, T.C.A. § 10-7-504(a)(4) states:
“The records of students in public educational institutions shall be treated as confidential. Information in such records relating to academic performance, financial status of a student or the student's parent or guardian, medical or psychological treatment or testing shall not be made available to unauthorized personnel of the institution or to the public or any agency, except those agencies authorized by the educational institution to conduct specific research or otherwise authorized by the governing board of the institution, without the consent of the student involved or the parent or guardian of a minor student attending any institution of elementary or secondary education, except as otherwise provided by law or regulation pursuant thereto and except in consequence of due legal process or in cases when the safety of persons or property is involved. The governing board of the institution, the department of education, and the Tennessee higher education commission shall have access on a confidential basis to such records as are required to fulfill their lawful functions. Statistical information not identified with a particular student may be released to any person, agency, or the public; and information relating only to an individual student's name, age, address, dates of attendance, grade levels completed, class placement and academic degrees awarded may likewise be disclosed.”
For more information regarding a student's right to request educational records, the right to request an amendment to a student's records, the right to limit disclosure of personal information to third parties, the right to file a complaint, and the circumstances under which it is permissible under FERPA for ETSU to release certain information from a student's records, please go to the Registrar's FERPA website.
Additional resources related to student records include: