Records & Privacy

FERPA (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C.§ 1232g, is a Federal law that protects the privacy of education records for eligible students. FERPA applies to all educational institutions that receive funds under the Department of Education.

Annual FERPA notice

In alignment with FERPA, Tulane provides annual notification of students’ rights accorded to them by FERPA. See the FERPA annual notice.

Students’ rights afforded to students by FERPA:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education record within 45 days of the day Tulane University receives a request for access.
2. The right to request an amendment to the education record that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
3. The right to provide written consent before Tulane University discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education record, except to that extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Tulane University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Parents’ access to students’ records

At the postsecondary level, parents have no inherent rights to access or inspect their child’s education records. This right is limited solely to the student. At Tulane, records may be released to parents only if they have been given a written release by the student or in compliance with a subpoena.

Withholding the release of information

According to FERPA, a student can request, while still enrolled, that the institution not release any directory information about the student. Institutions must comply with this request. At Tulane, students who wish to restrict the release of directory information about themselves can do so by using the Update Confidentiality Options under Records on Gibson.

Please consider your decision to restrict directory information carefully, as ANY and ALL requests for directory information will be refused. When Tulane faculty, staff, and students attempt to send you an email via Tulane’s email network, your email address will not automatically populate in the address bar.

Health and safety emergencies

Under FERPA, an institution may disclose personally identifiable information from an education record to appropriate parties, including parents of an eligible student, in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

Frequently asked FERPA questions

FERPA forms

FERPA records request form FERPA release form

Additional resources

Tulane University's FERPA policy FERPA annual notice Updating confidentiality options FERPA Overview

National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) reporting

Tulane University reports your enrollment status to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) periodically throughout the academic year. NSC reports this information to the National Student Loan Data Systems, which is used to determine your eligibility for Title IV grants and loans, as well as to establish loan repayment schedules.

Only domestic students with a social security number on record will be reported to the NSC. International students and/or students who do not have a social security number on record will not be reported.

How we handle third party information requests

In alignment with FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) Tulane University may not provide information about your records with anyone other than you without your written consent. Learn more about third-party information requests.

Military recruitment reporting

The 1996 Solomon Amendment provides for the Secretary of Defense to deny federal funding to institutions of higher learning if they prohibit or prevent ROTC or military recruitment on campus.

Learn more about released information in alignment with the Solomon Amendment:

• What student information are military recruiters entitled to under the Solomon Amendment?
• How does Solomon Amendment information relate to FERPA directory information?
• What is not considered student recruitment information under the Solomon Amendment?

Deceased student records policy

The following requirements protect the confidentiality of academic information upon the death of a former student or alumnus of the university.

The Office of the University Registrar will evaluate each request for the release of a transcript or other academic records of a deceased student on the individual merits of that request and reserves the right to deny the request in whole or to release only part of the academic records that are requested. The Office of the University Registrar does not release academic records of deceased students to the news media or for research purposes.

The closest living next-of-kin may submit a written request along with the following notarized documents in English:

1. Birth certificate of requestor
2. Death certificate of former student or alumnus

If there is no living next-of-kin, academic records may be requested by the executor of the estate or holder of power of attorney for the deceased. A written request along with a notarized copy of the executor statement or power of attorney in English is required.

Documents must be mailed to:
Tulane University
Office of the University Registrar
c/o Colette Raphel
110 Gibson Hall
New Orleans, LA 70118