Student Planner 2009-2010

Confidentiality Policy

The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974

These statements are set forth as guidelines and procedures to implement the University of Missouri policy on student records developed from The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis as charged in the Act will annually inform its eligible students by including in the Student Planner and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Bulletin: Undergraduate, Graduate, and Professional Catalogue the following information:

"Educational Records" are those records, files, documents, and other materials which contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by the University. Those records, made available under The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, are student financial aid, the student's cumulative advisement file, student health records, disciplinary records, the admissions file, and the academic record.

Confidential letters and statements of recommendation which were placed in student credential folders at the Office of Career Planning and Placement after January 1, 1975, are also made available, if the student has not waived the right to view these recommendations.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis "Educational Records" do not include:
1. records of instructional, supervisor, and administrative personnel and educational personnel ancillary thereto which are in the sole possession of the maker thereof and which are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a substitute;
2. the records of the University of Missouri Police Department which were created for a law enforcement purpose and are maintained by the police department;
3. in the case of persons who are employed by the University but who are not in attendance at the University, records made and maintained in the normal course of business which related exclusively to such persons and their capacity as employees where the records are not available for any other purpose;
4. all records on any University student which are created and maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in a professional or paraprofessional capacity, or assisting in that capacity, and which are created, maintained, or used only in connection with the provision of treatment to the student, and are not available to anyone other than persons providing such treatment, provided, however, that such records can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student's choice.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis recognizes "Directory Information/ Public Information" to mean a student's name, address, telephone listing, e-mail, enrollment status, current level, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student. All students must inform the Office of the Registrar before the end of the two week period following the first day of classes that any or all of the information designated as directory information should not be released without the student’s prior consent. The student privacy form can be found online at http://www.umsl.edu/~registration/assets/pdfs/forms/studprivacyform.pdf. The information listed above will become directory information or public information as of the first day of classes following the end of the two week period in a regular semester and the first day of classes following the end of the one week period during the summer session.
University of Missouri-St. Louis students have access to the educational records identified in Paragraph 1 above. In accordance with Pub. Law 93-380 as amended, the University of Missouri-St. Louis will not make available to students the following materials:
1. financial records of the parents of students or any information contained therein;
2. confidential letters and statements of recommendation which were placed in the educational records prior to January 1, 1975, if such letters or statements are not used for the purpose other than those for which they were specifically intended;
3. confidential recommendations respecting admission to the University, application for employment and receipt of honor, or honorary recognition, where the student has signed a waiver of the student's rights of access as provided in 6.0404, the University Policy on Student Records.
The Director of Financial Aid, the appropriate academic dean, the Coordinator of the University Health Services, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Director of Career Services, the Director of Admissions, and Registrar are the officials responsible for the maintenance of each type of record listed in paragraph 1.
Students may, upon request, review their records and, if inaccurate information is included, may request the expunging of such information from their files. Such inaccurate information will then be expunged upon authorization of the official responsible for the file.
Students desiring to challenge the content of their records may request an opportunity for a hearing to challenge the content of their educational records in order to ensure that the records are not inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the student, to provide an opportunity for the correction or deletion of any such inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate data contained therein, and to insert into such records a written explanation respecting the content of such records.
The University official charged with custody of the records will attempt to settle informally any disputes with any student regarding the content of the University's educational records through informal meetings and discussions with the student.
Upon request of the student or the University official charged with custody of the records of the student, a formal hearing shall be conducted as follows:
1. the request for a hearing shall be submitted in writing to the campus chancellor who will appoint a hearing officer or a hearing committee to conduct the hearing;
2. the hearing shall be conducted and decided within a reasonable period of time following the request for a hearing. The parties will be entitled to written notice 10 days prior to the time and place of the hearing;
3. the hearing shall be conducted and the decision rendered by an appointed hearing official or officials who shall not have a direct interest in the outcome of the hearing;
4. the student shall be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the hearing;
5. the decision shall be rendered in writing within a reasonable period of time after the conclusion of the hearing; and
6. either party may appeal the decision of the hearing official or officials to the campus chancellor. Appeal from the chancellor's decision is to the president. Appeal from the president is to the Board of Curators.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis will provide grade reports by way of a password-protected website and upon request by the student can mail them only to a student's permanent mailing address. grade reports only to a student's permanent mailing address. Grades will not be mailed to parents unless the student in question has completed the necessary authorization in the registrar's office.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis may permit access to or release educational records, without the written consent of the student, to the parents of a dependent student as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
If any material or document in the educational record of a student includes information on more than one student, the student may inspect and review only such part of such material or document as relates to the individual student seeking the review or be informed of the specific information contained in such part of such material.