About Northern Vermont University Policies

By enrolling in courses at Northern Vermont University, students obligate themselves to be aware of and abide by the academic policies governing their enrollment.

Academic Regulations and Requirements

The university’s academic regulations and requirements are listed in full in the current year’s academic catalog.

FERPA

Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), you, the student. have the right to authorize the university to release information from your educational record to other individuals (i.e., parents, spouse, employers.) Your educational record includes, but is not limited to, items such as grade reports, transcripts, billing and financial aid information.

New and current students wishing to authorize the release of their records to third parties must complete the web-based FERPA form, accessible by logging into the portal and locating the Student Academic Profile section in the Self Service menu. Select FERPA Authorization Form to authorize the release of your records.

All institutions of higher education are required to abide by FERPA. Regulations state that while a student is in high school, parents have the right to access the student’s education record—but when a student enrolls at a post-secondary institution, those rights transfer to the student.

A student’s education record at NVU includes, but is not limited to, items such as grade reports, transcripts, billing and financial aid information.

Student Rights Under FERPA

The right to inspect and review their education record within a reasonable time after the university receives a request for access. If students wish to review their record, they should contact the Registrar’s Office to make appropriate arrangements.
The right to request an amendment of their education record if they believe it is inaccurate or misleading. If a student feels there is an error in their record, they should submit a statement to the Registrar, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed and why they believes it is inaccurate or misleading. The Registrar’s Office will notify the student of its decision and advise the student regarding appropriate steps if the student does not agree with the decision.
The right to consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in their education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent (see below). Students may indicate their consent by completing/editing the FERPA Authorization Form, available through the portal at the Student Academic Profile menu in Self Service. When completing the form, students will create an “access code” which they will need to give to the person(s) they authorize. A person calling to request information from a student’s record will need to provide this access code to University officials when requesting information.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by NVU to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Common FERPA Exceptions

NVU generally does not release student educational-record information without the expressed, written consent of the student. However, there are some exceptions.

One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with “legitimate educational interests.” A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official has “need to know” information from a student’s education record in order to fulfill his or her official responsibilities. Examples of people who may have access, depending on their official duties, and only within the context of those duties, include: faculty and staff, agents of the institution, students employed by the institution or who serve on official institutional committees, and representatives of agencies under contract with NVU.

The university may also disclose directory information without prior written consent of the student. The Vermont State Colleges System has defined directory information as the following: name, home and campus address, telephone listing, email address, date of birth, major, enrollment status (full-time or part-time), enrollment level (undergraduate or graduate), dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, weight and height of athletic team members, photographs, most recent and previous educational institution attended, and participation in officially recognized activities and sports. Please note that students do have the right to withhold the release of directory information. Students wishing to opt out of the release of directory information should contact the Registrar’s Office to complete a “VSCS Withhold Directory Information” form.

Please note two important details regarding placing a “No Release” on a student’s record:

NVU receives many inquiries for directory information from a variety of sources outside the institution, including friends, parents, relatives, prospective employers, lending agencies, the news media and honor societies. Having a “No Release” on a student’s record will preclude release of such information, even to those people.
Having a “No Release” on a student’s record will also preclude release of information in university publications such as athletic rosters, departmental brochures, dean’s and president’s lists, etc.

A complete listing of the circumstances under which the school may release information from a student’s education record may be found in the VSCS FERPA Policy.