Purpose and Scope

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, which generally cannot be disclosed to third parties, including family and support network members, without the consent of the student participating in UCEAP (“You”). The University of California Education Abroad Program (“UCEAP”) is committed to protecting the privacy of our students' education records in accordance with law and University of California (“UC”) policies. Your information will be shared within UC and with other parties without your prior consent, as necessary and permitted by law, to enable your education and carry out UC’s mission. This includes disclosure of your information in connection with a health or safety emergency, under the conditions described in FERPA. Each UC campus has its own privacy practices; this notice applies only to UCEAP. For information on your campus’s data privacy practices, please refer to the campus’s policies or contact its registrar.

Rights of Eligible Students

FERPA gives you certain rights with respect to your education records. These include the right to:

1. inspect and review your education records, including records of disclosures, within forty-five (45) days of the day UCEAP receives a request for access;
2. request an amendment of your education records that you believe are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of your rights of privacy;
3. consent to any disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in your education records, except to the extent law authorizes disclosure without consent, such as in the cases of disclosure to school officials and specific governmental authorities, in compliance with a judicial order or subpoena, and during a health or safety emergency;
4. refuse designation of any or all of your information as directory information at any time, preventing its future disclosure;
5. report and contest an alleged violation of the privacy rights afforded by UC policies, via the procedures described under UC Policy PACAOS § 132.00; and
6. file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by UCEAP to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Procedure for Accessing Education Records

1. UCEAP maintains a system for keeping education records and will provide a response to requests for access within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the request.  To submit a request, reach out to us via the information listed at the main Policy webpage.
2. Upon request, UCEAP will first verify the identity of the requesting party, and then, once verified, provide you with a copy of your education record. UCEAP may charge a fee for copies, which will be reasonable and cost-based, unless the imposition of a fee effectively prevents you from exercising the right to inspect and review but may not charge for searching and retrieving the record.
   1. UCEAP reserves discretion to deny requests for records that are financial or confidential letters/statements of recommendations, under certain conditions.
3. UCEAP will provide an explanation of any information in the education record that is not understandable to you.
4. UCEAP will provide an opportunity for you to ask questions and receive an explanation of the information contained in the education record.

Procedure for Amending Education Records

1. UCEAP will amend educational records that are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's rights of privacy. To request an amendment of an education record, submit a request via the email listed at the main Policy webpage.
2. UCEAP will first verify the identity of the requesting party, and then, once verified, review all requests for amendment and make a determination within a reasonable time period.
3. If UCEAP denies the request for amendment, it will inform you of the denial and provide you with the right to a hearing.
4. If UCEAP decides to amend the education record, it will make the amendment and provide you with a copy of the amended record.

Procedure for Consenting to Disclosure of Education Records

1. UCEAP will disclose education records with a written, signed, and dated consent from you.  To request disclosure of an education record, submit a request via the email listed at the main Policy webpage.
2. UCEAP will first verify the identity of the requesting party, and then, once verified,  review the request and make a determination within a reasonable time period.
3. If UCEAP denies the consent to disclose, it will inform you of the denial and, unless a lawful basis for protecting the record exists, provide you with the right to a hearing.
4. If UCEAP decides to disclose the education record, it will make the disclosure and provide you with notice of the disclosure.
5. Consent to disclosure can be subsequently withdrawn by reaching back out to us via the information listed at the main Policy webpage.

Definitions

“Directory Information” is constituted by the following types of your personally identifiable information: (a) full name, (b) email address, (c) home UC campus, (d) class level, and (e) UCEAP program in which you are participating or did participate.

A “School Official” is:

1. a person employed by UC in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position;
2. an individual serving on a UC governing body;
3. a contractor, consultant, volunteer, or other party who is under the direct control of UC with respect to the use and maintenance of education records and is performing a function for which UC would otherwise use its own employees;
4. a person serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks; and/or
5. any other person employed by, contracted by, or under the direct control of UC who has a legitimate educational interest in using an educational record.

A “Legitimate Educational Interest” exists when:

1. the information or record is relevant and necessary to the accomplishment of some task or determination; and
2. the task or determination is an employment responsibility for the inquirer or is a proper subject matter for the inquirer.

Student Directory Information

Your directory information and student record are not shared by UCEAP with any party other than school officials and those described in UC Policy PACAOS § 130.721, unless UCEAP has authorization under law or receives prior consent from you.

UC campuses maintain their own student directories.  Please refer to your home campus’s policies or contact their registrar for information on their student directory privacy practices.

Consents & Questions

If you wish to provide or withdraw consent for disclosure of any of your student record information, or if you have any questions or concerns about your rights under a data privacy law or UC policy, please reach out to us via the contact information listed at the main Policy webpage.