Student Records
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, requires establishment and publication of a written institutional policy covering student privacy rights. The law provides that the institution will maintain the confidentiality of all education records. Confidentiality
Within the University community, only those members, individually or collectively, acting in the student's educational interest are allowed access to education records. These members include personnel in the Office of Student Services, the Registrar, Academic Dean, and academic and operations personnel within the limitations of their need to know. The only personnel with access to APUS student records as permitted by the Privacy Act are as follows: - Personnel within the APUS institution
- Persons or organizations providing student financial aid
- Accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function
- Persons in compliance with a judicial order
- Persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of the student or other persons.
- Parents of dependent children as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1954
- Officials from:
- other institutions in which the student seeks to enroll
- organizations conducting studies for educational and governmental agencies
- U.S. Government agencies as listed in Public Law 93-380
No other persons outside the institution shall have access to, nor will the institution disclose any information from, APUS student education records without the student's written consent. Directory Information
Specific items of student information are defined as "directory information." These items, listed below, are the property of APUS and can be given out without the consent of the student: - Student's name
- Major field of study
- Dates of attendance
- Degrees, honors and awards received
- City and State or Country of student location
Review of Records
The Registrar's Office has been designated to coordinate the inspection and review procedures for all student education records, including admissions, personal, academic, and financial files as well as academic, cooperative education, and placement records. Education records do not include records of instructional, administrative, and educational personnel, which are the sole possession of the maker and are not accessible or revealed to any individual except a temporary substitute. The law provides each student with the following rights: - To inspect and review information contained in his/her education records
- To challenge the contents of her/his education records
- To have a hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory
- To submit explanatory statements for inclusion in the student's files if the decisions of the hearing panels are found unacceptable.
No other person outside the institution shall have access to, nor will the institution disclose any information from APUS student education records without the student’s written consent. APUS students may not inspect and review the following as outlined by the Privacy Act: - Confidential letters and recommendations associated with admissions, employment or job placement
- Education records containing information about more than one student, in which case access is permitted only to the part that pertains to the student inquiring.
Additional information regarding student records is available in the Student Handbook. Deceased Student Records Policy
The records of deceased students may only be released by the Registrar’s office. Records will only be released to the student's immediate family or estate executor and will be released in the following order of succession: - the spouse at the time of death
- a parent
- the executor of the estate
- the eldest surviving child
- the eldest surviving sibling
- any surviving descendent
The petitioner must provide as much of the following student information as possible with a records request: - name of deceased (and maiden name, if applicable)
- last four digits of Social Security number or student ID of deceased
- the dates that the deceased student attended
- death certificate (a photocopy is acceptable)
The petitioner must provide the following personal information with a records request: - petitioner’s name
- petitioner’s address
- evidence that s/he is qualified to receive the records, based on the above criteria or, in the absence of evidence, a statement certifying the same.
- petitioner’s phone number
- petitioner’s signature
- date of request
The request should be addressed to the Director of Student Records at recordupdates@apus.edu or call us at 703-396-6893. | 
