Student Rights to Information

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. They are:

(1) The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day Wentworth receives a request for access.

Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the Registrar, the Registrar shall advise the student to address the request to the appropriate Wentworth official.

(2) The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading.

Students may request an amendment to a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write to the Wentworth official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.

If Wentworth decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, Wentworth will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing for appeal. The hearing will take place with the Academic Appeals Committee. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

(3) The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by Wentworth in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom Wentworth has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

(4) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Wentworth Institute of Technology to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington DC 20202-4605

Confidentiality of Student Records

Wentworth Institute of Technology accords all the rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), the Buckley Amendment, to all students. No one outside the institution shall have access to nor will the institution disclose any information from the students' education records (except directory information) without the written consent of students. The following exceptions are permitted under the Act: personnel within the institution, officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, persons or organizations providing students 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 students or other persons, and parents or legal guardians of dependent students.

Certain personally identifiable information from a student’s education record, designated by Wentworth Institute of Technology as directory information, may be released without the student’s prior consent. This information includes:

Category I:	Name, address, major field of study, dates of attendance, anticipated graduation date, degrees conferred, electronic mail address and voice mail box number.
Category II:	Past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities, physical factors, date and place of birth.

A student has the absolute right to prevent disclosure of all directory information including verification of enrollment. If a student wishes to prevent disclosure, the student must complete a Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information in the Registrar’s Office prior to the end of the third week of classes in a given semester. A student’s Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information is valid for the life of the record or until a request to reverse non-disclosure is made in writing to the Registrar’s Office.




Student Right to Know and Graduation Rate

In accordance with the Student Right To Know Regulations (published in the December 1, 1995 Federal Register, pages 61775 through 61788), Wentworth Institute of Technology discloses its graduation rate:

Fifty percent of the Fall 1998 Cohort of Full-Time, First-Time, Degree Seeking Freshmen received a recognized educational credential from Wentworth Institute of Technology by August 31, 2004.