Under federal law, student education records are considered confidential and may not be released without the student’s written consent.

Learn more about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) or read about policies and procedures in the Catalog.

View the GGC FERPA Parental Disclosure Notice (PDF).

FERPA Annual Notification

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include the following:

  • The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. Pursuant to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, students have the right to inspect their educational records and correct such records if necessary. Students desiring to review their records should make this request to the appropriate official in writing. Such written request will be granted within a period of no more than 45 days from the date of request.
  • The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. In the event the record contains inaccurate, misleading or otherwise inappropriate information, every effort will be made to correct or delete such material and the student will be so informed of such action in writing. Institutions may release information to governmental agencies for review for purposes of financial aid audits, National Student Loan Clearinghouse, etc. In the event of a subpoena, the institution may disclose information if the institution makes a reasonable effort to notify the eligible student of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance, so that the student may seek protective action, unless the disclosure is in compliance with a Federal grand jury subpoena. View complete information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).
  • The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that the Act and Sections 99.31 authorize disclosure without consent.
  • In accordance with FERPA, the college permits disclosure without consent if the disclosure of information is to school officials with a legitimate educational interest, such as a person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement personnel); a person or company with whom the college 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 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 educational record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
  • The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Georgia Gwinnett College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is listed below:

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

Students are granted certain rights to review and inspect their records, request amendments, consent to disclosure and file complaints about the college’s compliance with this law. Questions concerning this law and Georgia Gwinnett College’s procedures regarding release of academic information may be directed to the Registrar.