Privacy of Student Information

The American Academy of Art complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) as amended by publishing an annual notice to students of their rights under the Act and by making a copy of the Policy Statement available to students in the Registrar’s Office.

Upon written request, a student may inspect and review his/her educational records by submitting a request to the Registrar at 332 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604‑4302, specifying which records the student wishes to access. The Academy will endeavor to provide the student with an opportunity to inspect and review his or her educational records within a reasonable time after receiving the request, and in no case more than 45 days from the receipt of the request. The institution will notify the student of the time and place where the records may be reviewed. There will be no fee assessed if unofficial copies of the educational records are requested. There is a $20.00 fee charged for request of official copies. Copies of records will not be provided if the student owes tuition or other fees.

It is the American Academy of Art’s policy that no personally identifiable information from educational records will be released without prior written consent of the student, except information designated in this policy as directory information (see below), and such personally identifiable information as may be disclosed under the circumstances allowed under the Act and Regulations passed pursuant to the Act.

An exception that permits disclosure without consent is to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the Academy in an administrative, supervisory, academic or support staff position; a person or company with whom the Academy has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Directors; 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/her professional responsibility.

As required by the Act and Regulations, the American Academy of Art maintains a record of written requests for disclosure of personally identifiable information that is maintained in his/her permanent record.

The American Academy of Art designates the following information as directory information:

  1. The student’s name
  2. Information on whether a student is or was registered at the Academy during the term in which the information is requested; and
  3. Information concerning the student’s graduate status, including whether he/she has graduated from the college, the date of any degree awarded, and the type of degree awarded

Students have the right to withhold disclosure of any or all of the above information by notifying the Registrar in writing within 12 calendar days after the start date of each semester. The proper form for refusal of disclosure is available in the Registrar’s Office and must be submitted to the Registrar by the deadline stated.

A student has the right to request amendment of the educational records to ensure that the educational record information is correct if the student feels that the information contained therein is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of the students’ rights. The procedure to seek amendment of a student’s educational records is as follows:

  1. A written request must be submitted to the Registrar stating the reason the student seeks to amend his or her educational record and attaching any supporting documentation to the request.
  2. Within a reasonable time after receiving the request, but in no event longer than 45 days, the Registrar will issue a decision in response to the student’s request. If the decision is unfavorable, the student has the right to a hearing before a Review Board on the request to amend all or a portion of the student’s records. The student has the right to be represented by counsel at the hearing. The decision of the Review Board is final.
  3. In the event of an unfavorable decision by the Review Board, the student has the right to include in his/her records a written statement setting forth his/her reasons for disagreeing with the Board on the matters presented in the request to amend the records.

The student has the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the American Academy of Art 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