I began this semester as a transfer student. In an effort to put the past behind me, I thought it would be healthy to read what a group of admissions counselors said about me, the good, bad, and ugly. Sounds really productive right!
My request started out simply, with an email to the admissions office. They replied quickly, and in one sentence, saying “Unfortunately, information regarding admission decisions is confidential and we do not give that out.”
While that may seem perfectly valid on the behalf of the school, I did a little research and discovered an act passed called the The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Essentially, the act ensures that all students have rights to their own admissions information, and are allowed to review and inspect that information.
With this in mind, I responded to the admissions counselor, and was sure to make clear that I was placing an official FERPA request to view my admissions information. Again I was told that this was not possible, and to direct any other correspondence directly to the registrar.
I think for most, they would have stopped then, and maybe I should have myself, but for some reason I was determined. Well, I guess whether you see it as determination, or unwavering stubbornness is up to you to decide.
Anyway, I reached out to the registrar directly, again asking, under the umbrella of FERPA, to review my file. Within a week or so, I was sent an official form to place a request for record inspection.
Great I thought! I will fill out the form, and receive my info in a few weeks. Well, a week or so passed, and I received a very formal response (with a letterhead and everything). Basically, the letter said all my information had been “removed and permanently deleted from the record of the matriculated student”.
I was deflated, and to be honest a bit confused. I was sure this had to violate FERPA, but when I fully read the letter, I discovered that in signing a contract to attend the school, I had actually given them permission to destroy all of my admissions information. That’s right, but by hiding the schools policy on FERPA in a small subsection of the attendance contract, I had consented to the destruction of all my admissory materials.
In roughly a month long period I was bounced between admissions counselors, and registrar workers. I filled out the paperwork, and followed all the proper channels, and eventually was told what had been known from the very beginning, there was no information to be had.
I definitely thought the whole goose chase would have a different end, but I did learn one thing, sometimes it’s important to read the fine print.