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Title Administration / Policy B-18
Effective Date 8-1-04
Rescinds  
Subject Release of Information on Students
Purpose To Implement the Following References
Scope This directive applies to all personnel.
Reference Buckley Amendment
CALEA  
  1. Confidentiality Requirement of Family Educational and Privacy Act on student records.
    1. Student records are any records pertaining to students involving scholastic, disciplinary and fiscal matters that are not set forth in a public student directory. Class schedules are one type of student record.
    2. A student may request that no directory information be made public. Such a request is valid on only a semester or summer session basis.
    3. University police do not have access to student records except as shown in procedure paragraph below.
    4. University police can gain access to directory information which students have not made public under procedure set forth in emergency section below.
  2. Court Order
    1. If during an investigation of a criminal offense, access to a student’s record is considered absolutely essential to the investigation, an officer may seek a court order after coordinating such action with their shift commander or division commander.
  3. Emergencies — When a health or safety emergency exists:
    1. Access to a student record without consent of the student can be obtained by a sergeant or officer of higher rank making a request to the Vice-President of Employee and Campus Services.
      This request may be based on the needs of this department or at the request of another law enforcement agency. A report of each such action will be furnished to the Chief of Police. The report will also contain the nature of the emergency.
    2. Access to confidential student directory information (directory information that a student has not made public) can be obtained by a shift commander, the Assistant Chief of Police or the Chief of Police under the following circumstances:
      1. During normal University business hours, by making a request to the Vice-President for Student Affairs, or the Director of Admissions and Records or the Registrar. Each such request should include the nature of the emergency.
      2. After normal University business hours and the President or Vice-President for Employee and Campus Services are not readily available for consultation, by making the release themselves provided a log of all such releases is maintained and is available to the Office of the President upon request. The nature of the emergency will be included in the log.
  4. Procedures for Handling Non-Emergency Inquiries by Other Law Enforcement Agencies.
    1. Each requester may be provided information as contained in a student directory.
    2. If the information being sought is not available in the student directory, the requester should be advised that federal law prohibits its disclosure unless written consent is obtained from the student concerned or a court order is obtained. (However, an inquiry by this department to the Registrar can produce a person’s status as a student.)
  5. Procedure for Release of UTPD Records or Reports
    1. Reports and records of this Department are an exception to the Student Educational Records Policies, but may be subject to the Public Information Open Records Act.
    2. Any request for information from UTPD records or reports will be forwarded to the records administrator who has the responsibility of preparing and releasing summaries of information on UTPD records.