Carnegie Mellon

Standards for Academic & Creative Life

While the Undergraduate Catalog is the primary document on academic policies, there are also academic policies outlined in The Word. After reading this section, you should read through to find out more about the academic policies at Carnegie Mellon.

Students may view Carnegie Mellon policies at http://cmu.edu/policies.

Students' Rights

The primary right of students is to pursue their education so long as they maintain their eligibility to remain a member of the community by meeting its academic standards and so long as they observe the regulations imposed by the University for the governance of the academic community.

The second right of students is to be recognized as members of the student body, with all the privileges pursuant thereto as to use of physical plant, University services and facilities.

Every student has the constitutional rights and responsibilities of any citizen under the law. Conversely, a responsibility of any student is to respect these rights of any other member of the University community.

A student has the right to expect that academic and professional processes be flexible and periodically open to review and to participate constructively with faculty and administration in those processes by which the University community maintains the excellence of the standards of its curriculum and methods of instruction and the viability of its total educational program.

The student has the right to recourse through the procedures outlined in The Word/Student Handbook against unreasonable academic action.

Privacy Rights of Students

This policy is available in full on-line: http://cmu.edu/policies/documents/StPrivacy.html

Policy Statement

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), you have the right to:

• inspect and review your education records;
• request an amendment to your education records if you believe they are inaccurate or misleading;
• request a hearing if your request for amendment is not resolved to your satisfaction;
• consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information from your education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without your consent;
• file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Family Policy Compliance Office if you believe your rights under FERPA have been violated.

1. Inspection

Education records are records maintained by the university that are directly related to students. Some examples are grades and work-study records.

Complete an Education Inspection and Review Request Form (available online as a PDF document or from the HUB, Lower Level, Warner Hall) and return it to The HUB.

2. Amendment

Send a written, signed request for amendment to the Vice President for Enrollment, Carnegie Mellon University, 610 Warner Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Your request should specify the record you want to have amended and the reason for amendment.

3. Hearing

Send a written, signed request for amendment to the Vice President for Enrollment, Carnegie Mellon University, 610 Warner Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. The University will schedule a hearing no later than 45 days after your request.

4. Disclosure

Carnegie Mellon generally will not disclose personally identifiable information from your education records without your consent except for directory information and other exceptions specified by law. Under FERPA, directory information is personally identifiable information that may be disclosed without your consent, unless you specifically request the University not to do so. It is used for purposes like compiling campus directories.

If you do not want your directory information to be disclosed, you must notify The HUB (Lower Level, Warner Hall) in writing within the first 15 days of the semester.

Under FERPA, Carnegie Mellon may release personally identifiable information from your education records without your prior consent to school officials with legitimate educational interests. School officials have a "legitimate educational interest" if they need to review an education record in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

5. Complaints

If you believe the University has not complied with FERPA, you can file a complaint with: Family Law Compliance Office, Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20202-4605.

Contact

Questions about this policy should be directed to Enrollment Services at 8-8186.