Privacy of Student Records
NYU Shanghai is a Sino-US joint university and its students will be granted both China and US accredited degrees. Therefore, NYU Shanghai is fully committed to protecting the privacy of student records by complying with applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to the US Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the PRC Regulations on University Archives, etc. This specifically means that any education records maintained by the University and directly related to students—such as grades, transcripts, and test scores—not be released to others, including parents or guardians, without the student's consent, except as provided by US federal regulations and/or relevant PRC laws and regulations.
Education records refer to any record or document containing information directly related to a student (including computerized and electronic files, audiotape, videotape, photographic images, film, email, etc.) and is not limited to hard-copy documents or to a file with a student's name on it.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted by the US Congress to protect the privacy of students' education records, to establish the rights of students to inspect and review their education records, and to provide students with an opportunity to correct information in their records that is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their rights of privacy. FERPA also permits the disclosure by an institution without a student's prior consent of "directory information" (see definition below) and of other personally identifiable information under certain limited conditions. Students have the right to file complaints with the US Department of Education's Family Policy Compliance Office concerning alleged failures by an institution to comply with FERPA.
NYU Shanghai and NYU have designated the following student information as "directory information":
- Name, dates of attendance, NYU school or college, class, previous institution(s) attended, major field of study, full- or part-time status, degree(s) conferred (including dates), honors and awards (including dean's list), past and present participation in officially recognized activities (including positions held and official statistics related to such participation and performance), email address, and NetID
Important: See notes (1) and (2) below.
- Email address and NetID are directory information for internal purposes only and will not be made available to the general public except in specified directories from which students may opt out.
- Under US federal law, address information, telephone listings, and age are also considered directory information for military recruitment purposes. Address refers to "physical mailing address," but not email address.
FERPA governs the release of personally identifiable information to both external and internal parties, including other university employees, parents, and government agents. The NYU Shanghai and NYU FERPA Guidelines (accessible as indicated below) describe the circumstances and procedures governing the release of information from a student's education records to such parties.
Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information
Among other exceptions authorized by FERPA, prior consent of the student is not needed for disclosure of directory information or for disclosure to school officials with a legitimate educational interest in access to the student's educational record. School officials having a legitimate educational interest include any university employee acting within the scope of her or his university employment, and any duly appointed agent or representative of the University acting within the scope of her or his appointment. In addition, the University may, at its sole discretion, forward education records to the officials of another institution (a) in which a student seeks or intends to enroll if that institution requests such records, or (b) if the student is enrolled in or receiving services from that institution while she or he is attending NYU Shanghai or NYU. Other exceptions are listed in the NYU Shanghai and NYU Guidelines for Compliance with FERPA.
Additional Information for Students About Records Access
Students may obtain additional information about access to their records from the NYU Shanghai and NYU Guidelines for Compliance with FERPA. The guidelines may be viewed here, or you can contact the NYU Shanghai registrar. Students should also read the FERPA Annual Notice to Students found here.