Withhold or Release Your Personal Information

Access to your personal information is governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Generally, FERPA requires written consent before personally identifiable information contained in a student's education records may be disclosed. However, the FERPA authorizes disclosure of this information without the student's consent under certain circumstances. One such exception is directory information.

What is Directory Information?

Directory information is " . . . information contained in an education record of a student which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed." (1988 Final Regulations)

Directory information includes the following:

• major field of study
• participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• weight and height of members of athletic teams
• dates of attendance
• enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate; fulltime or part-time)
• classification
• degrees, awards and honors received (including selection criteria)
• expected graduation date
• dissertation and thesis titles
• most recent previous school attended
• photograph

Directory information can NEVER include:

• social security number
• student identification number
• race
• ethnicity
• nationality
• gender

Who Can Access Directory Information?

Directory information regarding the student will be provided to the public upon request unless he or she files a request in the Registrar's Office asking to be excluded from the directory or from any other requests for open directory information from outside entities.

If the student has requested that directory information be withheld, no information can be released:

• outside of UNT except as provided by law
• to anyone within UNT who does NOT have a need to know

How to Prevent the Release of Directory Information

To prevent release of directory information, the student must complete and submit the Directory Information Withhold/Release Form on or before the census date of each session or semester (the 12th class day in the fall and spring terms, the 2nd class day of the May mini-mester, or the 4th class day in the summer terms).

• A request to withhold information may be submitted after the stated deadline for a term, but information may be released between the deadline and receipt of the request.
• The file of a student who has asked to be excluded from the directory information will remain flagged until the student submits a completed Directory Information Withhold/Release Form to the Registrar's Office. This form is also available at the Registrar's Office.
• Note to students about to graduate: The withhold directory flag will remain on your records after graduation if you have requested that the information be withheld; therefore, we will not be able to verify your degree to potential employers.

How to Request the Release of Directory Information

The student will need to request that the information be released, either in writing or by submitting a completed Directory Information Withhold/Release Form.

Additional Resources

Read more about student privacy and educational records in the Academics section of the UNT Catalog.