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Student & Parent Rights

FERPA was established in 1974 to ensure the protection and privacy of student education records. This law applies to all schools that receive funds under the U.S. Department of Education and, therefore, IIT is bound to uphold this law.

IIT can disclose directory information to third parties unless otherwise authorized by the student. Directory information is defined as the following:

• Student's name
• Local and permanent address
• Telephone and email
• IIT holidays and breaks
• Position held at IIT
• Year and academic major field of study
• Degrees earned and special awards, and photograph.

Also, please note that students can request to have the above information private.

We understand that parents/guardians have a vested interest in their students' academic life. Therefore, we work closely with students to ensure that they are communicating with their family members as appropriate.

Here are a few ways that students and their parents/guardians can work together to keep the lines of communication are open between family members and IIT.

1. Speak with your student about sharing information before the academic year begins. Who is paying tuition? Where should the tuition bills go? Does your student want you to see his/her grades? How often would you like updates from your student about their grades, etc?
2. If your student is willing to allow IIT to share vital information with you he/she must complete a FERPA release form. These forms are available through the Office of the Registrar. The release form allows for the student to be as specific or as vague as they choose. For example, your student may give permission for the tuition bill to be sent to their permanent address but they do not give permission for you to see their grades.
3. Encourage your student to maintain his/her directory information through their Web for Students account. For IIT administrators to contact the family we need to have accurate contact information.

If your student violates any university policies/procedures involving drugs or alcohol IIT is allowed to contact the family without permission from the student. We usually inform the student that we will contact the family and allow them to do it first.

In a case where the student's health is in danger we will contact the family at the permanent phone number and/or e-mail address listed in our system.

Overall, IIT strives for a good relationship with all parents/guardians and your students. We do our best to respect your need to know as well as follow the law. For more information you can visit Please direct any questions or comment to the Office of the Dean of Students at 312.567.3081 or at dos@iit.edu. We look forward to working with you and your son/daughter.

Privacy Rights and Access to Educational Records
Illinois Institute of Technology respects the rights of privacy of its students and acknowledges the responsibility to maintain confidentiality of personally identifiable educational records. The following policies and procedures will be followed in regard to such records:

Accessibility of Educational Records IIT has adopted a policy of not disclosing personally identifiable information, other than directory information, from the educational records of a student without his or her prior written consent, except in the following instances:

• To school officials, including teachers, within the educational institution who have a legitimate educational interest.
• To officials of another school in which the student seeks or intends to enroll, provided that a documented attempt will be made to notify the student of intended disclosure prior to submission of such information.
• To certain authorized representatives of the United States and state agencies who require such information to carry out lawful functions.
• In connection with the student's application for, or receipt of, financial aid.
• To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions, if these studies are conducted in a manner that will not permit the personal identification of students and if the information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which it is conducted.
• To accrediting organizations in order to carry out their accrediting functions.
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
• To appropriate parties in health or safety emergencies.
• To parents of dependent IIT students, as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

For purposes of this section, all students enrolled in the university shall be deemed to be independent of their parents. Any parent may challenge this assumption by presentation of evidence that such student does qualify as a dependent for federal income tax purposes.

School officials shall be deemed to include members of IIT's faculty and administrative staff that have a legitimate educational interest in such records and other personnel whose duties involve establishment and maintenance of such records and development of institutional reports. A legitimate educational interest shall be deemed to mean having a direct involvement in establishing or reviewing a student's academic record or performance. Students and former students of IIT shall be granted access to all of their personally identifiable educational records originated at IIT or submitted to IIT in connection with their admission, employment or the granting of financial assistance with the following exceptions:

• Notes or records of instructors, advisers or counselors that would not be shown to any other individual except another faculty member, an adviser or a teaching assistant.
• For records involving other individuals (e.g., course grade lists) only that portion applicable to the respective student will be disclosed.
• Records or statements supplied by the individuals within or outside IIT and other educational institutions or agencies that have been submitted under the assumption of confidentiality in connection with the admission, employment or provision of financial assistance, including financial statements provided by parents for purposes of supporting the student's application for financial aid; and letters of recommendation written, for which the student has signed a waiver of the right to inspect the letter.
• Records of medical or psychological tests or treatment. The student nevertheless has the right to obtain a professional explanation of information in such records and to request that the records be referred for inspection to another qualified professional of the student's choice.

For records originating at IIT, any person or organization having the right of access to any educational record may also obtain a copy of that record at a reasonable fee. In general, IIT will not provide to anyone, other than authorized faculty and staff at IIT, copies of any items in a student's educational record that have been submitted by individuals or organizations outside IIT; such copies should be requested from the source from which the record originated. An exception may be made in instances when the student can demonstrate that the original record has been lost, destroyed or is otherwise unavailable (e.g., international students from schools no longer in existence or the death of a person from whom a reference was obtained). A cumulative record of all individuals or organizations other than the individual student and authorized faculty and staff at IIT who are granted access to and/or copies of a specific educational record will be maintained along with that record. On making a request, a student may inspect the cumulative list of all those who have been granted access to his or her educational record. The right to inspect educational records does not apply to applicants for admission until such time as the applicant may be admitted and has completed registration at IIT. Students and former students of IIT may make an appointment to inspect individual educational records during regular office hours. A list of where specific records are maintained is available in the Student Services Center, 104 Main Building (312.567.3100, service@iit.edu). Students have the right to petition to amend educational records and, if this petition is denied, they have the right to request a hearing. Written procedures for requesting both actions are available from the Office of the Dean of Students, McCormick Tribune Campus Center (312.567.3081).