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- Student. A student is defined as a person who has attended or is attending The University of Iowa and whose education records are maintained by the University.
- Education records. Education records are those records which meet the Act's definition of the term. The following records are not education records:
- the personal files of University of Iowa faculty and staff members that are not accessible or revealed to persons other than a substitute faculty or staff member;
- employment records, unless the employment is a direct result of the employee's status as a student;
- medical and counseling records that are created, maintained or used for treatment of the student;
- records that contain only information relating to a person after the person has ceased being enrolled at the University, such as alumni records.
- Directory information. The following categories of information are designated by the University as directory information: name; local address; telephone; home town; major fields of study; college enrolled in; dates of attendance, including the current class or year; full-time/part-time status; degrees and awards received; height and weight of members of athletic teams; and information about participation in activities and sports.
- Act. The "Act" refers to Section 438 of the General Education Provision Act, Title IV of Pub. L. 90-247, as amended, and regulations pertaining to that Act.
- Exempted persons. The following is a list of exempted persons:
- the student;
- members of The University of Iowa faculty, staff, or the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, who have a "legitimate educational interest" in obtaining access to information in the record. The determination of who has a legitimate educational interest will be made by the person responsible for the maintenance of the records on the basis of the following tests:
- whether the information is needed to carry out an educational duty or responsibility that is within the employment duties and responsibilities of the staff or faculty member;
- whether the purpose for which the information is obtained relates to the personal health or the education or the educational program of the student;
- whether the information will be treated confidentially and with respect for the privacy of the student;
- persons presenting a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. The University will make a diligent effort to notify the student before complying with such an order or subpoena;
- persons who represent agencies or organizations from which a student has received or applied for student financial aid and who seek only such information as is necessary to determine the eligibility of the student for such aid, the amount and conditions of the aid, or to enforce the terms or conditions of the aid;
- authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States or the Secretary of the United States Department of Education who seek such information as is necessary to conduct an audit and evaluation of federally supported education programs or to enforce or comply with federal legal requirements related to these programs, provided that information so collected is protected in a manner which will not permit the personal identification of students by other than those authorized representatives, and that personally identifiable information be destroyed when it is no longer needed for such audit, evaluation, or enforcement of or compliance with federal legal requirements;
- organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of the University for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, provided that the studies will be conducted in a manner that does not permit the personal identification of students by individuals other than representatives of the organization and that personally identifiable information is destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes for which the study is conducted; and
- accrediting organizations that require information to carry out their accrediting function, provided that the information will be treated in such a manner that does not permit the personal identification of students by persons other than the authorized representatives of the accrediting organization and that personally identifiable information is destroyed when no longer needed for the purpose for which the information is collected.