Notice Regarding Confidentiality of Health Records Under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

The privacy of your health information is important to all of us at Emory University Student Health Services. This Notice will tell you about the way we protect that privacy by complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notice

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student Education Records. Education Records at Emory University Student Health Services (hereafter “School”) are covered by FERPA. Under FERPA “Education Records” are “records that contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.”

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the law that governs release of and access to student education records, gives students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:

  • The right to inspect and review your education records within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access.

The written request should be submitted to the office that maintains the record. That University official will make arrangements for access and notify you of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

  • The right to request the amendment of your education records if you believe it is inaccurate or misleading.

If you feel there is an error in your record, submit a statement to the University official responsible for the record, clearly identifying the part of the record you want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. That office will notify you of their decision and advise you regarding appropriate steps if you do not agree with the decision.

  • The right to consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in your education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks,

Legitimate educational interests include those interests directly related to the academic environment. Upon request, the University discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

Directory information includes: student name; school; photograph; dates of attendance and the most recent previous school attended. If you do not want Directory Information disclosure, you can ask the School for the form you need to fill out and sign to prevent this disclosure.

  • The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Emory University to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office:

U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-5901

In addition to the common exceptions to consent summarized above, FERPA has other exceptions as well that may apply. For more information about FERPA and the exceptions to consent, you can look at the following website: http://registrar.emory.edu/records-transcripts/ferpa.html.

FAQ's about FERPA


FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of students’ “education records.” Emory University follows FERPA regulations because it receives funds that are administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Under FERPA, “Education Records” are very broadly defined as records that are directly related to a student and are kept by an educational agency or institution, or someone acting for the agency or institution.

Yes, Emory’s FERPA policy can be found at the following webpage: http://registrar.emory.edu/Students/FERPA/index.html. Under most circumstances, you will need to sign a written consent before we disclose your Education Records, but the FERPA regulations also list some circumstances under which your Education Records may be disclosed without your prior written consent.

Under FERPA, the records maintained by Emory Student Health Services are either “Treatment Records” or “Education Records.” The majority of records maintained at Student Health Services are considered to be “Treatment Records” under FERPA, including the records created by your healthcare provider or counselor while providing you with care. “Treatment records” are records that are made or maintained by a health care professional; are used only for your medical or psychological treatment; and are available only to treatment providers.

Student Health Services uses your Treatment Records to provide you with healthcare services. We may disclose your records to other healthcare providers who are also providing you with treatment. In general, we will ask you to sign a written consent form before we provide your information to another healthcare provider for treatment. If there is an emergency situation, however, we may provide this information to other providers for your treatment without having you sign a written consent. At your request, we will also provide your Treatment Records to a physician or other appropriate professional for review.

In general, we will ask you to sign a written consent before we disclose your Student Health Services records to anyone for a purpose other than treatment. In the following circumstances, as permitted by FERPA regulations and Emory University policy, we may disclose your Student Health Services records without your written consent: (a) to comply with a judicial order or lawful subpoena; (b) disclosure to the court in connection with a legal proceeding involving the University and you or your parents; and (c) disclosure in connection with a health or safety emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health and safety of you or other persons; The FERPA regulations also list other situations in which we may disclose your Student Health Services records without your prior written consent.

Yes, you may make a written request to see your Student Health Services records. We may provide you with copies of the records or arrange for a healthcare provider to be with you when you review them in order to explain the records and/or answer your questions. However, when your records are disclosed to you in this manner, they are considered Education Records (and no longer Treatment Records) and are covered by FERPA regulations governing Education Records.

Student Health Services is covered by both FERPA and HIPAA regulations. Federal regulations now make clear that university Education Records and Treatment Records are excluded from coverage under the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Accordingly, the FERPA regulations prescribe the federal rules that Emory Student Health Services student must follow in protecting the privacy of a student’s medical and counseling records. If you receive health care from an Emory Hospital or the Emory Clinic, then the HIPAA regulations will apply to the records maintained by those facilities. Of course, all Emory facilities also comply with any applicable state laws and University policies regarding the privacy and confidentiality of healthcare records, including Student Health Services. When dependents (non-students) are seen at Student Health Services, HIPAA regulations apply to all of the dependent's (non-student) health records.

In addition to FERPA, there are other Georgia state laws that place additional privacy protections and disclosure restrictions on mental health and counseling records, including records held at Emory Student Health Services.

You may contact the Executive Director of Emory Student Health Services at (404) 712-8652 or the Emory University Privacy Officer at (404) 727-2398 or orc@emory.edu.

Advance Directives

While Emory students are generally very healthy, none of us ever knows if or when we will become incapacitated and unable to make decisions about life sustaining treatment in the face of catastrophic illness or injury. Therefore, as a service to our Emory students, here are some definitions (courtesy of the Emory Healthcare website) and resources that may help you:

Advance Directives are documents written in advance of a serious illness or injury that state your choices about medical treatment or name someone to make choices for you, if you become unable to make decisions.

A Living Will is a document in which you can instruct your physician to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining procedures if you are terminally ill, in a coma, or in a persistent vegetative state with no reasonable likelihood of recovering. It must be signed in the presence of a witness who is not related to you by blood or marriage and will attest to your soundness of mind and to the fact that you made the living will, willingly and voluntarily.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare is another kind of advance directive; a signed, dated and witnessed legal document in which you can name another person, an agent, to make medical decisions for you if you become unable to make them. You can obtain a living will and durable power of attorney for healthcare forms from a variety of sources. We have fill-in-the-blank copies of these forms at Student Health Services. Just ask us the next time you are in the office. You can also obtain forms from the Medical Association of Georgia, the State Bar Association, and the Georgia Hospital Association. If you prefer a downloadable version, upon which you can type/insert your name, etc., you can go to the following link from the Georgia DHR: http://aging.dhr.georgia.gov/sites/aging.dhs.georgia.gov/files/imported/DHR-DAS/GEORGIA%20ADVANCE%20DIRECTIVE%20FOR%20HEALTH%20CARE-07.pdf

Planning in advance of medical catastrophe can save your loved ones a tremendous amount of suffering, turmoil and conflict. 

Student Health Services

Emory University Student Health Services (EUSHS) provides outpatient care for enrolled Emory students with a valid Emory ID card. International student's spouses, Domestic Partners and unmarried children over 18 years of age are also eligible for primary medical care if they are currently enrolled in the Emory/Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan.

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