I. General Policy
Rice University is committed to the effective and secure retention of admission and student records. Any campus unit maintaining admission and student records is responsible for access to, retention of, and disposal of those records in accordance with other Rice policies, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (FERPA), and other applicable federal and international laws.
II. Roles and Responsibilities
Any Unit with Admission or Student Record(s): Ensures users accessing records have the appropriate training and access according to their specific legitimate educational interests; maintains a records retention schedule for all student records maintained by the unit in any form; disposes of records when the period of time has elapsed for destruction.
Office of the Registrar: Custodian of a student’s permanent record; sets minimum access requirements for access to electronic student records for any system accessing student data in consultation with business owners of service; assesses requests for student records access for a user after reviewing requests based on the legitimate educational interest of the user; provides FERPA training; publishes suggested student record retention schedule for use by Rice community.
Office of Information Technology: Facilitates the retention and destruction of electronic admission and student records according to university and unit-approved schedules; assigns and removes access to admission and student electronic records as requested by the appropriate data steward and approver.
III. Definitions
Applicant: An individual who has applied for admission to an academic or continuing education (including, but not limited to Continuing Education, Executive Education, and Rice Online) program at Rice. An applicant becomes a student if the individual becomes “in attendance” at Rice.
Student: An individual pursuing a credentialed academic program or continuing education program (including, but not limited to Continuing Education, Executive Education, and Rice Online—elsewhere known as “Rice Learners”) at Rice who has become “in attendance” at Rice.
Credentialed Academic Program: A course of study that has been endorsed by the faculty and results, upon its successful completion, in the conferral of an academic credential recorded on the official Rice University transcript. All credentialed academic programs must be documented in Rice University’s General Announcements.
In Attendance: Point in time in which an individual becomes a student, and is determined by the period in which the individual enrolls and the individual’s level of study. This definition shall also be used for the definition of “in attendance” for purposes of FERPA.
- Undergraduate students:
- Early matriculants (admitted for Fall but attend classes in summer): the first day of classes or the date the student first registers (whichever is first)
- Fall semester matriculants: at the matriculation ceremony during O-Week
- Spring semester matriculants: the first day of classes
- Graduate students and Undergraduate Professional students:
- Early matriculants (admitted for Fall but attend classes in summer) or Summer matriculants: the first day of classes or the date the student first registers (whichever is first)
- Fall semester matriculants: the first day of classes or the date the student first registers (whichever is first)
- Spring semester matriculants: the first day of classes
- Visiting students follow the level associated with the academic credential program-seeking population.
- Students pursuing non-credentialed academic programs (e.g., Continuing Education, Executive Education, Rice Online Learning): the first day of classes.
Once an individual becomes “in attendance” for the first time at Rice, that individual is considered a student until death.
Record: Information recorded in any way, including but not limited to handwriting, print, computer media, databases, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche, and e-mail.
Admission Record: Any record that is directly related to an individual applying for admission to a credentialed academic or non-credentialed academic program at Rice. An admission record may be in any medium and may be maintained in any unit, and an admission record becomes a student record once a student becomes in attendance.
Student Record: Any record that is directly related to a student or students. A student record may be in any medium and may be maintained in any unit. These records, with certain exceptions, generally have protection under FERPA; however, not all student records are “education records” as defined under FERPA.
Legitimate Educational Interest: Someone has a “legitimate educational interest” if the individual needs to access or review a student record to fulfill his or her professional responsibility for Rice University.
Permanent Record: Personal information sufficient to identify the student as a unique individual, all courses registered, credits earned, grades earned, and academic credentials conferred. It also contains any expulsion, suspension, or unauthorized withdrawal and may only be expunged by the procedures set out in the Code of Student Conduct. Only students who have pursued credentialed academic programs may have a permanent record.
Data Steward: Rice department/unit responsible for managing and ensuring the quality, security, and appropriate use of data within a specific system or data subset.
IV. Elaboration of Policy
Access to Admission and Student Records
Individuals shall only access admission or student records when they have a legitimate educational interest to do so. Having access to a record does not constitute authority to share that record unless the third party receiving the data also meets the criteria for access to that record under this policy and applicable law.
The unit holding the record is responsible for verifying that individuals with access or who are seeking access have a legitimate educational interest and are adequately trained in understanding how to use and maintain the record securely. They are also responsible for taking action to revoke access from individuals who fail to handle those records adequately.
The Office of the Registrar shall review all requests for access to electronic student records that are housed in central student information systems and set minimum requirements for access, which shall include FERPA training and functional training of the system. (Access to subsets of data may require other data steward approval, such as Admission, Financial Aid, Bursar, Housing and Dining, Human Resources, etc., depending on the system or data subset.)
FERPA training shall be required annually for any student records data access, and failure to maintain training may result in access to student records being revoked. Data stewards are responsible for ensuring access to student records is revoked should FERPA training not be maintained.
Units maintaining “education records” as defined under FERPA shall maintain records in a manner that allows compliance with a student’s right to access education records.
Record Retention
Each unit maintaining admission or student records in any form shall adopt and implement a records retention schedule, including the destruction of records that have exceeded the time limits outlined in the schedule. It is the responsibility of the individual unit to ensure that all records shall be destroyed securely. The Office of Information Technology shall work with individual units to appropriately destroy and purge electronic admission and student records no longer needed.
The Office of the Registrar will develop and communicate a suggested student records retention schedule for units that maintain student records and review that schedule yearly.
Permanent Record
For each student in attendance pursuing a credentialed academic program at Rice University, the Office of the Registrar shall establish and maintain a good, readable, and reproducible copy of the student's Permanent Record. These records shall not be destroyed.
When such files are paper records, the Office of the Registrar shall work with the Fondren Library to ensure the records are secured in a climate-controlled security archive. The Office of Information Technology shall back up digital records on a recurring basis.
Student Judicial Programs may also maintain a Permanent Record pertaining to any expulsion, suspension, or unauthorized withdrawal.
V. Cross References to Related Policies
Rice Policy 808
Rice Policy 812
VI. Responsible Official and Key Offices to Contact Regarding the Policy and its Implementation
Responsible Official: Provost
Other Key Offices: Office of the Registrar, Office of Information Technology
VII. Procedures and Forms
Policy History
Revised
November 5, 2024
Clerical Change
March 4, 2024
August 15, 2023
February 1, 2023
January 18, 2023
February 8, 2018
Issued
April 23, 1997