Student Rights to Privacy and Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law, and its corresponding regulations give students certain rights to privacy of their education records and rights of access to their education records.

Generally, students may obtain copies of their education records if circumstances make on-site inspection impractical and the student is in good standing. For example, a request for copies may be denied if the student lives within commuting distance of NC State, or there is a “hold” on the student’s records, or there is an unresolved disciplinary action against the student, or the requested records include exam or test questions. When copies are provided, the student may be charged a reasonable fee for the actual copying expense.

NC State shall not disclose the education records of a student to other persons unless that student has given consent in writing or an exception exists under FERPA.

Transcripts of Academic Records

An official transcript is issued only at the authorization or written request of the student concerned. A transcript is a complete copy of a student's academic record at the time that it is issued. It contains all course work, including undergraduate, graduate and/or non-degree, taken while enrolled at NC State University. NC State will NOT issue a partial transcript. The university will automatically send all course work when a transcript is requested.

For more information on how to obtain an official transcript, please visit the Student Services Center website.

Directory Information

The University may disclose “directory information” without student consent. Directory information consists of a student’s name, preferred email address, enrollment status (e.g., full-time or part-time), grade level (freshman, sophomore, etc.), major field of study, dates of attendance, and honors, degrees and awards received, weight and height of student-athletes, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and most recent educational institution attended. For students residing in University-owned or leased housing facilities, the University may also designate as “directory information” a student’s local and permanent addresses and age for the limited purpose of responding to requests from the United States Census Bureau as part of census data collection.

Change of Name, Address, or Telephone

It is the student’s responsibility to notify the University of any changes in name, address, or telephone. Failure to do so may prevent prompt delivery of important university correspondence and correct notification of hometown newspapers of honors received. International students are required by law to notify the university of any change or correction in name or address within 10 days. Updating address changes in MyPack Portal system fulfills international students’ federal requirements for maintaining status in SEVIS.

Name changes can only be completed by submitting a Name Change/Marital Status Change Request Form, available from the Student Services Center, along with the required proof of identification.

Changes of address or telephone can be completed in MyPack Portal. More information about how to update personal information can be found on the Student Services Center website.

Note: NC State University policies, rules and regulations are continuously being updated and reviewed as the need arises. For the most current information regarding this section, please visit the Policies, Regulations, and Rules website.