Washington Administrative Code
Title 478 - University of Washington
Chapter 478-140 - Rules and regulations for the University of Washington governing student education records
Section 478-140-018 - Education records - Student's right to inspect
Universal Citation: WA Admin Code 478-140-018
Current through Register Vol. 24-24, December 15, 2024
(1) A student has the right to inspect and review his or her education records except where otherwise provided in this chapter.
(a) The term "education records"
means those records, files, documents and other materials which contain
information directly related to a student and are maintained by the
university.
(b)Types of education
records, and the university officials responsible for those records, include,
but are not limited to:
(i) Official
transcripts of courses taken and grades received, records relating to prior
education experience, and admission records. The executive director of
admissions and records, whose office is located in Schmitz Hall, is responsible
for the maintenance of such records. In addition, the director of graduate
admissions, whose office is located in Loew Hall, is responsible for the
maintenance of certain admission and current education status records for
graduate students, as are the admission directors of the professional schools
of dentistry, law, medicine and pharmacy.
(ii) Tuition and fee payment records. The
director of the student fiscal services, located in Schmitz Hall, is
responsible for the maintenance of such records.
(iii) Student disciplinary records. The vice
president for student life is responsible for the maintenance of such
records.
(iv) Education records
relating to a student's particular field of study may be maintained by the
departments and colleges throughout the university. Where such education
records are so maintained, the respective chair or dean of the department or
college is responsible for maintenance of the records.
(c) The term "education records" does not
include:
(i) Any record of instructional,
supervisory, administrative or educational personnel which is in the sole
possession of the maker thereof and not accessible or revealed to any other
person except a substitute. For the purposes of this subsection, substitute
means:
(A)A person who is providing
instruction in place of or as assistant to the regularly assigned faculty
member in a course in which knowledge of the performance of individual students
is essential to the provision of instruction, or
(B) A person who is supervising a student's
thesis or research progress in place of or as an assistant to the regularly
assigned faculty member during a prolonged absence.
(ii) Records created and maintained by the
University of Washington police department for the purposes of law enforcement,
except that education records created by another university department remain
education records while in the possession of the police department.
(iii) Records made and maintained in the
normal course of business which relate exclusively to the person's capacity as
an employee and are not available for any other purposes; however, records
concerning a student who is employed as a result of his or her status as a
student (e.g., graduate student service appointments) shall not be considered
to relate exclusively to a student's capacity as an employee.
(iv) Health care records on a student that
are created or maintained by a health care provider or health care facility in
connection with the provision of treatment to the student, and are not
available to anyone other than persons providing such treatment, the student,
or a health care provider of the student's choice (see also chapter 70.02
RCW).
(v) Records of an institution
which contain only information relating to a person after that person is no
longer a student at the university (e.g., information pertaining to the
accomplishment of an alumnus or alumna).
(2)
(a)
Confidential recommendations, evaluations or comments concerning a student,
shall nonetheless be made available to the student, except as provided in (b),
(c) and (d) of this subsection.
(b)The student may specifically waive his or
her right to inspect and review education records where the information
consists only of confidential recommendations respecting the student's:
(i) Admission to the University of Washington
or any other educational institution, or component part thereof, or
(ii) Application for employment, or
(iii) Receipt of an honor or honorary
recognition.
(c) A
student's waiver of his or her right to inspect and review confidential
statements shall be valid only if:
(i) The
student is, upon request, notified of the names of all persons making
confidential statements concerning the student, the dates of such confidential
statements and the purpose or purposes for which the statements were provided,
and
(ii) Such confidential
statements are used solely for the purpose or purposes for which they were
provided, and
(iii) Such waivers
are not required as a condition for admission to, receipt of financial aid from
or receipt of any other services or benefits from the university, and
(iv) Such waiver is in writing and signed and
dated by the student.
(d) Such a waiver may be revoked, in writing,
by the student; however, the revocation will be effective only for confidential
statements or records dated after the date of the revocation.
(e) Confidential recommendations, evaluations
or comments concerning a student prior to January 1, 1975, shall not be subject
to release under WAC
478-140-018(2)(a);
however, upon request the student shall be notified of the names of the authors
of all such confidential records, the dates appearing on such confidential
records and the purpose for which each such confidential record was provided.
Such records shall remain confidential and shall be released only with the
consent of the author. Such records shall be used by the university only for
the purpose or purposes for which they were provided.
(3) Where requested education records include information on more than one student, the student making the request shall be entitled to inspect, review or be informed of only the specific portion of the record about that student.
(4) A student may not inspect and review education records that are or contain financial records of his or her parents.
(5) Students may obtain copies of their education records. Charges for copies shall not exceed the cost normally charged by a University of Washington copy center (except in cases where charges have previously been approved for certain specified services).
(a) The university may refuse to provide
copies of education records including transcripts and diplomas in the following
circumstances:
(i) If the record is a secure
exam as determined by the department that maintains the exam, so that the
integrity of such exams may be protected;
(ii) If the student has outstanding debts
owed to the university, so that the university may facilitate collection of
such debts;
(iii) If disciplinary
action is pending or sanctions are not completed.
(b) The university must provide copies of
education records, subject to the provisions of (a) of this subsection, in the
following circumstances:
(i) If failure to do
so would effectively prevent the student from inspecting and reviewing a
record;
(ii) When records are
released pursuant to a student's consent and the student requests copies;
and
(iii) When the records are
transferred to another educational agency or institution where the student
seeks or intends to enroll and the student requests copies.
(6) The office of the registrar is the only office which may issue an official transcript of the student's academic record.
(7) Student education records may be destroyed in accordance with a department's routine retention schedule. In no case will any record which is requested by a student for review in accordance with WAC 478-140-018 or 478-140-021 be removed or destroyed prior to providing the student access.
Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.20.130. 03-12-007, § 478-140-018, filed 5/22/03, effective 6/22/03; 99-12-110, § 478-140-018, filed 6/2/99, effective 7/3/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.20.130(1). 79-05-025 (Order 79-1), § 478-140-018, filed 4/18/79; Order 75-3, § 478-140-018, filed 5/22/75; Order 75-1, § 478-140-018, filed 3/5/75.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Washington may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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