Student Personal Files Forced Open

The University is being forced to grant students access to their academic records because of a law recently passed by Congress. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which requires schools to open up student files or lose their funding, also gives students the right to a hearing to "correct or remove inaccurate, misleading or inappropriate data." It was proposed by Senator James Buckley (R-New York), and championed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Letters of recommendation, test scores, counselor comments and application forms will have to be made available for student inspection. For students who haven't reached majority age, however, the same rights will be transferred to their parents.

Implementation must wait until October, when the dismayed Regents are expected to revise the University policy.

Frank Rhodes, vice-president for Academic Affairs who will recommend the new policy, says it will be "a very heavy administrative burden" to the University.