Annual Notice to Students
Students may review the consumer information posted on the Registrar’s website. Included are key items disclosed in accordance with the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA).
Brandeis Graduation Rate
In compliance with federal law, the University makes available to students and prospective students information concerning the rate at which full-time, first-time degree-seeking students complete requirements for the bachelor's degree within six years of entrance.
In 2017-18, the four-year average Student Right-to-Know completion rate for students entering 2009-2012 was 89%.
Delivery of Services
By registering at Brandeis University, students acknowledge and agree that Brandeis University reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify its educational, extracurricular, and other programs for its students at any time, including, without limitation, its right to provide any of the educational and extracurricular programs remotely. Tuition and mandatory fees have been set regardless of the method of instruction and will not be refunded in the event that instruction or programs occur remotely for any part of the academic year for any reason.
Brandeis University assumes no liability for delay or failure to provide educational or other services or facilities due to causes beyond its reasonable control. Causes include, without limitation, power failure, fire, strikes by university employees or others, damage by natural elements, pandemics, and acts of public authorities. The university will, however, exert reasonable efforts, when it judges them to be appropriate, to provide comparable services, facilities, or performance; but its inability or failure to do so shall not subject the university to liability.
Brandeis University reserves the sole right to promulgate and change rules and regulations and to make changes of any nature in its program; calendar; admissions policies, procedures, and standards; degree requirements; fees; and academic schedule whenever necessary or desirable, including, without limitation, changes in course content and class schedule, the cancellation of scheduled classes and other academic activities, and the substitution of alternatives for scheduled classes and other academic activities. In any such case, the university will give whatever notice is reasonably practical.
Student Data Collection Notice
This notice is applicable to anyone who submits information through an application for admission to one of our programs, or who provides information in order to enroll in a class or workshop offered by, or through, Brandeis University. Brandeis University needs to collect, maintain, and use your personal data in order to provide services that are associated with your being or becoming (or having been) a Brandeis student. By applying to one of our programs, enrolling in a Brandeis course or workshop, or by residing and participating in activities on campus you are consenting to our collection and use of this data.
In addition to the personal information you provide on an application, or as part of the application process, we also maintain and use data that is generated through your use of our systems. We use and maintain your academic information (class enrollments, grades, degrees, honors, etc.) and student account and financial aid information (billing, tuition charges, scholarships, loans, and payments) as well as maintaining data on how you use related systems such as Latte, sage, Workday, and PowerFaides.
We also contract with third parties in order to provide services, and your personal and educational information is held in their databases as well. These third parties are contractually prohibited from releasing your information to others, except as legally required, and have attested that their systems meet required data protection standards. Examples of such third-party services are: Adirondack (for on-campus residence); Maxient (student conduct); Medicat and University Health Plans (health center and health insurance); AdvisorTrac (advising appts); Terra Dotta (Study Abroad); Library systems; CCURE/CSGOLD for id cards and access to buildings. This list is not exhaustive and is meant to be illustrative of the systems used to provide an array of services to you before and after you graduate.
Your data is shared within the university in order to provide these services, and it is important that you regularly review your personal information in the student records system (sage) to make sure that it is accurate and up-to-date. We are also required to share your information at times with certain external agencies (e.g. National Center for Educational Statistics, National Student Clearinghouse, National Student Loan Data System). We may also ask external agencies for information they maintain about you to verify our records and improve services.
We do not sell your data to others. We do not provide it to third parties for marketing purposes, except for services directly related to Brandeis activities.
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your information when you transmit it to us and when we store it on our information technology systems.
The university's use of cookies and other data from information technology can be found in the Privacy Notice on the university’s website.
You have the right to request access to, a copy of, rectification, restriction in the use of, or erasure of your information in accordance with all applicable laws. The erasure of your information shall be subject to the retention periods of applicable state and federal laws, and to the legitimate interests of Brandeis to keep necessary records relative to your attendance at the university. If you have provided consent to the use of your information, you have the right to withdraw consent without affecting the lawfulness of the university's use of the information prior to receipt of your request.
Students may exercise these rights by accessing your student account maintained by the university's information technology systems using their login credentials, or by contacting the University Registrar, Mark Hewitt, at registrar@brandeis.edu. Details of your privacy settings in sage can be found here.
Information created in the European Union will be transferred out of the European Union to the University. If you feel the University has not complied with applicable foreign laws regulating such information, you have the right to file a complaint with the appropriate supervisory authority in the European Union.
Policies Regarding Educational Records
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. They are:
- The right to inspect and review the student's educational records within forty-five days of the day the university receives a request for access.
Students should submit to the University Registrar, dean, department chair, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The university official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
If the records are not maintained by the university official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed. - The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights.
To seek the amendment of a record believed to be inaccurate or misleading, students should write the university official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
If the university decides not to amend the record, it will notify the student accordingly, advising of the right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding hearing procedures will be provided at that time. - The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
Exceptions that permit disclosure without consent include but are not limited to:- disclosure to parents of students who are claimed as dependents for tax purposes;
- disclosure to officials of another school in which a student seeks to enroll;
- disclosures in compliance with certain subpoenas;
- disclosures to university officials with legitimate educational interests.
An official is a person employed by the university in an administrative, supervisory, academic, or support staff position; a person or company with whom the university has contracted (such as an attorney, the National Student Clearinghouse, or a collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.
Such an official has a legitimate educational interest if information in the educational records is necessary to the maintenance of the academic enterprise and/or to the officer's capacity to act responsibly in the student's educational interest.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Brandeis 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, D.C. 20202-4605.
Public Notice Designating Directory Information/Privacy Settings
The university designates the following categories of student information as public "directory information,” such information may be disclosed by the institution for any purpose, at its discretion.
The university makes student directory information available electronically (as an online directory) at the start of the fall semester. (If you do not wish to appear in the online directory you must restrict the release of the “Name/On-Campus Info/On-line Directory” category.)
Current students may withhold disclosure of any category of information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, and may use the personal privacy settings within sage to restrict disclosure of directory information, all or in part. To access this function in sage, log on and in the Personal Information section of the Student Center select "privacy settings" from the dropdown menu.
Changes to privacy settings may require up to 48 hours to take effect. Brandeis University assumes that failure on the part of any student to specifically request the withholding of public information indicates individual approval for disclosure.
Categories
Name/On-Campus Info/On-line Directory
Names (primary, preferred, passport and degree names), campus email address, campus mailbox, campus mailstop, directory phone, campus address, residence hall address
Photo/Off-Campus Contact Info
All off-campus addresses, phone, and email information, date of birth, photograph and digital likeness.
Academic Information
Full-time/part-time status, class (freshman, sophomore, etc), dates of attendance, majors, and minors at Brandeis, previous institution(s) attended and major field of study, awards and honors, degree(s) conferred and date(s) conferred.
Athletic Information
Past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities, physical factors (height, weight of athletes).
Sealing Student Records
After students graduate from the university, their records are sealed and no further changes are allowed. The correction of clerical mistakes is possible by petition to the University Registrar.
Grade Changes
The issuance and posting of final grades is the responsibility of the primary instructor for a class. In cases where a student believes that an error in a final grade has occurred, the student must initiate a review request with the primary instructor within 120 days of the end of the term in which the course was taken. If the instructor and the student can resolve the issue, then, in cases where a correction is warranted, the instructor will submit a request to correct the grade to the University Registrar.
If the instructor and student cannot reach resolution on the disputed grade, then the student may request the Chair of the instructor’s department to review the case. If the dispute is not resolved at the level of the Chair, then the student may request the Dean of the appropriate school to review the case. The Dean will have final authority with regard to such grade disputes.
The University Registrar may dispute grade change requests, and will refer such disputes to the Chair, Dean, or the Committee on Academic Standing as appropriate for final resolution.
Name Changes
The transcript is the official, legal document that certifies a student's academic history. The name in which it is maintained will not be changed without a written request that must be accompanied by materials that prove that the requested new name has been assumed legally.
Name changes will be accommodated at the discretion of the University Registrar. Name changes are no longer possible for students who entered Brandeis prior to 1986.
Preferred Name Usage
The university recognizes that many of its members use names other than their legal names to identify themselves. As long as the use of this different name is neither offensive to others, nor for the purpose of misrepresentation, the university acknowledges that a "preferred name" can and should be used wherever possible in the course of university business and education, except where the use of the legal name is required by university business or legal need.
Therefore any member of the community may choose to identify themselves within the university's information systems with a preferred name in addition to the person's legal name.
As there are many distinct administrative systems at the university, this policy will be implemented in phases as resources allow.
Examples of where the legal name must be used: transcripts, enrollment and degree verifications, health insurance and Health Center documents, Financial Aid documents, Student Accounts, International student reporting, Study Abroad, student employment and payroll. Examples of where the preferred name will be used: Class and Grade rosters (both sage and Latte), Final Exam attendance sheets, Advisee lists, Degree Audit screens, on-line directory.
Inappropriate use of a preferred name (including, but not limited to, avoiding a legal obligation or misrepresentation) may be cause for disciplinary action, and the administrative removal of the preferred name. Revocation of a preferred name shall be at the discretion of the University Registrar. Any additional disciplinary actions will be determined through the normal disciplinary procedures of the university.
Official Communications
Brandeis University administrative offices use email as an official method of communication with our students. The university has contracted with Google to provide email service. Students are obligated to have a university email account and to either regularly check that account, or to set the account to forward email to an account that they do check regularly.