The University abides by the provisions of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. This act ensures a wide range of rights, including but not limited to: information about student records that the University maintains, who maintains them, who has access to them, and for what purposes access is granted. The act also permits the University to release "directory information" without a student's consent. In addition, the act guarantees students access to their records and restricts the access of others.

Students at Columbia University Medical Center may restrict access to their directory information at the Registrar's Office located in 1-141 Black Building. The guidelines are available on ColumbiaWeb and in FACETS, the University student handbook, http://www.columbia.edu/cu/facets/. Questions about the interpretation of the guidelines should be referred to the University's General Counsel, 412 Low Library.