Privacy and Advising

ADVISORS ARE MANDATED REPORTERS

All academic advisors are mandated reporters. We are required to report actual or suspected sexual harassment (including sexual assault, stalking, and dating and domestic violence), sexual misconduct, or related retaliation to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance (OCRC) sexual misconduct unit. Under this policy, your advisor must report the actual or suspected incident to the OCRC-sexual misconduct unit within 2 business days. Students should know that resources exist on campus that are exempt from mandatory reporting rules, including University Counseling Service (UCS) and the Office of the Ombudsperson. You should also know that if your advisor must report a concern to the OCRC office, this does not constitute a formal complaint; it means that OCRC will contact you to review all available options and available supports. General resources regarding sexual misconduct, including confidential campus and community resources are available here: https://ocrc.uiowa.edu/sexual-misconduct. Please take the time to review this important information. Advisors are also Campus Security Authorities, which means they are required to report certain violent crimes according to the Clery Act. For more information consult: https://safety.uiowa.edu/clerycompliance

YOUR RIGHTS AND FERPA

When students enter the university, their privacy rights are protected through a federal law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  This means that what they discuss with their advisor remains confidential (unless the student shares a concern regarding their health and safety or the health and safety of another individual).  We welcome communication from parents and are happy to answer general questions about university procedures, resources, and academic programs.  If a student would like their academic advisor to be able to discuss confidential information about the student with another individual, they will need to complete an Academic Record Consent Form in the Student Records section of MyUI.