The Registrar’s Office has added a disclosure form to letters of recommendation to be signed by students that permits professors to release letter grades and grade percentages.

This disclosure is aimed at protecting students’ privacy and DU professors from lawsuits, according to the Registrar’s Office. It was added to recommendation forms at the beginning of this year.

Although there have been no lawsuits against DU faculty, the Registrar’s Office implemented this change in response to nationwide lawsuits against professors who wrote letters of recommendation, as well as in compliance with 2008 changes to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA ) by the U.S. Department of Education, according to Dennis Becker, registrar.

The disclosure also protects students’ privacy because professors can no longer disclose grades in letters of recommendation without students’ consent.

Many students want their grades to be disclosed in a recommendation, and this allows a professor to do so, said Becker.

“In many cases a student who wants a recommendation letter wants the faculty member to address the academic qualities a student has exhibited in the classroom. This change allows the student to clarify that desire to the faculty member,” said Becker.

This additional disclosure should not be much of an issue for students, said senior Luke Niforatos, Josef Korbel School of International Studies senator and chairman of the USG Academic Affairs Committee.

“I don’t believe students will find any significant inconvenience, and I think they will appreciate that their privacy is being protected,” said Niforatos.

For more information on student privacy policies and a full copy of FERPA visit http://www.du.edu/registrar/general/ferpa_student.html