Student Records

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment)

HBS is committed to complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA; also known as the Buckley Amendment), which protects the privacy of student records. In accordance with this Act and with Harvard policy, the files of all Harvard Business School applicants and students are confidential (except for directory information, defined later in this policy).

In appropriate cases, educational records are disclosed without a student's knowledge or consent to Harvard officials with legitimate educational interest in the records. 'School officials' include faculty, administrators, clerical, professional employees, and agents of the University such as independent contractors performing functions on behalf of Harvard Business School or the University. The determination of whether an official has a legitimate educational interest will focus on whether disclosure of the information is appropriate for the effective functioning of the person's office, their position or the University.

A student's file is not ordinarily available to an individual faculty member for any reason. A student may want to make his/her records available to assist a member of the faculty or administration from whom the student has requested a recommendation or to provide helpful information in a counseling situation. In such cases, the student may complete a release form or send a written request to the appropriate office.

Under FERPA, students have the right to review and inspect their academic records, request the correction of any inaccurate or misleading information in their records, and file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Harvard to comply with the Act. Please refer to the University’s FERPA website for more details.

To review and inspect your academic records, please contact your "Harvard Registrar of Record." HBS Doctoral Programs Office in Wyss Hall serves as the Registrar of Record for all DBA students. While the Doctoral Programs Office keeps admissions and academic records on students in the joint-PhD programs, their Registrar of Record is the Registrar of GSAS in Byerly Hall.

Directory Information

Each doctoral student's name, office address, office telephone number, e-mail address, image, network ID, dates of attendance, area of study, expected graduation date, and degree received can be published without a written release from the student. This information is published in a range of formats while students are at HBS and after they graduate. A student may request that the Registrar keep such information confidential, except for his/her name and dates of attendance. Other directory information includes home address, home telephone number, partner name, country of citizenship, home region, and birth month/day. The student may control the display of this information via the privacy settings available from the online Doctoral Directory or MBA Classcard. Joint PhD students and cross-registrants should communicate special privacy issues to the Registrars of both their home school and HBS Doctoral Programs.

If you have questions, please contact the HBS Doctoral Programs Office in Wyss Hall.