Initial Date and Instance of Approval:
Date: August 13, 1990
Instance of Approval: Executive Committee of the Senate
Amendment (including change in instance of approval):
Date: September 16, 2025
Instance of Approval: Administration Committee
Responsible Service: Office of the Provost
Purpose
1. This Policy defines the rights and obligations of students and of the University and its officers in matters pertaining to student record management and access.
Definitions
2. For this Policy, the terms below are defined as follows:
a. Students: All past, current and future undergraduate and graduate students, including non-degree students and auditors.
b. Student record is the record of information and documents, as more particularly described in this Policy, that is digitally stored in applications owned by the Office of the Registrar. Such digital systems include but are not limited to:
i. the student information system
ii. the communications management system
iii. applications that store student documents
iv. applications that store documents related to academic misconduct
c. University: The University of Ottawa.
General principles
3. The University of Ottawa Act, 1965 authorizes the University to gather information for the following purposes: recruitment, admission, scholarships, academic progress, degree-granting and any other activity related to the management and administration of programs and courses. By applying for admission to the University of Ottawa, and/or by enrolling in programs or courses at the University, students acknowledge the University’s right to collect pertinent personal information for the purposes of, and those consistent with, assessing a student’s qualifications for entry, establishing a record of their performance in programs and courses, providing the basis for awards and government funding, and assisting the University in the academic and financial administration of its affairs. Documents submitted to the University that form part of the student record become the property of the University.
4. The University agrees to take every reasonable step to protect the confidentiality and privacy of the information contained in all student records.
5. This Policy must be read in conjunction with Policy 116 - Use and Security of Information Technology Assets; Policy 117 - Access to Information and Protection of Privacy; and Policy 23 – Policy on Information Management and Policy 90 – Access to Information and Protection of Privacy.
Purpose of the student record
6. A student record contains the information required to track the student’s academic progress and standing, and to produce transcripts of marks, as well as reports and letters attesting to the student’s studies or academic standing. Student records also form the basis of the University’s operations and are used by the University to produce enrolment statistical reports required by government agencies. The student record may include, but are not limited to, the following information about the student:
a. Personal information
b. Documents related to previous studies
c. Data and documents related to admission,
d. Letters of recommendation (for admission to the University and for scholarships managed by the University)
e. Data related to enrolment and changes in programs
f. Any correspondence or documents in support of University procedures, including requests for appeal
g. Documents related to requests for academic accommodation
h. Documents related to applications for University-managed scholarships and financial aid
i. Final exam results
j. Financial information
k. Proof of legal status
l. Letters of appeal and supporting documents
m. Photos taken to produce a student card
n. Documentation related to any request or action taken on a student record, whether requested by the student or the University
o. Other information or documents deemed by the Office of the Registrar to be relevant to the student’s studies
Document retention and security
7. Student records are stored electronically in accordance with the University of Ottawa Classification and Retention Schedule. The University keeps parts of records required to prepare official transcripts for an indefinite period, and only the digital version of the transcript is kept.
Retention of documents related to allegations of academic misconduct
8. Documents such as correspondence, proof and minutes of meetings related to allegations of academic misconduct or related sanctions are stored digitally in a secure digital directory that can only be accessed by authorized individuals (as determined by the dean or their delegate).
Access to records and disclosure of information
Public access
9. The University considers the following as information it maintains for the purpose of making it available to the public unless the student in question specifically requests otherwise:
a. degrees conferred by the University to an individual and the conferral date(s)
b. the name of a recipient of a University scholarship, award, honour or other prize
Except as described above, all other information in the student record will only be disclosed to the student to whom the information relates, in accordance with this policy and applicable access-to-information and protection-of-privacy laws, or with the written consent of the student in question.
Student access
10. A student may inspect information contained in their own student record by logging into their student account in the student information system.
11. Students also have the right to request that erroneous information in their record be corrected. To do so, they must contact their Faculty or InfoService if they cannot make these changes themselves through the self-service function.
12. Only the Office of the Registrar is authorized to produce official transcripts. All official transcripts are complete and unabridged. Transcripts issued directly to students bear the note “Issued to student”. Official documents from other institutions are not released or redirected.
Student organizations
13. The University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) and the Graduate Students Association (GSAÉD), as well as their constituent organizations, may obtain lists of their members and related information, specifically the member’s name, uOttawa email address, program of studies, student status (full or part-time) in order to provide services to their members. The Office of the Registrar provides such lists in accordance with the protocols established between the University, the UOSU and the GSAÉD.
Legally mandated access
14. The University may disclose the student record, or portions of it, to persons or agencies where required by applicable access-to-information and protection-of-privacy laws, by other applicable legislation, or by a court order, summons or subpoena directing the University to release information.
Professional and government agencies
15. The University may also disclose all or part of a student record to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities or to other government agencies for funding purposes, for statistical analyses, for enrolment or graduation audits or in accordance with the requirements of duly constituted professional licensing and certification bodies.
Access for financial recovery
16. The University is authorized to disclose to a debt collection agency any and all information contained in a student record that is required and appropriate for the recovery of unpaid University fees.
Access to third parties
17. Except for circumstances set out in this policy or Policy 90, the University cannot disclose personal information about students to any third party without the student’s consent.
Emergency disclosure
18. The University may disclose essential and appropriate information in a student record to a third party in any emergency situation affecting the health or safety of an individual, or in a situation relating to an injury, illness or death, as circumstances dictate.
Support staff member access
19. Support staff members are authorized to access student records only when such access is necessary and appropriate in the discharge of their duties at the University.
20. The Office of the Registrar is responsible for controlling access to student records. To this end, the Office must ensure that only duly authorized employees needing the information in connection with their official duties are given permission to inspect, add, change or delete items in student records. Managers who request that their administrative staff members be granted access to student records must ensure that:
a. these individuals are aware of the rules and procedures that apply to the confidentiality of student records at the University;
b. these individuals are adequately trained to ensure the confidentiality of the information;
c. access to student records is withdrawn from an administrative staff member when they leave their position or the University; and
d. These individuals comply with established security measures. This means that these individuals must frequently change their passwords, not share a computer account with another person, and must not leave their computer unattended. Employees must refrain from inspecting information not relevant to their duties and are allowed to perform only those record transactions that have been authorized by their manager and the Office of the Registrar.
REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION
21. The Office of the Registrar is responsible for the review and implementation of this Policy and for recommending to the Administration Committee any amendments to it.
APPROVAL AND AMENDMENTS
22. Amendments to this Policy require the approval of the Administration Committee.
23. The Office of the Registrar may establish, amend or abolish procedures for purposes of the effective implementation of this Policy, provided that such procedures are consistent with the provisions of this Policy and are approved by the Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs.
24. Notwithstanding section 22, the Secretary-General may amend this Policy without the need to submit such amendment to the Administration Committee for approval if such amendment is required to:
a. update or correct the name or title of a position, unit, law, bylaw, policy, procedure or authority; or
b. correct punctuation, grammar, typographical errors, revisions to format and other technical revisions, where appropriate, if the correction does not change the meaning of a provision, or make such other correction if it is clear both that an error has been made and what the correction should be; or
c. correct the form of expression of a provision in French or in English to be more compatible with its form of expression in the other language; or
d. make consequential amendments to conform with or arising from another University bylaw, resolution, policy or procedure.