Earlham's Public Affairs Office is charged with sharing the story of Earlham with the public in a variety of ways. Hometown news releases about students' involvements and accomplishments are distributed to students' and parents' hometown media throughout the U.S. Last year Public Affairs produced and distributed nearly 5,000 of these releases, making many parents proud while building name recognition for Earlham.

Guidelines associated with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guide the College's release of information known as student "directory information." Public Affairs adds the names and contact information for hometown newspapers to each student's record in the College's database system.

Please submit your Media Information Form for Public Affairs, indicating the names and contact information for two newspapers where hometown releases about you may be sent, to Public Affairs by July 1.

Non-Disclosure of Directory Information

Students may withhold directory information from the media and from publication on campus by filing a Non-Disclosure of Directory Information Form before the end of the second week of the Fall Semester. Requests for non-disclosure will be honored by the institution for only one academic year; therefore, authorization to withhold directory information must be filed annually in the Public Affairs Office.

Standard Directory Information

Earlham College routinely provides basic directory information about students in accordance with The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This includes:

• student name, campus address, campus phone and e-mail address
• student's hometown and state
• identity of parents, guardians or next of kin
• major field of study and year of graduation
• dates of attendance, and degrees and awards received
• most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student
• participation in officially recognized college activities and sports
• photographs as available
• weight and height of members of athletic teams.

Such information as students' names, major fields of study, year of graduation, dates of attendance, degrees/awards and participation in activities are typically used in media releases, publications, event programs and lists for on-campus office use.

Except when required to so by law, Earlham does not give out directory information in response to requests from off-campus sources, whether from individuals or vendors. Questions concerning enrollment or degree verification should be referred to the Registrar's Office. To read more about this, visit the Directory Information Policy.

Public Affairs Office Procedure

The Public Affairs Assistant maintains a paper copy of the Non-Disclosure of Directory Information Forms for students not wishing to receive hometown news coverage. The Assistant also inserts "DO NOT SEND" in the first Banner media field (M1) for all such students.