URBANA — With a new school year under way, the Office of the Dean of Students and University of Illinois Police Department is asking that students update their local address and emergency contact information in the Enterprise Self-Service system.

It is important to keep this information updated as it may be needed to locate students and inform emergency contacts in the event of a potentially life-threatening health or safety emergency.

Because students tend to move to new housing from year to year, this information becomes outdated quickly.

Although the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows universities to classify student address and telephone numbers as directory information which can be disclosed without the written consent of the student, the Office of the Dean of Students has elected to be more conservative in its practice. The University of Illinois Police Department and the Office of the Deans of Students limit the release of this information to circumstances involving a health or safety emergency. Similarly, use or disclosure of a student’s emergency contact information is limited to instances involving a health or safety emergency, and it is only provided to emergency response personnel.

It is important to note, however, that a student’s address information is a part of a student’s education record, which can be disclosed according to FERPA.

Students can update their emergency contact information by visiting http://go.illinois.edu/helpme, logging in and clicking on the “Personal Information” tab. Anyone with questions can contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 217-333-0050.