January 2007

General Policy 

The UCSF School of Medicine takes student, passport-style, photographs upon entry to medical school. These photographs are used for educational purposes only and protected under FERPA, "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99)*. At the time a photograph is taken students can select to withhold their photograph from the photo book released to other medical students through our secure online learning environment, iROCKET. These permissions can be revised at any time by visiting the Office of Student Affairs. The photographs are distributed annually to School of Medicine instructors and academic personnel. In addition they are incorporated into a variety of essential academic information systems.

Replacement of Student Photographs

A multi-step process occurs to ensure that the photos have a similar look/style, then the photos are are uploaded and propagated to various academic systems and distributed to instructors and academic personnel. We do not offer the ability to replace a student's photograph if it meets the schools minimum standards for quality. Students who wish to have their photo replaced must make a request to the Office of Student Affairs, and if accepted, can come to the next first-year orientation photo session and have a replacement photo made. This usually occurs during the first week of September.

* http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html&nbsp