What is the Solomon Amendment?
The Solomon Amendment is a federal law that requires institutions that receive certain federal funding to grant military recruiters access to campus and to fulfill their student information requests for recruitment purposes. The Department of Education has determined that the Solomon Amendment supersedes most elements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), and therefore an institution is obligated to release data included on the list of student recruitment information. Students included in the recruiter’s list requests must be aged 17 and older, enrolled for at least one credit, be a U.S. citizen with a U.S. address, and not have a FERPA restriction on their record.
Student Recruiting Information or “Solomon Information”
Student recruiting information, or “Solomon Information,” is defined by the Solomon Amendment and is independent of FERPA directory information designated by Eastern Kentucky University, although some information items may overlap. Eastern Kentucky University provides the following information in accord with the current regulations:
- Name
- Home Address (excluding residence hall address)
- Telephone Number (excluding cell phone)
- EKU Email Address
- Date of Birth
- Place of Birth
- Field of Study (Major)
- Degree(s) Received
- Level of Education
- Most recent educational institution attended
Eastern Kentucky University is prohibited from providing the following under the Solomon Amendment per the Amendment and FERPA:
- Social Security Numbers
- Race/ethnicity/nationality
- Gender
- Religious affiliation
- Grades, GPA, or QPA
- Loan status (including default)
- Veteran status
Procedure for Releasing Student Recruiting Information
Under the Solomon Amendment, information will be released for military recruitment purposes only. The military recruiters may request student recruitment information once each semester for each of the 12 eligible units within the five branches of service:
- Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard
- Navy, Navy Reserve
- Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve
- Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air Force National Guard
- Coast Guard, Cost Guard Reserve
In accord with the provisions of the Solomon Amendment, requests must be in writing. Requests must identify the unit of service that is requesting the information and specify whether the information needed is for a current or previous semester.
Requests can be made to:
Office of University Counsel
Coates Building Room 212
521 Lancaster Avenue, CPO 40A
Richmond, KY 40475-3102
university.counsel@eku.edu