Recent Student Records Request
Updated as of Oct. 4, 2023

As an educational institution, we are sometimes asked to provide information related to student records. A federal law known as FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects the privacy of student records and limits what an institution can release.

In August 2023, a request was made in U.S. federal court by a third party for Chicago State University to provide information related to educational records concerning Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria and a former CSU student. The University can confirm he attended CSU and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree. Federal law, however, prevents us from providing any further information without consent or unless allowed to do so via court order.

On Sept. 19, the U.S. Magistrate Judge assigned to the case granted the request for CSU to provide records related to Tinubu’s graduation and diplomas. On Sept. 21, the U.S. District Court Judge overseeing the case stayed that decision, at Tinubu’s request, halting the discovery process to further consider his objections.

After that consideration, on Sept. 30 the District Court Judge directed the discovery to proceed on an expedited basis. CSU has fully complied with the court’s ruling, turning over the requested documents on Oct. 2 and making a member of its administration available for a deposition on Oct. 3. This U.S. legal proceeding is now concluded.

It is important to note that the University is not a party to the Nigerian legal proceedings that spurred this original request, nor was it part of Tinubu’s Sept. 21 motion in U.S. federal court. We are confident and always have been in the veracity and integrity of our records regarding Tinubu’s attendance and completion of graduation requirements.

Our response to this request has been entirely consistent with our practices, policies and federal law. We would respond in exactly the same manner for any request for any student information by a third party.