Andy Simpson

Registrar, FERPA Compliance Officer

Andy Simpson is the Registrar for University of Northwestern where he and his staff provide administrative support and services for Northwestern students, faculty, and administrators.

Areas of responsibility include:

Academic calendar
Athletic eligibility certification
Class schedules
Commencement planning
Credit by examination
Degree and enrollment verifications
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
- Student education record privacy
Grades/Diplomas/Transcripts
Graduation certification
International student advising
Reenrollment
Registration
Transcript request processing
Transfer credit evaluations
University catalogs
VA benefits

Prior to being at Northwestern, Simpson was an active duty U.S. Air Force officer serving in a variety of roles to include running military commissaries stateside and in Europe. His last 5 years in the Air Force focused on working in higher education to include 3 years at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul) where he was an assistant professor of aerospace studies as well as the unit’s admissions officer for the Air Force ROTC program. It was through his recruiting efforts on the Northwestern campus on behalf of the Air Force that Simpson learned about Northwestern and its mission. Simpson’s other 2 years in Air Force higher education was in the Registrar division, Headquarters Air Force ROTC at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Simpson is also the university’s FERPA Compliance Officer where he oversees the university’s efforts to maintain privacy of student education records based on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Simpson earned a bachelor’s degree in Bible/pre-seminary from Cedarville University and a master’s degree in management from Webster University – San Antonio.

He and his wife, Joi, reside in Circle Pines.