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Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act: FERPA

Protect Our Students - Protect Ourselves

To be allowed access to student records, you must carefully review the material presented in this site. Maintaining confidentiality of student records is everyone's responsibility whether you are faculty, staff or student.

WHY?
  • What Is FERPA?
FERPA stands for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (sometimes called the Buckley Amendment). Passed by Congress in 1974, the Act grants four specific rights to the adult student:
  1. The right to see the information that the institution is keeping on the student;

  2. The right to seek amendment to those records and in certain cases append a statement to the record;

  3. The right to consent to disclosure of his/her records;

  4. The right to file a complaint with the FERPA Office in Washington.

 

  • What is a Student Educational Record?
Just about any information provided by a student to the university for use in the educational process is considered a student educational record
  1. Personal information
  2. Enrollment records
  3. Grades
  4. Schedules

The storage media in which you find this information does not matter.  Student educational record may be:

  1. A document in the registrar's office
  2. A computer printout in your office
  3. A class list on your desktop
  4. A computer display screen
  5. Notes you have taken during an advisement session

 

  • What Are The Basic Rules?
Student educational records are considered confidential and may not be released without the written consent of the student.

As a faculty or staff member you have a responsibility to protect educational records in your possession.

Some information is considered public (sometimes called "Directory Information").  This info can be released without the student's written permission.  However, the student may opt to consider this info confidential as well.  Directory Information is:  name, address, phone, dates of attendance, degrees received, major program.

You have access to information only for legitimate use in completion of your responsibilities as a university employee.  Need to know is the basic principle.

If you are ever in doubt, do not release any information until you talk to the office responsible for student records.  Call the Registrar's Office at 771-4423, or refer the request to that office.

 

  • Special "Don'ts For Faculty
To avoid violations of FERPA rules,  DO NOT:
  1. At any time use the entire Social Security Number of a student in a public posting of grades;

  2. Ever link the name of a student with that student's social security number in any public manner;

  3. Leave graded tests in a stack for students to pick up by sorting through the papers of all students;

  4. Circulate a printed class list with student name and social security number or grades as an attendance roster;

  5. Discuss the progress of any student with anyone other than the student (including parents) without the consent of the student;

  6. Provide anyone with lists of students enrolled in your classes for any commercial purpose;

  7. Provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than university employees in finding a student on campus.


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