Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act

Colloquium 2007
 FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (also known as the Buckley ammendment)
and gives certain rights to students:
 Right to review and inspect educational records
maintained by the institution
 Right to seek amendment to any portion of an
educational record
 Right to have some control over the disclosure of
information
 Right to obtain a copy of the University’s FERPA policy
 Right to file a complaint with the Department of
Education Family Policy Compliance Office in
Washington, D.C.
 Educational Record
 Sole Possession Records
 Directory Information
 Personally Identifiable Information
 School Official
 “Legitimate Educational Interest”
What is an What is NOT an
educational record? educational record?

 Record maintained  Sole possession

by the institution records
that is directly  Law enforcement
related to a student records
and can personally  Employment
identify a student records
 Medical records
 Alumni records
 “Memory Aid”

 Only used by one

person

 Private notes
 Some items that
institutions may list as
directory information:
 Information that may
be disclosed without  Name
the student’s consent  Current mailing address
 Not considered
 Email address
 Phone number
harmful or an invasion  Date of Birth/Place of
of privacy Birth
 Defined by the  Major/Program
institution  Participation in sports
 Weight/height of athletes
 Dates of attendance
 Degrees/awards
 This includes (but is not
 Any information or limited to):
data that can easily
identify a student  Social Security number
 Institutional ID number
 Is not directory
 Grades
information
 GPA
 Gender
 Class schedule
 Cannot be disclosed
without the consent of
 Race
the student
 Religion
 Test Scores
 Academic Standing
 Can be a university employee (support staff,
administration, safety officers, etc.)
 Can be a board member
 Can be a contractual employee of the

university (auditor or temporary services

contracted employee)
 Student helping another employee or serving

on a university committee
 “Need to Know”

 Institutions must determine the criteria

 When a student reaches the age of 18 or
begins attending a postsecondary institution,
regardless of age, FERPA rights transfer from
the parent to the student.
 The only ways in which parents may obtain

protected information on their child are:

 For them to obtain a signed consent from their
child
or
 The dependent is claimed on the parents’ Federal
income tax form.
 Faculty

 Staff

 Administrators

 Student workers
 Loss of federal funding

 Potential lawsuits

 Integrity of institution diminished

 http://records.southern.edu/ferpa.html

 http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/fer
pa/index.html
Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
#1 TRUE or FALSE FALSE

 “Education  “Education records”

records” include include any record (in
only those records whatever format or
contained in a medium) directly
student’s related to a student
permanent file. and maintained by the
university.
#2 TRUE or FALSE FALSE

 Students must be  FERPA states that we

given the must provide a student
opportunity to access to his/her
inspect and review record within 45 days
their education of a request. More
record within ten often than not,
days of a request. however, we
accommodate that
request as soon as
humanly possible.
#3 TRUE or FALSE FALSE

 As a faculty  Any employee of the

member, you have university must be able
the right to inspect to demonstrate a
and review the “legitimate educational
education records interest” (need to
of any student. know) in order to be
given access to a
student’s record.
#4 TRUE or FALSE FALSE

 Only the records of  FERPA also protects the

currently enrolled records of all formerly
students are enrolled students.
protected by However, students who
FERPA. have applied for
admission to the
university but have not
attended the university
do not have rights
under FERPA.
#5 TRUE or FALSE TRUE

 An academic  The personal notes of a

adviser does not student’s adviser are
have to allow an deemed to be in the
advisee to inspect “sole possession of the
his/her personal maker” and are not
notes about that included in the
student. definition of “education
records.” Therefore,
an adviser does not
have to grant access to
his/her personal notes.
#6 TRUE or FALSE TRUE

 The answer depends on

 You post the HOW you posted your
grades of all grades. If you posted
students in your them by name, Social
Security Number or
class on the door something that reveals
to your office. the identity of each
student, or could easily
This is a violation be interpreted by a third
of FERPA. party, then you would
have violated FERPA. If,
however, you posted the
grades using a special
code known only to you
and the individual
student, there would be
no violation.
#7 TRUE or FALSE FALSE

 FERPA requires  FERPA does not contain

that you retain all a records-retention
records used to provision. Each
determine a institution determines
student’s grade in how long records are
a course for at retained. Most
least three years. universities retain
educational records for
3 years.
#8 TRUE or FALSE TRUE
 The parents of one of your
advisees visit you. They  Parents of a
want to know their child’s “dependent student” as
grades for last semester. defined by the Internal
You deny them access
stating that you may not Revenue Code, may
release grades without the access their student’s
signed consent of the educational records
student. The parents without the written
present proof that their
student is a dependent on consent of the student
their federal income tax upon submission of IRS
return and state that they documents (tax
have a right to his/her returns) showing a
grades. You still refuse student’s dependent
to release them. Your
actions were contrary to status.
FERPA.
#9 TRUE or FALSE TRUE
 You are contacted by a  Grades and GPAs can
prospective employer never be released to the
concerning academic public without consent.
information on one of your However, honors (e.g.,
students. They state they Dean’s List) are
know you can’t reveal a considered Directory
student’s exact GPA but all (public) information.
they want to know is if that BUT, because you would
student is in the top 10 per have to release the GPA
cent of his/her class. In threshold for the 10 % of
addition they want to know that student’s class in
what the GPA cut-offs order to provide the
would be in graduation information the company
honors. You want to help wants, you run the risk of
the student land the job so releasing the actual
you do a little digging and grade information on
give them the information that student.
they requested. This is a
violation of FERPA.
#10 TRUE or FALSE TRUE

 You decide to
 Institutions may disclose
information on a student
create a publicly without violating FERPA
accessible website through what is known as or
for students in one “directory information.” This
of your courses. generally includes name,
On the website you address, telephone number,
date and place of birth,
list the names, major field of study, etc.
addresses, e-mail (refer to FERPA guide for
addresses and complete list) unless a
telephone numbers student requests that this
information not be released.
of all of your If you received permission
students. This is from each of your students
not a violation of to release his/her
FERPA. information on the public
website, you have not
violated FERPA.
#11 TRUE or FALSE TRUE

 You were approached by  Even FBI agents must

an FBI agent who asks to produce a release of
see your personal files information form signed by
on one of your advisees. the student before you or
any other school official
The agent states he/she may release educational
is doing a background records. The only exception
check on the student for to the signed release
employment with the provision would be a
federal government. judicial order or subpoena,
You dutifully produce all which allows the institution
of your files on that to release records without
student. You are now in the student’s consent. Even
in the case of a subpoena,
big trouble with the however, FERPA states that
student because your a “reasonable effort” must
actions were in violation generally be made to notify
of FERPA. the student before
complying with the order.
#12 TRUE or FALSE
TRUE
 A student files an official appeal of a
grade you gave him/her in one of
your courses. The issue goes before  Appeals and/or
the grade appeal committee and the disciplinary
student loses the appeal. He
becomes angry by the ruling, breaks information are
a window and subsequently is “education records”
brought up on disciplinary charges. and their release is
Shortly thereafter a reporter from the
Accent contacts you. The campus governed by FERPA.
newspaper wants to run a story on Without that
the grade appeal and disciplinary student’s signed
process and wants to use your
student as an example. You answer consent of
all of the reporter’s questions disclosure, you
because the appeals process was should not have
concluded. The following week you
receive notice of a suit filed against released information
you by the student who appealed the about the grade
grade. You haven’t a FERPA leg to appeal or the
stand on.
disciplinary action
that followed.