Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA stands

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This Act was passed by Congress in 1974 and is also referred to as the Buckley Amendment. FERPA is a federal law that grants four specific rights to students. They are: 1. The right to inspect and review education records. 2. The right to seek the amendment of education records. 3. The right to consent to the disclosure of education records. 4. The right to file a complaint with the FERPA Office in Washington, D. C.

The consequences of how we handle, or mishandle, student information are significant. The penalty for noncompliance with federal regulations can result in the withdrawal of Department of Education funds from the University. Maintaining confidentiality of student records is everyone’s responsibility whether you are faculty, staff or student.

What student information can you disclose, and to whom, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act? This tutorial will help answer these questions and give you a base level knowledge of the rules governing release of student information.

WHAT ARE EDUCATION RECORDS? q Education records include all records which are related to a student and maintained by ISU (personal information, enrollment records, grades, class schedules, etc. ) q Education records do not include records in the public safety department, financial records of a student’s parents, medical and counseling records used solely for treatment, etc. Please contact the Office of Registration and Records if you need additional guidance in this area. q Student education records are protected by FERPA. q These records can be in any media (handwritten, print, type, film, electronic, etc. )

Disclosure of Education Records q Generally, the university must have written permission from the student before releasing information from the student’s record. q One exception is information categorized as directory information.

Directory Information q Public information, known as “Directory Information”, may be released without the consent of the student, unless the student has designated her/his directory information as confidential. q Always check to see whether a student has designated her/his directory information as confidential BEFORE you provide the directory information. q In accordance with FERPA, the University has designated the following as directory information:

ISU Directory Information q Full Name q Addresses q Telephone numbers q Email Addresses q Major fields of study, including teacher licensure majors and minors q Dates of attendance (including current classification and year, matriculation, and withdrawal dates) q Weight, height, and position of members of athletic teams q Participation in officially recognized activities and sports q Degrees, awards, honors & dates received – including dean’s list and University honors q Most recent previous education institution or agency attended q Current enrollment status – full/part time

Designating Directory Information as Confidential q. A student has the option to request that NO directory information be released. q To designate directory information as confidential, a student must complete the “Designation of Student Directory Information As a Confidential Record” form. This form is available at http: //web. indstate. edu/registrar/confidentiality_form. html q The completed form must be returned to the Office of Registration and Records, located in Parsons Hall Room 009, along with photo ID.

Consequences of Designating Directory Information as Confidential If a student chooses to designate directory information as confidential, then NO INFORMATION OF ANY KIND MAY BE RELEASED, even if you think the student is the one requesting the information. Examples: q The university could not release a student’s telephone number to family in th event of an emergency. q The university could not release information to a prospective employer. q Responses to inquiries for any student who has designated her/his information as confidential must be “I have no information about this person”. q If a student elects to have her/his directory information designated confidential then NO INFORMATION OF ANY KIND MAY BE RELEASED, even to the student, without her/his written consent! Regardless of the affect on the student, the University assumes no liability.

Think about your work area.

What information do you handle that may need to be treated in a secure way? q Student registration forms? q Grades? q Correspondence with or from faculty or students? q Student information displayed on your computer screen? q Computer printouts in your office? q A class list on your desktop? q Notes you’ve taken during an advisement session? q A piece of paper containing all or part of a student’s ID number or Social Security Number?

Of Special Interest to Instructors To avoid violations of FERPA: q Do NOT at any time use students Social Security Numbers or University ID numbers in public postings. q Never link the name of a student with that student's social security number or our university ID number in any public manner. q Never leave graded tests in a stack for students to pick up by sorting through the papers of all students.

Of Special Interest to Instructors (cont. ) q Never circulate a printed class list with student name and social security number, university ID number, or grades as an attendance roster. q Never discuss the progress of any student with anyone other than the student (including parents) without the written consent of the student. q Never provide anyone with lists of students enrolled in your classes for any commercial purpose. q Never provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than university employees in finding a student on campus.

What About PARENTS? q At the post-secondary level, parents have no inherent rights to inspect a student’s education records. q At ISU, a parent may obtain either a copy of their dependent’s grades for a designated semester or an official transcript by completing the “Request for Grade Report of Dependent Child”, having it notarized and sending it to the Office of Registration and Records. q This form is available at http: //web. indstate. edu/registrar/printable_forms. html

Access to Information. . . q You are responsible for protecting education records/information in your possession, regardless of the media. q Access to Banner does NOT authorize unrestricted use of student data! q You have access to information only for legitimate use in completion of your responsibilities as a University employee! Curiosity does not qualify as a legal right to know. Need to know is the basic principle. If you do not have an educational need to know, you may not access a student’s information. q Student information may only be used in the context of official University business. q Under certain circumstances, confidential (non-directory) education records can be released without a student’s prior consent. Inquiries such as these must be directed to the Office of Registration and Records.

When in Doubt—Don’t Give It Out!! “OOPS” is not acceptable when it comes to disclosure of education records! IF IN DOUBT, DON’T GIVE IT OUT! Contact the Office of Registration and Records for guidance. Protect our students—protect ourselves! WHY? Because it’s the right thing to do and because the federal government requires us to do so.

q Thank you for taking your time to view this tutorial. A FERPA quiz is coming soon, so please bookmark this site. q If you have questions regarding FERPA or have comments about this tutorial, please contact the Office of Registration and Records at (812) 2372020, via e-mail at regemail 1@isugw. indstate. edu or by visiting us in Parsons Hall, Room 009.