Transcript Protect Our Students Protect Ourselves FERPA Rules and

Registrar’s Office
and
Office of Information
Technology
Protect Our Students
Protect Ourselves
FERPA Rules and
Regulations
What is FERPA?
FERPA stands for Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act. This act grants four specific
rights to students.
1. The right to see any information that the
institution maintains on the student.
2. The right to seek amendment to these records
and in certain cases append a statement to the
record.
3. The right to consent to disclosure of her
records.
4. The right to file a complaint with the FERPA
Office in Washington.
What is a Student Educational
Record?
 Virtually any information provided by a student to the
College for use in the educational process is considered
a student educational record. Examples:




Personal information
Enrollment records
Grades
Schedules
 The format in which you find this information does not
matter. Student educational records may be:





A document in the Registrar’s Office
A computer printout in your office
A class roll on your desktop
A computer display screen of information
Notes 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 College employee, you have a responsibility to protect all
educational records in your possession.
 Directory Information may be released without the student’s
written permission. Directory Information is defined as:



A student’s name, address, and telephone number
A student’s e-mail address
A student’s major, participation in sports, dates of attendance,
degrees and awards received, enrollment status, and classification.
 Students may decide to restrict access to this directory
information.
 Employees are allowed access to this information only for
legitimate use in completion of your job duties and
responsibilities. “Need to know,” not curiosity, is the basic
principle.
 If you are in doubt, do not release any information until you talk
to the office responsible for student’s records.
Avoid Violations
To avoid violations of FERPA rules, DO NOT:
 Allow anyone else to use your user ID and password to log on to College
computers and information systems.
 Allow anyone else to use your user ID and PIN to access Banner Web for
Faculty.
 Share student information except in the course of authorized College business.
 Share student information with the parents of a student.
 Leave reports or screen prints where others may gain access to this
information.
 Position your computer monitor where anyone entering your office may view
this information.
 Leave your computer unattended when logged in to any system containing
student information.
 Link the name of a student with the student’s SSN in any manner or form
which is publicly accessible.
 Leave graded tests in a stack for student to pick up by sorting through the
papers of all students.
 Provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than College
employees in finding a student on campus.
FERPA Quiz
NO
If a student’s parent calls asking how a
student is doing in a class, can you
give out that information?
You must assume that the student is an adult who is
entitled to privacy, even from parents. You can not
give out the grade or any other personal information.
If parents insist they need the information, refer
them to the Registrar’s Office. This office is familiar
with the federal regulations that must be followed
before such data may be released.
FERPA Quiz
NO
You receive a call from the representative of a
recruiting firm asking for names and addresses of
students with a GPA of 3.0 or better. He says the
firm has good job information for these students.
Should you help these students get jobs by giving
out this information?
While we all want to help students to get good jobs, this
request should be sent to the appropriate office. You
should not provide student records to anyone outside
the College without prior written consent of the student.
In this instance, you should send this request to the
Career Services Office or provide the students with the
contact information of the recruiting firm.
FERPA Quiz
NO
A person comes to you with a letter
containing a signature that gives
consent to release the transcript of a
student. Should you release the
transcript to this person?
It is the responsibility of the Registrar’s Office to
provide this service. In almost all cases, unless
it is your job function, do not give out any
records to a third party. You should refer this
request to the Registrar’s Office.
FERPA Quiz
NO
You receive a phone call from a law
enforcement officer; he indicates that
he is trying to determine whether a
particular student was in class on a
specific day. Since he is in the
middle of an investigation are you
allowed to give him this information?
A legally binding subpoena or prior written consent of the student is
required to access this information. If served with a subpoena, contact
the College’s Legal Counsel immediately. Even with a subpoena,
FERPA requires that the student be notified prior to releasing the
information unless the subpoena specifically states that the student
should not be notified.
FERPA Quiz
NO
You get a frantic call from an individual who
says that he is the father of a student and
he must get in touch with her immediately
because of a family emergency. Can you
tell him the time and location of her next
class?
For the safety of the student, you cannot tell
another person where a student is at any time.
When this situation arises, refer the person to
the Registrar’s Office.
FERPA Quiz
Yes
Is it wrong for professors to leave
exams, papers, etc., outside of their
offices for students to pick up?
This is a violation of the privacy rule because it is
inappropriate for students to have access to other
students’ information. The institution could be held
liable for failure to comply with FERPA if a student
files a complaint. You cannot leave personally
identifiable materials in a public place.
FERPA Quiz
Yes
An unauthorized person retrieves
information from a computer screen
that you left unattended. Under
FERPA, is the institution responsible?
Information on a computer screen should be treated the
same as printed reports. The format in which the
information is contained is unimportant. Information
should not be left accessible or unattended, including
information on computer displays.
FERPA Quiz
NO
You receive a call from another College
employee requesting information on a
student. You determine the employee
does not have an educational need to
know this information. Should you
share the information?
All data should be considered confidential even from
other College employees if there is not a legitimate
educational need to know. Curiosity is not a legitimate
educational need.
FERPA Quiz
NO
You are assisting a student with her class
work, and she needs to use a computer
to complete this work. Should you
allow her to use your computer?
While we always want to put our students first we need to
ensure all students are protected. Your computer might
provide access to other students’ records in addition to
grades and test scores. The student you are assisting may
gain access to this information without your knowledge. They
may also be able to install a program that can capture your
keystrokes including IDs and passwords or copy information
contained on your hard drive.
What Should You Do To
Protect Student Privacy?
 Use a secure password and change your password
on a regular basis
 Shred documents that contain personally identifiable
information (Do not throw them in the trash)
 Secure personally identifiable data on your computer
with a password or encryption software
 Secure printed documents in a locked cabinet
 DO NOT allow others to use your user ID and
password
 DO NOT allow students to gain access to your office
computer
Questions
Office of the Registrar
(229) 317-6742