Transcript Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

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?

Education records include all records which are related to
a student and maintained by ISU (personal information,
enrollment records, grades, class schedules, etc.)
 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.
 Student education records are protected by FERPA.
 These records can be in any media (handwritten, print,
type, film, electronic, etc.)
Disclosure of Education
Records
 Generally, the
university must have written
permission from the student before releasing
information from the student’s record.
 One
exception is information categorized as
directory information.
Directory Information

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.

Always check to see whether a student has designated
her/his directory information as confidential BEFORE you
provide the directory information.

In accordance with FERPA, the University has designated
the following as directory information:
ISU
Directory Information

Full Name

Addresses

Telephone numbers

Email Addresses

Major fields of study, including teacher licensure majors and minors

Dates of attendance (including current classification and year, matriculation, and
withdrawal dates)

Weight, height, and position of members of athletic teams

Participation in officially recognized activities and sports

Degrees, awards, honors & dates received – including dean’s list and University honors

Most recent previous education institution or agency attended

Current enrollment status – full/part time
Designating Directory Information
as Confidential

A student has the option to request that NO directory
information be released.

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

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:

The university could not release a student’s telephone number to family in
the event of an emergency.

The university could not release information to a prospective employer.

Responses to inquiries for any student who has designated her/his
information as confidential must be “I have no information about this
person”.

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?


Student registration forms?
Grades?
 Correspondence with or from faculty or students?
 Student information displayed on your computer screen?
 Computer printouts in your office?
 A class list on your desktop?
 Notes you’ve taken during an advisement session?
 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:

Do NOT at any time use students Social Security Numbers
or University ID numbers in public postings.

Never link the name of a student with that student's social
security number or our university ID number in any public
manner.

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.)

Never circulate a printed class list with student name and social
security number, university ID number, or grades as an
attendance roster.

Never discuss the progress of any student with anyone other
than the student (including parents) without the written consent
of the student.

Never provide anyone with lists of students enrolled in your
classes for any commercial purpose.

Never provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone
other than university employees in finding a student on campus.
What About PARENTS?

At the post-secondary level, parents have no inherent rights
to inspect a student’s education records.

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.

This form is available at
http://web.indstate.edu/registrar/printable_forms.html
Access to Information. . .

You are responsible for protecting education records/information in your
possession, regardless of the media.

Access to Banner does NOT authorize unrestricted use of student data!

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.

Student information may only be used in the context of official University
business.

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.

Thank you for taking your time to view this tutorial.
A FERPA quiz is coming soon, so please bookmark
this site.

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 [email protected] or
by visiting us in Parsons Hall, Room 009.