Transcript FERPA for Advisors - University of Nevada, Reno

Family Educational Rights &
Privacy Act (FERPA)
An Overview for University Faculty
and Staff
What is FERPA?
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (1974)
Or
Buckley Amendment
A federal regulation designed to…
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Protect the privacy of educational records
Establish the right of students to inspect and review
their education records
Provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate
and misleading data through informal and formal
hearings
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS FOR ADMISSIONS AND RECORDS. Washington, D.C.: AACRAO, 1980, p. 28.
Who must comply with FERPA?
• Generally, any education institution
receiving funds under any program
administered by the Department of
Education.
• Consequences of non-compliance: loss of
ALL funding from the Department of
Education!
What are student rights under
FERPA?
1) Right to inspect and review education
records
2) Right to seek to amend education records
3) Right to have some control over the
disclosure of information from education
records
What are educational records?
1. Records directly related to a student containing
personally identifiable information
2. Maintained by an educational institution or by a
party acting for the institution
Educational records are not…
sole possession records, law enforcement
records, employment records, medical records,
alumni records.
Sole Possession Records
• Records that are kept in the sole possession of the
maker, are used only as a personal memory aid,
and are not accessible or revealed to any other
person except a temporary substitute for the maker
of the record (i.e. a Teaching Assistant).
• Sole possession records become educational
records when they are placed in an area where
they can be viewed by others.
What does FERPA require for compliance?
We must…
1. Notify students annually of their rights
2. Provide students’ access to their education records
3. Prevent improper disclosure of personally
identifiable information from education records
4. Maintain adequate records of requests and
disclosures
5. Provide opportunity for challenge of the contents
of education records
Student Access
Students have the right to:
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Inspect and review their records within 45 days of the
request to inspect
An explanation and interpretation of their record
Students cannot view:
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Confidential letters and recommendations to which the
student has waived, in writing, their right of inspection
Education records containing information about more than
one student, however the institution must permit access to
that part of the record which pertains only to the inquiring
student
Student Access
• Departmental records are included under
FERPA and students must be allowed
access to them if requested.
• If a student requests access to any record
not solely maintained within department
files they need to be referred to the Office
of Admissions and Records.
Protecting Student Information
• There are two classes of education records.
– Directory information (public)—information not
normally considered a violation of a person’s
privacy
– Non-directory information (private)—race,
gender, social security number, R-number,
grades, GPA, country of citizenship, religion
Disclosing Directory Information
• We may release, without written consent,
directory information under certain
conditions.
• In general, we recommend that you do not
release directory information to ANY third
party, but refer any requests for directory
information to Admissions and Records.
Disclosing Non-Directory Information
• We must release student information,
without written consent to a student
requesting information from their own
records.
• A student’s written permission is required
to release non-directory information unless
the release is justified under one of the
exceptions.
The Exceptions
We may release information without written consent to:
– School officials determined by the institution to
have a legitimate education interest
– Persons in an emergency, if the knowledge of
information, in fact, is necessary to protect the
health or safety of the student or other persons
– Accrediting organizations carrying out their
accrediting functions
Storage and Disposal of Records
• Store student files in a secure location, preferably
in a locked filing cabinet in a secure room.
• Don’t dispose of degree audits, transcripts, grade,
unclaimed papers or exams, etc. in a trash can.
Any document with personally identifiable
information on it needs to be destroyed by
shredding it.
Special Cases
A series of FERPA situations you
may encounter
Letters of Recommendation
• Scenario #1: The College of Liberal Arts receives
a request from Dr. Casper for a copy of a student’s
record in order to help him write a letter of
recommendation for the student. Since only the
Office of Admissions and Records and the College
of Liberal Arts can access the student’s record, Dr.
Casper is requesting this assistance.
Can he receive a copy of the record?
Posting Student Grades
• Scenario #2: You want to notify your
student’s of their mid-semester grades by
either posting them outside your door or on
your class web-page. You are not sure how
this might relate to the FERPA.
Is it okay to post grades by the last four
digits of the students’ SS- or R-number?
Handing back graded work
• Scenario #3: You receive a phone call from
the Geology secretary who needs to know
what to tell instructors who want to leave
graded exams outside their offices for
students to pick up.
What do you tell her?
E-mail
• Scenario #4: A faculty member from the
Education Specialties Department sends
out his grades every semester via e-mail.
Is he in violation of the FERPA?
Parents
• Scenario #5: A father calls you about his
son, He wants to know how he is doing. He
is worried because he has not heard from
him in several months. As his son’s advisor
you have access to his records.
What do you tell him?
Requests for Information
• Scenario #6: A local reporter calls asking you for
information about one of your advisee’s. She has
interviewed your advisee for a story and wants to
confirm some of the facts with you. This student
has already told the reporter his GPA and grades.
This student also has submitted a request for nondisclosure of his records.
What can you tell the reporter?
Legitimate Educational Interest
• Scenario #7: Joe is a student in the Physics
Department. His father is a faculty member
in the medical school. He wants to find out
how Joe is doing in school, so he calls the
Office of Admissions and Records to find
out.
How should the Office respond?
Research Requests
• Scenario #8: A graduate student is working with a
faculty member in the College of Education . The
research project is to explore the enrollment patterns
of our students and the relationship of these patterns
to successful outcomes achievement. This person is
requesting transcripts—hundreds of them—and he is
willing to pay for them.
Can we comply?