Transcript FERPA 202: Presentation for Office of Records and Registration Phone Bank and Front Desk Staffs Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974,

FERPA 202:
Presentation for Office of Records and Registration
Phone Bank and Front Desk Staffs
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as
Amended (FERPA)
Shannon Williams
November 2010
What is FERPA?
 The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also
known as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law designed
to protect the privacy of student education records.
 FERPA requires that schools obtain written permission from
students before releasing educational records, and provides
standards for appropriately using education records.
 In certain well-defined circumstances, some information may
be released without the student’s written permission.
FERPA Privacy Standards
 Privacy Standards:
 Students must be permitted to inspect and review their
educational records
 School officials may not disclose personally identifiable
information from a student’s education record without
authorization
 Institutions are responsible for insuring that all of its school
officials comply with FERPA
BE AWARE!
Ensure Privacy Compliance
 Safeguard student records
 Know policies and procedures
 Mitigate known privacy violations
 Cooperate with investigations by the Department of Education
Why?
 It is federal law.
 The Department of Education may issue a notice to cease non-
compliance.
 Universities that do not comply with FERPA may ultimately lose
federal funding for programs administered by the Secretary of
Education. (Tier I stuff!)
 Faculty research grants
 Financial aid, scholarships and grants
 Graduate fellowships
 Education grants
Who Has FERPA Rights at the Postsecondary Level?
 FERPA rights belong to the student regardless of age.
 A student is a person who has been admitted and is or was
registered when classes are in session. This applies to all
students: enrolled, former, distance education, students
auditing a class, and continuing education students.
What FERPA Rights are Given to a Student?
 Right to inspect and review their education records within 45
days of the request
 Right to request to amend their education records
 Right to limit disclosure of personally identifiable information
 Right to file a complaint with the Department of Education
concerning an alleged failure by the institution to comply with
FERPA
What FERPA Rights are Given to a Parent?
 When the student turns 18 or begins attending an institution of
higher education, FERPA rights transfer to the student.
 A student may choose to allow his parents access to his records
 A student may submit the STUDENT RELEASE OF INFORMATION TO
PARENTS/LEGAL GUARDIANS form
 A parent may access the student’s record if the student is claimed as
a dependent for federal income tax purposes
What FERPA Rights are Given to a Spouse?
 A spouse has no inherent rights under FERPA to access a
student’s record…
 …UNLESS the student has given written authorization by
completing a release form
What FERPA Rights are Given to a UTA Employee?
 Education records may be released to school officials with a
“legitimate educational interest” without the student’s
permission
 However, administrators, faculty, staff or anyone else with this
access may not improperly disclose that information
 UT Arlington uses role-based security as the means by which
its staff and faculty can access needed data from student
records
Annual Notification of Privacy Practices
FERPA requires that the institution provide an
annual notification to students of their FERPA
rights, and provide students access to their
education record.
What are Education Records under FERPA?
 Education records are defined as records that are directly
related to the student and are maintained by an educational
agency or institution, if certain conditions are met.
 At UT Arlington, an education record is defined as any
information recorded in any way, including but not limited to
handwriting, print, tape, film, microfilm, microfiche, and
digital image.
Examples of Education Records under FERPA
 Registration forms
 Grades
 Class assignments
 Any paper with the student’s ID on it
 Transcripts
 Student schedules
 Class rosters
 Student information displayed on your computer screen
Best Practice for Guarding Student Data
 Turn off the screen (or turn away from the screen) while
talking to a parent or anyone other than the student to whom
you should not disclose information from the student’s record
or personally-identifiable information about the student.
Education Records Do NOT Include:
 Education records are NOT:
 Private/personal notes written by individual faculty or staff and kept in
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the “sole possession” of the one who made the record
Campus police records
Employment records
Alumni records
Medical treatment records
Aggregate statistical records that contain no personally-identifiable
information about any student
Education Records Which a Student Does Not
Have the Right to Inspect
 Medical treatment records, until they are released
 Law enforcement records
 Employment records
 Post-enrollment records
 Sole possession records
 Peer-graded papers
 Confidential letters of recommendation if the student has waived his right
of access
 Financial records of the student’s parents
 Admissions records for a student who does not officially attend the
program of admission
 Records of a student that contain information on other students
Inspection and Amendment of Education Records
 To inspect education records, a student should submit a
written request identifying the records to be inspected to the
UT Arlington Office of Records and Registration, attn:
Associate Registrar.
 Details are available at
http://www3.uta.edu/registrar/ferpa.asp
Personally-Identifiable Information in a Student Record
 Personally identifiable information is any information that
identifies or describes a student.
 It includes, but is not limited to:
 Student’s name
 Name of student’s parents or family members
 Address of student or student’s family
 Any personal identifier such as UTA ID or SSN
 Any personal characteristic that would make a student’s identity easily
traceable
FERPA Directory Information
 The personally identifiable information within the record is
called directory information.
 This is information about a student that is not considered
harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
 While FERPA protects the privacy of education records,
directory information is not treated as confidential and may be
disclosed by the University without student consent unless the
student requests confidentiality.
FERPA Directory Information
 Name
 Address
 Phone Number
 E-mail Address
 Date of birth
 Major field of study
 Participation in recognized activities and sports
 Height and weight of athletes
 Dates of attendance
 Degrees and awards received
 Most recent previous educational institution attended
Withholding Release of FERPA Directory Information
 Students may set their FERPA privacy settings in MyMav to indicate
that their directory information be withheld.
 Navigation in MyMav:
 In the student center, click on User Preferences
Click on FERPA Restrictions
 Click on the green button “Edit FERPA/Directory Restrictions”
 Choose “Restrict All Fields” or “Release all Restrictions,” then scroll to the bottom of that
page and click SAVE
 Click the button “Release all Restrictions” (upper right corner), then scroll to the bottom
of that page and click SAVE

Withholding FERPA Directory Information at UTA:
All or Nothing
 Currently, when a student chooses to restrict release of any
aspect of his/her directory information, none of the student
record will be released to any external source.
Impact of Withholding Release
 Students who request restrictions to their record will not be
included in the following:
 Commencement program
 Microsoft-hosted Student Email system (address book that allows
student-to-student access)
 UT Arlington web site “Find People”
 UT Arlington printed Campus Directory “Maverick Connection”
 Requests from external entities seeking directory information on UTA
students whose requests are approved by the custodian of records for
UT Arlington
 However, restriction will not impact participation in Mav Alert
Disclosure Status Remains
in Effect Until Changed
 Any restriction a student makes in his MyMav record will
remain in effect until s/he revokes it.
 UT Arlington allows former students to make changes to the
disclosure status in effect at the time of their last term of
attendance.
 FERPA rights cease upon death. However, it is UTA policy that
no records of deceased students be released for a period of 25
years after the date of the student’s death, unless specifically
authorized by the executor of the deceased’s estate or next of
kin.
New Business Process Related to
Commencement Program
 Beginning this semester, if a student restricts all directory
information, his/her name will not be included in the
commencement program.
 Lots of communications and calls to graduating seniors about
this
 Final deadline for Commencement Program inclusion: If
FERPA privacy election hasn’t been changed to “Release all
Restrictions“ by 11:59 pm Thur, Nov. 11, student’s name will
not be included in the program.
Plans to Change for Spring Term
 For students graduating in Spring 2011 and thereafter, we will
turn on functionality that will allow the student to release
his/her name only for the Commencement Program but not
otherwise.
Screenshot: Plans for Next Semester
To Whom and Under What Conditions Can Colleges
Disclose Personally Identifiable Information?
 The University of Texas at Arlington will disclose information
from a student’s education record without the written consent
of the student in the following circumstances:
 The student
 Anyone, if the University has obtained the prior written
consent of the student
To Whom and Under What Conditions Can Colleges
Disclose Personally Identifiable Information?
 Anyone, in response to requests for directory information
when the student has not indicated not to release his
personally-identifiable information
 Authorized representatives of the Comptroller General,
Secretary of Education, US Attorney General or state and
local educational authorities if the disclosure is in
connection with an audit or evaluation of federal or state
supported education programs
To Whom and Under What Conditions Can Colleges
Disclose Personally Identifiable Information? (continued)

To appropriate University administrators, faculty members,
staff members and outside service providers, such as
contractors and consultants, who require access to education
records in order to perform their legitimate educational
duties.
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This includes student workers who at any time may access
student records as a part of their duties. UT Arlington
restricts and tracks access to education records to enforce the
“legitimate education interests” requirement in this
exception.
To Whom and Under What Conditions Can Colleges
Disclose Personally Identifiable Information? (continued)
 In connection with a student's application for, establishing
eligibility or conditions for, or receipt of financial aid. UT
Arlington contracts with the National Student
Clearinghouse to provide enrollment and degree data to
lenders and guarantors.
 To officials of other schools in which the student seeks or
intends to enroll, upon request
 Agents acting on behalf of the institution (contractors, etc
To Whom and Under What Conditions Can Colleges
Disclose Personally Identifiable Information? (continued)
 Parents of a dependent student, as defined by the IRS code
 Parents when their student (under 21) is found to have
violated the alcohol or drug policy of the institution
 An alleged victim of a crime of violence when the
disclosure is the result of a disciplinary hearing regarding
the alleged perpetrator of that crime with respect to that
crime
To Whom and Under What Conditions Can Colleges
Disclose Personally Identifiable Information? (continued)

Anyone requesting the final results of a disciplinary
hearing against an alleged perpetrator who has been
found in violation of the campus code relating to a crime
of violence or non-forcible sex offense

Anyone, when the disclosure concerns information
provided by sex offenders required to register under
state or federal law
To Whom and Under What Conditions Can Colleges
Disclose Personally Identifiable Information? (continued)
 Appropriate parties, such as law enforcement or the
student’s parents, if a health or safety emergency exists,
and the institution believes the student presents a serious
danger to himself or others.
 Golden Rule in making this decision: Will this information
assist in resolving the emergency?
Golden Rule:
 When in doubt, don’t give it out.
 But do so nicely.
Reverse Articulation
 As a benefit to its graduates, UT Arlington provides complimentary
transcripts to Dallas County Community College District and Tarrant County
College District
 Student must have earned 16 or more for-credit hours at that institution
 Permission to send the transcript back to the community college is part of
the Application for Graduation.
 The community college notifies these students that they should apply for
conferral of their associate degree.
Contacts for FERPA Policies and Procedures
 Office of Admissions, Records and Registration, UTA Box
19088, Arlington, TX 76019
 Shannon Williams, Associate Registrar; direct 817/272-6105;
[email protected]
 http://www3.uta.edu/registrar/ferpa.asp
 Enforcement Agency
Family Policy Compliance Office, US Department of
Education, Washington, DC