Transcript FERPA RVCC FACULTY FERPA WORKSHOP OCTOBER 2011 DAN PALUBNIAK REGISTRAR FERPA • This presentation is designed to give you a base level of knowledge of the rules governing.

FERPA
RVCC FACULTY FERPA
WORKSHOP
OCTOBER 2011
DAN PALUBNIAK
REGISTRAR
FERPA
• This presentation is designed to give
you a base level of knowledge of the
rules governing the release of student
information.
• FERPA defines two categories of
information: Directory and NonDirectory
WHAT IS FERPA?
• FERPA- Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
(aka Buckley Amendment)
• Passed by Congress in 1974 - The Act grants the
following four specific rights to the college student:
1) Right to see the information that the institution is
keeping on the student
2) Right to seek an amendment to those records and in
certain cases append a statement to the record
3) Right to privacy and to consent to disclosure of the
record
4) Right to file a complaint with the FERPA office in
Washington
Said simply…
• FERPA is a Federal Law that protects
the privacy of students’ educational
records and aids in the decision
making that school officials need to
make every day.
WHY IS UNDERSTANDING &
COMPLIANCE WITH FERPA
IMPORTANT?
•
•
•
Protect our students
Protect ourselves - Federal funding
depends on the protection. The DoE can
withhold funding in cases of serious noncompliance.
Maintaining confidentiality of student
records is everyone’s responsibility
including faculty, staff or student worker.
WHAT IS A STUDENT
EDUCATIONAL RECORD?
• Just about any information provided by a student to RVCC for
use in educational processes is considered a student
educational record including:
•
•
•
•
Personal information
Enrollment records
Grades & grade assignments
Schedules and bills
• The storage media in which you find this information does not
matter! A student’s educational record may be:
•
•
•
•
A document in the Registrar’s Office
A computer printout in your office
A class list on your desktop
Notes you have taken during an advising session
When can educational
information be shared?
Educational information can be shared
with third parties, including parents, so
long as the student has given written
permission. Written permission must
be given for each disclosure event and
must state the record to be disclosed,
the purpose for the disclosure and the
person to whom it will be disclosed.
THE QUIZ
• NOW LETS TEST YOUR BASIC FERPA
KNOWLEDGE
• CLUE: When in doubt - don’t give out!
Question 1
Your department assistant prints a
class roster for you. On the first day of
class, you pass the roster around the
room asking the students to sign
beside their names.
Any problems here?
Answer 1
Yes! You have just circulated every
student’s SSN or ID Number. Also
depending upon the type of roster,
there may have been a phone number,
address, birth date, major, email
address or other personal information.
Question 2
In an effort to get grades to students
quickly, you post a list of them on your
office door. The list identifies students
by the last four digits of their SSN or
RVCC ID Number. Is this okay?
Answer 2
No! Not only have you posted
information that could be identified,
but you’ve probably just posted the PIN
numbers for the ATM cards of many of
the students in your class.
Question 3
A student comes to your office to ask
for her grade. While you turn your
head to sneeze, she looks at your
computer screen and sees the grades
of her classmates. Have you violated
FERPA?
Answer 3
Yes. Education records that are
personally identifiable are protected by
FERPA, regardless of the medium in
which they are maintained.
You are responsible for protecting the
privacy of those records. Information
on a computer should be treated with
the same confidentiality as a paper
copy.
Question 4
Is it acceptable to place completed
exams/assignments on the table in the
front of the room and have the students
find their own as they enter the
classroom?
Answer 4
No. Even if you don’t have the grade
written on the exam, it is still an
educational record belonging to each
student, and thus protected by FERPA.
Question 5
A student comes to your office and
insists that you let him see notes
that you have written in your files
about him. Must you let him see the
notes?
Answer 5
No. Education records are only those
that are identifiable and maintained by
the institution.
As long as you never share them with
anyone else, these are considered your
personal notes and are not covered by
FERPA.
Question 6
A man identifying himself as the father
of one of your students shows up at
your office. He says that it is an
emergency, and he must find his
daughter. Is it okay for you to tell him
where she is?
Answer 6
• No. For the safety of the student, never
tell anyone the location of a student. In
this situation, the correct action is to
refer the person to RVCC Security.
Question 7
Since you refuse to give the student’s
location, he asks for the student’s
current phone number. You remember
that directory information is NOT
considered a confidential education
record, so can you give him the
number?
Answer 7
No. Students have the right to prevent
the disclosure of this information. If
they have done this, it will be on file in
Enrollment Services. For that reason,
all requests for student information
should be directed there.
Question 8
A police officer, showing identification,
says he is conducting an investigation
and must know if a certain student was
in attendance on a specific day. Is it
okay to give him this information?
Answer 8
No. He should be referred to
Enrollment Services.
Question 9
What if he has a subpoena- is it now
okay to give him the information?
Answer 9
No. There are specific procedures
required by FERPA that must be
followed. Refer the officer to the
Enrollment Services Office.
Question 10
A mother calls to see how her son is
doing in your class. What should you
tell her?
Answer 10
Nothing. Even by letting her know that
he is still enrolled, you could be
violating FERPA. The student may
have requested the College to withhold
his directory information.
Question 11
In the discussion with the mother, you
are reminded that the student is only 16
years old. Is it okay to discuss his
progress with the parent, since he is
still a minor?
Answer 11
No. FERPA transfers all rights from the
parent to the student when the student
reaches the age of 18 or attends a
school beyond the high school level.
Question 12
One of your students emails you and
asks for his grade on last week’s exam.
Can you send it to him?
Answer 12
The only way to verify that the person
to whom you are sending the grade is
truly the student is to send it using the
student’s official RVCC email address
(obtained thru the Lion’s Den. All email
communication with students should
be conducted using the RVCC
addresses of the faculty member and
student.
Question 13
You receive a call from an agency with
special job opportunities for good
students in your field. They ask for the
names of all the students who received
an A in your course last semester. Can
you fulfill their request?
Answer 13
Grades are educational records, so you
cannot give them a list of students with
A grades; however, you can
recommend students based upon your
personal observations. Before you do
this, please verify with the Enrolment
Services Office that none of the
students made a request to keep their
educational records confidential.
AN EXCEPTION
FERPA allows the release of
information from education records to
appropriate officials in case of health
and safety emergencies.
FERPA CLASS IS OVER
• THANK YOU
• If you have any questions, please contact:
Dan Palubniak - Registrar
Pat Richmond - Assistant Registrar