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FERPA and its regulations establish requirements for several
aspects pertaining to students' records, including the release
of information and grades.
Description of the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 grants
to students certain rights, privileges, and protections relative
to individually identifiable student educational records which
are maintained by the University. Specifically:
1. Students' educational records (with the exception of directory
information) will be released to third parties outside the
University only with the written consent of the student. The
University reserves the right to release education records
to appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency or when
the student's well being is of concern.
2. Students have the right to inspect their own individually identifiable educational
records. The right may be exercised by completing a request form at the front
desk of the Student Services Building on Lovett Avenue.
3. Students have the right to challenge information contained in individually
identifiable educational records. The procedure is described in the policy statement
referred to below.
4. A copy of the policy describing the University's regulations implementing
this act may be obtained at the Student Services Building on Lovett Avenue.
Directory Information
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act permits the
release of directory-type information to third parties outside
the institution without written consent of the student provided
the student has been given the opportunity to withhold such
disclosure.
The University releases, upon inquiry by third parties outside
the University, directory information without written consent
of the student. Directory information includes name, address,
telephone number, college, class, major, dates of attendance,
and degree, honors and awards conferred. Students may withhold
directory information by contacting the Registrar's Office
or by going to the Student Services Building on Lovett Avenue.
NOTE: While the withholding request may be made at any time,
students wishing to have directory information withheld from
the student directory should submit their requests no later
than six weeks prior to the first day of fall semester classes.
Posting of Grades
Posting of grades after an examination or at the end of a
semester is a very efficient and effective way of transmitting
information to students about their academic progress. Under
the FERPA regulations, you may not post grades by a full or partial Social Security
Number under any circumstances. Contrary to popular belief,
having students sign a waiver at the beginning of the semester
is not sufficient to avoid FERPA violation. The Student ID number should not be used either to post grades. A good alternative is to assign students random examination
identification numbers, and to post grades in random order
by these numbers. (Note that posting in alphabetical order
is also problematic, as the identity of students could be ascertained.)
Such random numbers could be assigned at the beginning of a
course and used throughout the semester. Students should be
urged to keep the numbers confidential, and a statement to
this effect should be included in the course syllabus.
Calls from Parents (or others)
Parents often call faculty to inquire about their sons' and
daughters' academic progress, as well as to find out about
admission to majors and programs, among other reasons. The
safest way legally to handle such inquiries is not to discuss any issues
with parents or any one else other than the student. I
understand the challenges this may present, but release of
such information usually violates the FERPA statute and could
place you at risk legally. The best thing to do is to urge
the parent (or other caller) to speak with the student, and
have the student stop by, if possible, to make the inquiry
in person. Alternatively, you could refer the caller to the
college advising office, the undergraduate or graduate admissions
office, or other appropriate academic administrative office,
where the procedures can be explained in more detail.
The above was taken from a memorandum written by Conrado M.
Gempesaw II, Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Planning,
August 18, 1999.
Personal, Non-public Information (PNPI)
State and Federal laws and regulations govern the safeguarding
of personal, non-public information (PNPI), such as Social
Security Numbers (SSNs) and grades associated with names. Faculty and Staff are cautioned to properly protect this information by encrypting electronic files and locking stored hardcopy files.
Please contact the Registrar's
Office for further questions.
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