How Privacy Issues Impact
ETD Initiatives
Marisa Ramírez
Digital Repository Librarian
California Polytechnic State University
mramir14@calpoly.edu
Gail McMillan
Director, Digital Library and Archives
Virginia Tech
gailmac@vt.edu
About FERPA
The Cal Poly Experience
The Virginia Tech Experience
Other experiences
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) of 1974 a.k.a. Buckley Act
Designed to protect the privacy of student
educational records
Challenges to FERPA resulted in refinements to the
Act
Applicable to all public K-12 educational
institutions & postsecondary institutions that
receive US Department of Education funds
FERPA grants rights to students
Inspect and request corrections to their education
records
Limit the release of “personally identifiable”
information from their records
Education records are “directly related to a
student and maintained by an educational
agency or institution”
Includes “any information recorded in any way, including,
but not limited to, handwriting, print, computer media,
video or audio tape, film, microfilm, and microfiche.”
When may a school disclose education records
without student consent?
School officials with “legitimate educational interests”
Student is seeking to enroll in another school
Educational authorities enforcing Federal or State
supported education laws /programs
Parents of a dependent for income tax purposes
Eligibility and terms for financial aid
Subpoena
Directory information
Definition: "information that would not
generally be considered harmful or an invasion
of privacy if disclosed”
Student's name, address, phone number, email
Photograph, date and place of birth
Major, grade level, enrollment status, dates of attendance,
participation in university activities
Weight and height of student athletes
Degrees, honors and awards received; most recent
educational institution attended
Students must be provided an opportunity to
“opt out” of the release of directory information
Are the release and circulation of student works
limited under FERPA?
According to LeRoy S. Rooker, Director of the Department of
Education's Family Policy Compliance Office
Theses are different -- research sources for the academic
community available through the library
No written consent needed to make a thesis available
through the library AS LONG as the student has been
advised in advance that it will be publicly available as part of
the curriculum requirements
--"Department of Education Clarifies Access to Theses." ALA Washington
Office Newsline, 8 Sept 1993.
Cal Poly
Member, California State University system
19,000+ students, 1,100 graduate students
Centralized model for paper deposit
ETD pilot (Spring 2008)
Understanding the library need, ability, and
responsibility to enforce FERPA
Subsequent self-review to adjust library activities
subject to FERPA laws, such as circulation records,
interlibrary loan requests, and student employment
records
In consultation with the campus FERPA
Compliance Officer additional wording to
student click-thru license:
"Students making submissions to this repository agree to
share their work and waive any privacy rights granted by
FERPA or any other law, policy or regulation, with respect to
this work, for the purpose of publication.”
Virginia Tech
Land grant university, founded 1872
30,000 students: 5,000 grad students
Centralized model: 145 programs
ETDs required Jan. 1, 1997
Focused on access and copyright
No forethought given to FERPA
Minimal privacy concerns
Addressing FERPA requirements retroactively (not uncommon)
Attention of University Legal Counsel
Reviewing policies for records management
Embargoed ETDs misunderstood
Explicit permission given for unlimited access
I hereby grant to [the institution and its agents] the
non-exclusive license to archive and make
accessible…my thesis, dissertation…
Implicit permission to override FERPA opt-out
Nullifies previous requests for privacy
Has your university dealt with issues of
students' rights to nondisclosure?
What has your university done about ETDs in
regards to FERPA requirements?
Do you have experience with students invoking
their FERPA rights so that all information about
their ETDs must be withheld indefinitely?
To the extent this thesis, dissertation, or record of study is an
educational record as defined in FERPA, I consent to disclosure
of it to anyone who requests a copy. [TAMU, Baylor, etc.]
By signing [the ETD Release Form], the student is specifically
granting a non-exclusive distribution license to the University of
Kansas, authorizing disclosure of the student’s work to others,
and is relinquishing and waiving any claims that may arise under
any statutory or common law protections as a result of the use
of this work for these purposes.
I grant the University [of Oregon] Libraries permission to make
my research freely and publicly available in the digital archive
known as Scholars' Bank. [BTDs 2007- ]
University-wide FERPA guidelines common
"We do not change our policies simply because
our educational delivery methods have
changed." Richard Rainsberger, Oct. 2001
“Based on a policy letter [reported in ALA Washington
Office Newsline, Sept. 8, 1993] from Leroy Rooker,
former FERPA director, we are not changing
anything.” VT University Counsel, June 2009
Laws, generally,
Do not ensure rights to privacy
Focus more on public, not private, good
Access to information, not protection
Student privacy rights: US-centric issues
Intellectual property gets more attention than
privacy rights.
Increased access to personal information
When delivery methods change, it is an
opportunity to evaluate policies.
Whether privacy is legislated, be aware of the
myriad of related issues.
ETDs: Explicit permission
BTDs: Implicit permission
Contact:
Marisa Ramírez
Digital Repository Librarian
California Polytechnic State University
mramir14@calpoly.edu
Gail McMillan
Director, Digital Library and Archives
Virginia Tech
gailmac@vt.edu