Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
Colloquium 2007
FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (also known as the Buckley ammendment)
and gives certain rights to students:
 Right to review and inspect educational records
maintained by the institution
 Right to seek amendment to any portion of an
educational record
 Right to have some control over the disclosure of
information
 Right to obtain a copy of the University’s FERPA policy
 Right to file a complaint with the Department of
Education Family Policy Compliance Office in
Washington, D.C.
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Educational Record
Sole Possession Records
Directory Information
Personally Identifiable Information
School Official
“Legitimate Educational Interest”
What is an
educational record?

Record maintained
by the institution
that is directly
related to a student
and can personally
identify a student
What is NOT an
educational record?
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Sole possession
records
Law enforcement
records
Employment
records
Medical records
Alumni records
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“Memory Aid”
Only used by one
person
Private notes
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Information that may
be disclosed without
the student’s consent
Not considered
harmful or an invasion
of privacy
Defined by the
institution
Some items that
institutions may list as
directory information:
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Name
Current mailing address
Email address
Phone number
Date of Birth/Place of
Birth
Major/Program
Participation in sports
Weight/height of athletes
Dates of attendance
Degrees/awards
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Any information or
data that can easily
identify a student
This includes (but is not
limited to):
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Is not directory
information
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Cannot be disclosed
without the consent of
the student
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Social Security number
Institutional ID number
Grades
GPA
Gender
Class schedule
Race
Religion
Test Scores
Academic Standing
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Can be a university employee (support staff,
administration, safety officers, etc.)
Can be a board member
Can be a contractual employee of the
university (auditor or temporary services
contracted employee)
Student helping another employee or serving
on a university committee
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“Need to Know”
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Institutions must determine the criteria
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When a student reaches the age of 18 or
begins attending a postsecondary institution,
regardless of age, FERPA rights transfer from
the parent to the student.
The only ways in which parents may obtain
protected information on their child are:
 For them to obtain a signed consent from their
child
or
 The dependent is claimed on the parents’ Federal
income tax form.
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Faculty
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Staff
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Administrators
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Student workers
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Loss of federal funding
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Potential lawsuits
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Integrity of institution diminished
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http://records.southern.edu/ferpa.html
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/fer
pa/index.html
Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act
#1 TRUE or FALSE

“Education records”
include only those
records contained
in a student’s
permanent file.
FALSE
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“Education records”
include any record (in
whatever format or
medium) directly
related to a student
and maintained by the
university.
#2 TRUE or FALSE
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Students must be
given the
opportunity to
inspect and review
their education
record within ten
days of a request.
FALSE

FERPA states that we
must provide a student
access to his/her
record within 45 days
of a request. More
often than not,
however, we
accommodate that
request as soon as
humanly possible.
#3 TRUE or FALSE

As a faculty
member, you have
the right to inspect
and review the
education records
of any student.
FALSE

Any employee of the
university must be able
to demonstrate a
“legitimate educational
interest” (need to
know) in order to be
given access to a
student’s record.
#4 TRUE or FALSE
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Only the records of
currently enrolled
students are
protected by
FERPA.
FALSE
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FERPA also protects the
records of all formerly
enrolled students.
However, students who
have applied for
admission to the
university but have not
attended the university
do not have rights
under FERPA.
#5 TRUE or FALSE
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An academic
adviser does not
have to allow an
advisee to inspect
his/her personal
notes about that
student.
TRUE
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The personal notes of
a student’s adviser are
deemed to be in the
“sole possession of the
maker” and are not
included in the
definition of “education
records.” Therefore,
an adviser does not
have to grant access to
his/her personal notes.
#6 TRUE or FALSE
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You post the
grades of all
students in your
class on the door to
your office. This is
a violation of
FERPA.
TRUE
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The answer depends on
HOW you posted your
grades. If you posted
them by name, Social
Security Number or
something that reveals
the identity of each
student, or could easily
be interpreted by a third
party, then you would
have violated FERPA. If,
however, you posted the
grades using a special
code known only to you
and the individual
student, there would be
no violation.
#7 TRUE or FALSE
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FERPA requires that
you retain all
records used to
determine a
student’s grade in
a course for at least
three years.
FALSE
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FERPA does not contain
a records-retention
provision. Each
institution determines
how long records are
retained. Most
universities retain
educational records for
3 years.
#8 TRUE or FALSE
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The parents of one of your
advisees visit you. They
want to know their child’s
grades for last semester.
You deny them access
stating that you may not
release grades without the
signed consent of the
student. The parents
present proof that their
student is a dependent on
their federal income tax
return and state that they
have a right to his/her
grades. You still refuse
to release them. Your
actions were contrary to
FERPA.
TRUE

Parents of a
“dependent student” as
defined by the Internal
Revenue Code, may
access their student’s
educational records
without the written
consent of the student
upon submission of IRS
documents (tax
returns) showing a
student’s dependent
status.
#9 TRUE or FALSE
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You are contacted by a
prospective employer
concerning academic
information on one of your
students. They state they
know you can’t reveal a
student’s exact GPA but all
they want to know is if that
student is in the top 10 per
cent of his/her class. In
addition they want to know
what the GPA cut-offs would
be in graduation honors.
You want to help the student
land the job so you do a little
digging and give them the
information they requested.
This is a violation of FERPA.
TRUE
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Grades and GPAs can
never be released to the
public without consent.
However, honors (e.g.,
Dean’s List) are
considered Directory
(public) information.
BUT, because you would
have to release the GPA
threshold for the 10 % of
that student’s class in
order to provide the
information the company
wants, you run the risk of
releasing the actual
grade information on
that student.
#10 TRUE or FALSE
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You decide to
create a publicly
accessible website
for students in one
of your courses.
On the website you
list the names,
addresses, e-mail
addresses and
telephone numbers
of all of your
students. This is
not a violation of
FERPA.
TRUE
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Institutions may disclose
information on a student
without violating FERPA
through what is known as or
“directory information.” This
generally includes name,
address, telephone number,
date and place of birth,
major field of study, etc.
(refer to FERPA guide for
complete list) unless a
student requests that this
information not be released.
If you received permission
from each of your students
to release his/her
information on the public
website, you have not
violated FERPA.
#11 TRUE or FALSE
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You were approached by
an FBI agent who asks to
see your personal files
on one of your advisees.
The agent states he/she
is doing a background
check on the student for
employment with the
federal government. You
dutifully produce all of
your files on that
student. You are now in
big trouble with the
student because your
actions were in violation
of FERPA.
TRUE
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Even FBI agents must
produce a release of
information form signed by
the student before you or
any other school official
may release educational
records. The only
exception to the signed
release provision would be
a judicial order or
subpoena, which allows the
institution to release
records without the
student’s consent. Even in
the case of a subpoena,
however, FERPA states that
a “reasonable effort” must
generally be made to notify
the student before
complying with the order.
#12 TRUE or FALSE
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A student files an official appeal of a
grade you gave him/her in one of
your courses. The issue goes before
the grade appeal committee and the
student loses the appeal. He
becomes angry by the ruling, breaks
a window and subsequently is
brought up on disciplinary charges.
Shortly thereafter a reporter from the
Accent contacts you. The campus
newspaper wants to run a story on
the grade appeal and disciplinary
process and wants to use your
student as an example. You answer
all of the reporter’s questions
because the appeals process was
concluded. The following week you
receive notice of a suit filed against
you by the student who appealed the
grade. You haven’t a FERPA leg to
stand on.
TRUE

Appeals and/or
disciplinary
information are
“education records”
and their release is
governed by FERPA.
Without that
student’s signed
consent of
disclosure, you
should not have
released information
about the grade
appeal or the
disciplinary action
that followed.