Do faculty have the right to inspect and review the education records of any student?
Does an advisor have the right to allow a student to inspect and review her personal notes about the student that are held in a file in the desk of the advisor’s office?
Should we provide data to an accounting firm which asks for a list of all the accounting students who are in the top 10 percent of the senior class?
Is it a violation of FERPA if Tom Faculty has posted the grades of all the students in his class on the wall outside his office?
Can a student’s degree be confirmed to some external (outside of BSU) source without first obtaining the permission of the student because BSU identifies “degree” as directory information?
Does a student have a right to inspect information in his or her file in the Registrar’s Office and in his or her major department?
Do student representatives on committees (e.g. honors, judicial, etc.) have the right to see other students’ education records during the deliberations of that committee if they have been designated as school officials?
Can an institution give its students the opportunity to withhold the release of any or all designated items of directory information?
Is it permissible to distribute graded examinations by placing them on a table for the students to pick up after class?
In writing a letter of recommendation, is it permissible for a faculty member to include a student’s grades and GPA without obtaining the student’s written permission since the student requested the faculty member to write the recommendation and provided a copy of her resume with the requested information to the faculty member?
Is a student’s written permission required before an institution releases information to a national research organization conducting a study on the advantages and disadvantages of selective admissions?
Can an institution release any information identified as directory information by the institution to anyone upon request?
Does a former student have the same right to inspect and review his record as a student who is currently attending the institution?
A faculty member comes into your office and asks one of the staff for the names of all the graduates in his program since its beginning in 1980. Can I give him this information?
What does “legitimate educational interest” refer to in the definition of FERPA?
Who holds the FERPA rights?
When do the FERPA rights of a student begin?
How do we know if a piece of information is an “educational record”?
What is required from students by FERPA before releasing information about them?
What documentation does a student need to review information about him that is maintained by the institution?
Is the following information considered an educational record?
a) Class roster with all students names on it?
b) A traffic violation of a student kept in the institution’s security office?
c) The honor roll list?
d) The annual giving record of an ex-student?
e) A note made in the student record by a faculty member of an advising session with a student?
f) Notes taken by the institution’s Affirmative Action officer when interviewing students regarding a sexual harassment charge made against a faculty member?
g) Student photographs on a department’s bulletin board identifying the majors of that department?
h) Medical records made and maintained by the university’s contracted doctor related to the treatment of a student?
i) The employment records of an individual who is a full-time employee of the institution and is also a part-time student?
j) Scores of a student who took the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)?
k) Test scores of a group of students identified only by ID number and kept in a faculty member’s office files only?
l) A faculty member’s note about a student having an epileptic seizure in one of his classes and kept in his locked office files?
m) Financial information on a student’s parents filed in the Financial Aid office?
Do faculty have the right to inspect and review the education records of any student? Faculty generally receive no access to student records beyond their class and grade rosters. Faculty do not have access to the student academic records unless their normal job duties specifically require access.
Does an advisor have the right to allow a student to inspect and review her personal notes about the student that are held in a file in the desk of the advisor’s office? No, these notes are considered personal property and not part of a student’s educational record.
Should we provide data to an accounting firm which asks for a list of all the accounting students who are in the top 10 percent of the senior class? Although potentially beneficial for the student, this information cannot be shared without the student’s permission.
Is it a violation of FERPA if Tom Faculty has posted the grades of all the students in his class on the wall outside his office? It depends on how the grades are posted. If the grades are posted by some “code” known only by the student and instructor (as opposed to by name, student ID number, SSN), then it is not a violation. It is best not to post grades in any way.
Can a student’s degree be confirmed to some external (outside of BSU) source without first obtaining the permission of the student because BSU identifies “degree” as directory information? Any information listed as directory information can be released without the student’s permission unless the student has filed a “privacy restriction” form with the Office of Registration and Academic Progress.
Does a student have a right to inspect information in his or her file in the Registrar’s Office and in his or her major department? The student has the right to inspect any university file that contains any type of information about the student.
Do student representatives on committees (e.g. honors, judicial, etc.) have the right to see other students’ education records during the deliberations of that committee if they have been designated as school officials? Yes, students should be instructed as to the confidentiality of all information learned in these types of committees.
Can an institution give its students the opportunity to withhold the release of any or all designated items of directory information? Yes, the
Privacy Restriction on Records form is available in the Office of Registration & Academic Progress and online.
Is it permissible to distribute graded examinations by placing them on a table for the students to pick up after class? No, graded material should never be left out for “pick-up”. It should always be under some type of supervision and, when the student is not personally known, distributed only when proper identification is shown.
In writing a letter of recommendation, is it permissible for a faculty member to include a student’s grades and GPA without obtaining the student’s written permission since the student requested the faculty member to write the recommendation and provided a copy of her resume with the requested information to the faculty member? No, GPA and grade information, no matter how high, should not be included in a letter of recommendation unless the student gives permission.
Is a student’s written permission required before an institution releases information to a national research organization conducting a study on the advantages and disadvantages of selective admissions? No
Can an institution release any information identified as directory information by the institution to anyone upon request? No, FERPA gives permission for the university to release information designated as directory. It is not required. The operative word is “may.”
Does a former student have the same right to inspect and review his record as a student who is currently attending the institution? Yes.
A faculty member comes into your office and asks one of the staff for the names of all the graduates in his program since its beginning in 1980. Can I give him this information? Yes, graduation information is not considered directory information. If the faculty member provides reasons relating to legitimate educational interest to the university, he may be allowed this information.
What does “legitimate educational interest” refer to in the definition of FERPA? A school official’s need to review student education record information to fulfill a responsibility as part of the official’s duties.
Who holds the FERPA rights? When the student attains the age of 18, the rights pass from the parent to the student. Also, when the student begins attending a higher education institution, the rights pass from the parent to the student.
Pass from parents to student when the student begins attending an institution of higher education. Even if the student is under 18 when they begin at the university, the student still holds FERPA rights, not the parents.
When do the FERPA rights of a student begin?When the student is “in attendance” as defined by the institution. BSU defines this as when a student becomes registered.
How do we know if a piece of information is an “educational record”? It must be:
a) Personally identifiable to the student
b) Maintained by the institution
What is required from students by FERPA before releasing information about them? Our office needs to have written permission unless the release is covered by any exception listed in FERPA. The student would need to complete the
Permission to Release Educational Records Information form, obtained online or at the Office of Registration and Academic Progress.
What documentation does a student need to review information about him that is maintained by the institution? Letters of recommendation but only if the student did not waive the right to see the letter of recommendation. If the students waived the right to see it, the letter remains confidential.
Is the following information considered an educational record? a) Class roster with all students names on it? Yes
b) A traffic violation of a student kept in the institution’s security office? No, public safety records are not covered by FERPA.
c) The honor roll list? Yes
d) The annual giving record of an ex-student? No, this type of information is not considered an educational record.
e) A note made in the student record by a faculty member of an advising session with a student? Yes, although a note by a faculty member, it was made in the student’s record. Therefore, it becomes a part of that record.
f) Notes taken by the institution’s Affirmative Action officer when interviewing students regarding a sexual harassment charge made against a faculty member? Yes, any record/ notes relating to judicial issues, policy challenges, etc. are considered educational records.
g) Student photographs on a department’s bulletin board identifying the majors of that department? No, this is not an educational record.
h) Medical records made and maintained by the university’s contracted doctor related to the treatment of a student? No, medical records are not considered part of the educational record, but are held in confidence by other federal policies.
i) The employment records of an individual who is a full-time employee of the institution and is also a part-time student?
No, employment records are not covered by FERPA and should not be included in any educational record file.
j) Scores of a student who took the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)?
Yes, this information is handled as any other graded assignment.
k) Test scores of a group of students identified only by ID number and kept in a faculty member’s office files only?
Yes.
l) A faculty member’s note about a student having an epileptic seizure in one of his classes and kept in his locked office files?
No, personal notes made by a faculty or staff member for personal use are not considered educational records and are not covered by FERPA.
m) Financial information on a student’s parents filed in the Financial Aid office?
No, parent information is not considered an educational record and therefore not covered under FERPA.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Office of Registration and Academic Progress [registrar@bsu.edu].