Definitions Related to FERPA

ACT:
Refers to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended.  Also known as the Buckley Amendment.  Enacted as Section 438 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 United States Code, 1232g).   This federal law is designed to protect the privacy of student education records.

AGENT:
A person or business formally authorized to act on another's behalf.

ATTENDANCE:
Includes, but is not limited to, attendance, in person or by correspondence study (program) and the period during which a person is working under a work-study  program.

DATES OF ATTENDANCE:
The period of time during which a student attends or attended an education agency or institution.  Examples include an academic year, a spring semester, or a first quarter. The term does not include specific daily records or a student's attendance pattern at the institution.

DISCLOSURE:  To permit access to, or the release, transfer, or other communication of, personally identifiable information contained in education records to any party, by any means, including oral, written, or electronic.

DIRECTORY INFORMATION:
Information contained in an education record of a student that generally would not be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. It includes, but is not limited to, the student's name, address, telephone listing, electronic mail address, photograph, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, enrollment status (i.e., undergraduate or graduate; full-time or part-time), participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, degrees, honors and awards received, and most recent education agency or institution attended.

NOTE: Items that can never be identified as directory information are a student's social security number, citizenship, gender, religious preference, grades, and GPA.

EDUCATION INSTITUTION (OR AGENCY):
Generally means any public or private agency or institution of post-secondary education that receives funds from any federal program under the administrative responsibility of the Secretary of Education. The term refers to the institution as a whole, including all of its components, i.e., schools and departments within the university or governing boards that provide administrative control or direction of the university system.

EDUCATIONAL RECORDS:
Those records directly related to a student and maintained by the institution or by a party acting for the institution.  The term "education records" does not include the following:

• Sole possession records or private notes held by school officials that are not accessible or released to other personnel;
• Law enforcement or campus security records that are solely for law enforcement purposes and maintained solely by the law enforcement unit;
• Employment records relating to individuals in attendance at an institution who are also employed by the institution as a result of their status as a student, i.e. work-study, graduate assistants;
• Records relating to treatment provided by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional and disclosed only to individuals providing treatment;
• Records of an institution which contain only information relating to a person after that person is no longer a student at the institution, i.e., alumni records.

ELIGIBLE STUDENT:
A student who has reached 18 years of age or is attending an institution of post-secondary education. 

ENROLLED STUDENT:
Refers to a student who has satisfied all of the institutional requirements for attendance at the institution. The Family Policy Compliance Office has stated that each institution may determine when a student is "in attendance" in accordance with its own enrollment procedures (Federal Register, July 6, 2000, p.41856). At the University of Utah, a student is considered "enrolled" after he or she registers for one or more University classes.

FAMILY POLICY COMPLIANCE OFFICE:
The office within the U.S. Department of Education that is responsible for
enforcing/administering the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended. This office has responsibility for FERPA at all levels of education, K-12 and
post-secondary.

INSTITUTION OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION:
An institution that provides education to students beyond the secondary school level. "Secondary school level" means the educational level (not beyond grade 12) at which secondary education is provided.

LAW ENFORCEMENT UNIT:
Any individual or other component of an institution, including commissioned police
officers and noncommissioned security guards, officially authorized by the institution to enforce any local, state, or federal law and to maintain the physical security and safety of the institution.

LAW ENFORCEMENT UNIT RECORDS:
Those records, files, documents, and other materials that are (1) created by a law
enforcement unit, (2) created for a law enforcement purpose, and (3) maintained by the law enforcement unit.

LEGITIMATE EDUCATIONAL INTEREST:
A demonstrated "need to know" by officials of an institution who act in the
student's educational interest, including faculty, administration, clerical and professional employees, and other persons, including student employees or agents, who manage student record information.  A school official has a legitimate educational interest if that official is performing a task that is specified in his/her position description, by a contract agreement, or is related to a student’s education or to the discipline of a student.  The official may also be providing a service or benefit to the student or student’s family, such as health care, counseling, job placement or financial aid.

PARENT:
Includes a natural parent, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or a guardian.

PERSONNALLY IDENTIFIABLE:
Data or information which include (1) the name of the student, the student's parent, or other family members; (2) the student's address; (3) a personal identifier such as a social security number or student number; or (4) a list of personal characteristics or other information which would make the student's identity easily traceable.

RECORDS:
Any information or data recorded in any medium, including handwriting, print, tapes, film, microfilm, microfiche, or any form of electronic data storage.

SCHOOL OFFICIALS:
Those members of an institution who act in the student's educational interest within the limitations of their "need to know." These may include faculty, administration, clerical and professional employees and other persons, including student employees or agents, who manage student education record information.

SOLE POSSESSION RECORDS:
Records that are kept in the sole possession of the maker and used only as a personal memory aid.  Sole possession records are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.

STUDENT:
Any individual for whom an education institution maintains education records. The term does not include an individual who has never attended the institution.

SUBPOENA:
A command from a court to require the person named in the subpoena to appear at a stated time and place to provide testimony or evidence. There are two main types of subpoenas: "duces tecum" which requires the production of documents, papers, or other tangibles and "ad testificandum" which requires a person to testify in a particular court case.