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ONLINE FERPA GUIDE
Parents requesting information. Crisis situations/emergencies. Who to contact with questions/concerns.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, is a federal law that sets forth requirements regarding the privacy of student records. FERPA governs the release of records maintained by an educational institution and access to those records. Institutions that receive funds administered by the Federal Office of Education are bound by FERPA requirements and failure to comply may result in the loss of federal funding.
Under FERPA, education records are defined as records that are directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency, institution, or party acting for the agency or institution. Education records can exist in any medium, including, but not limited to, typewritten, hand-written, computer generated, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche, and email.
Education records do not include:
The University of Utah may not disclose information contained in education records without the student’s consent, except under certain limited conditions. For example, the University may disclose what is considered to be “directory” information unless the student has restricted disclosure of such information with the Registrar’s Office.
Directory information at the University of Utah is defined as:
If the student has restricted the disclosure of directory information, a privacy restriction will appear on the student’s academic record. In the University’s computer database, this FERPA icon is located in the top right corner of selected panels (screens) and looks like a window shade.
In addition, the University can release information to a school official if it can be determined that the individual has a legitimate educational interest, i.e. if the official is performing a task that is specified in his/her job description, by contract agreement, is related to a student's education, or to the discipline of a student. Faculty members do not have access to student academic records unless their normal job duties specifically require access.
The public posting of grades by the student's name, student identification number, or social security number is a violation of FERPA. This includes the posting of grades to a class website and applies to any public posting of grades for students taking distance education courses. Even without the name, using a student I.D. number or any part of a social security number in relation to the posting of grades violates FERPA, as the information may be personally identifiable to the student. Instructors can use code words or randomly assigned numbers that only the instructor and individual student know. Even then, the posting of grades should not be in alphabetical order. Faculty who wish to send grades to students via e-mail need to be extremely careful with this distribution process. An inadvertent and unauthorized release of grades to someone other than the student would be a violation of FERPA.
Assignments and papers that contain "personally identifiable" information should not be distributed to the student in a way that would allow other students to view the information. Graded papers should not be left unattended in an office or classroom for students to sort through or returned to students via another student. Both of these examples are a violation of FERPA. A possible solution would be to leave the exams, quizzes, etc. with an assistant or secretary who requests proper identification prior to distributing the information to the student.
PARENTS REQUESTING INFORMATION When a student reaches the age of 18 or begins attending a post secondary institution, regardless of age, FERPA rights transfer to the student. Concerns such as progress in a course, deficiencies in a subject area, scores and grades on papers, exams, etc. are all examples of personally identifiable information that constitute part of the student's education record. This information is protected under FERPA and parents may not have access unless (1) the student provides written authorization that specifically identifies what information may be released to the parent(s) or (2) the parent(s) establish that the student is a dependent according to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 152.
If non-directory information is needed to resolve a crisis or emergency situation, an education institution may release that information if the institution determines that the information is "necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals." Factors considered in making this assessment are: the severity of the threat to the health or safety of those involved; the need for the information; the time required to deal with the emergency; and the ability of the parties to whom the information is to be given to deal with the emergency. Requests of this nature should be directed to the Office of the Registrar, 581-5808 or to the Office of General Counsel, 585-7002.
Written permission from the student is required for a letter of recommendation if any information included in the recommendation is part of the "education record" (courses taken, grades, GPA and other non-directory information). The signed release must specify the records to be disclosed, the purpose of the disclosure and the party to whom the disclosure can be made. If the letter of recommendation is kept on file by the person writing the recommendation, then it becomes part of the student’s education record and the student has the right to read it unless he/she has specifically waived that right of access. The only time a written release from the student is not required is if the recommendation will be based solely upon personal acquaintance/observation with the student and the letter will not contain any information derived from educational records concerning the student’s participation, performance or academic achievement in school. For your convenience, a sample release form for letters of recommendation has been included.
WHO TO CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS/CONCERNS Any questions concerning FERPA may be directed to:
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