THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act enacted into law on January 1, 1975, is an extremely complex regulatory program designed to protect the privacy of students.  The following outlines a few basic guidelines with which advisors should be familiar.

 

1.  With a few exceptions, information contained in a student’s record may not be released without the student’s written consent.  Exceptions included:

  • Use by college officials for official purposes
  • Use by officials at other universities for admission purposes
  • In a health or safety emergengcy
  • Release to the parents of a dependent student

 

2.   A student has the right to see all information contained in his/her records. Exceptions include:

  • References inthe record to which a waiver of right of access has been given
  • References that were placed in the record prior to January 1, 1975

 

3.   Directory information, which includes, but is not limited to:  confirmation of enrollment or admittance; a student’s name, home and campus address and phone numbers; verification of student’s signature; e-mail address; parents’ names and addresses; date and place of birth; major and minor fields of study; classification; full/part-time status; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; dates of attendance; degrees, honors and awards received; photograph; and names and dates of attendance at other educational institutions may be released without a student’s consent.  The student has the right to object to the designation of the types of information listed above as “Directory Information” by giving a no-release notice to the College on or before published deadlines in August of each year. 

4.  A student has the right to a hearing to challenge the content of the record to insure that it is not inaccurate or misleading.

 

5.  FERPA protects only students.  An applicant for admission who never enrolls is not protected under this law.

 

FERPA is a FEDERAL LAW.  Beyond directory information, no personal or academic information about a student should ever be given out without the student’s written consent.  That means that students and parents who call and request information over the telephone should be informed that giving such information over the phone is in violation of federal law.

 

 



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