FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. Specifically, it affords students the right to:

Inspect and review their educational records
Request amendment of inaccurate or misleading records
Consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) contained in their education records
File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Queensborough Community College to comply with this law

Please see CUNY's Guidelines for the Implementation of the Student Records Access Policy and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Notification of Rights Under FERPA and Directory Information

Forms

The following attached documents should be used to request access to student records under FERPA:

The City University of New York Notification of Student Rights Concerning Education Records and Directory Information (Attachment A)
FERPA Release Form Permission for Access to Educational Records (Attachment B)
Directory Information Non-Disclosure Form (Attachment C)
College Denial of Appeal for Access to Records (Attachment D)
FERPA Appeal to the General Counsel and Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs (Attachment E)

FERPA Forms

Information for Students, Faculty and Staff

FERPA 101*

What is protected under FERPA?

FERPA protects education records of students who are or have been in attendance in postsecondary institutions.
FERPA does not protect records of applicants who did not attend that institution.

What is a student Education record?

A student education record consists of information about a student which is maintained by any employee, department, school, or the university/college for use in the educational process and includes, but is not limited to:

personal information
enrollment records
grades
schedules
financial records
emails to, from, or about a student

Information contained in a student education record may be found in different storage media such as:

a document
a hard copy computer printout
a computer display screen
handwritten notes
a photograph, film, or video

A student education record does not include:

alumni records
medical treatment records
personal notes to which only the maker of the notes has access
work records, unless the individual's employment is dependent on being a student

What are the basic rules?

Student education records are considered confidential and may not be released without the written consent of the student.
As a faculty, administrator, or staff member you have a responsibility to protect all items contained in an education record of a student.
You have access to student education records and the information contained therein only for legitimate use in completion of your responsibilities as a college employee. Need to know is the basic principle.
Some personally identifying information regarding a student is considered "directory information." This information may be released without the student's written permission, and is usually done through the Office of the Registrar. Students may choose to consider this information confidential by filing a Request to Withhold Disclosure of Directory Information with the Office of the Registrar.
At QCC, directory information includes name, dates of attendance (semesters and sessions, not daily records), class, previous institution(s) attended, major field of study, full or part-time status, degree(s) conferred (including dates), honors and awards, past and present participation in officially recognized activities. Addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone number are also considered directory information, but for internal purposes only, and may only be released to employees of the University and its constituent colleges for the purpose of conducting legitimate University business. They may not be shared with individuals and organizations outside the University.
Always refer requests for student information to the Office of The Registrar.

To avoid violations of FERPA, DO NOT:

Publicly disclose the name of a student and that student's social security number, University ID number. Illustrations of how these rules may be violated include:
Using social security number or University/college ID number of a student in a public posting of grades
Leaving graded tests in a stack for students to pick up by sorting through the papers of all students
Circulating a printed class list with student name and ID numbers, or grades as an attendance roster.
Discuss the progress of any student with anyone other than the student (including parents) without the consent of the student
Provide anyone with lists of students enrolled in your classes for any commercial purpose
Provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than university employees in finding a student on campus
Submit a student's paper to an anti-plagiarism service without first removing the student's name, ID number, or any other personally identifiable information

*FERPA 101 courtesy of the College of Staten Island