What is FERPA?? How does it affect my course? Distance Education Information Session Wednesday, August 27, 2014 What is FERPA?? How does it affect my course?

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 1974 Federal law giving students rights in their “education records.” Right of Privacy: education records may not be disclosed without consent absent certain exceptions Access: may review education records on request Other factors are in play as well Our own policies State privacy law Other federal laws (e.g. HIPAA for medical records)

THE BIG PICTURE Many reasons to be careful about privacy But don’t let it keep you from doing your job Weigh FERPA and other privacy considerations against factors in favor of disclosure

Important Terms Education Records Directory Information

What is an Education Record? Documents maintained by the institution and its representatives in any format that is personally identifiable (PII) to the student. What is Directory Information? Information contained in an education record of a student that is not generally considered harmful or an invasion of the student’s privacy if closed How does the Extension School define Directory Information? Name, date of birth, dates of enrollment, e-mail address, and enrollment status. The following information also is considered directory information for degree and diploma candidates: degree or diploma program; area of concentration; field of study; Harvard University ID image; academic honors; prior degrees and schools attended; and expected or actual date of graduation. Race, gender, Social Security Number, grades, GPA ,country of citizenship, and religion cannot be considered directory information and may not be disclosed to a third party (including parents, partners, spouses unless permitted by law)

FERPA and the Classroom   Students Cannot be anonymous in the classroom Student information is confidential and may be discussed and shared only with the student regardless of the student’s age. Online Services www.extension.Harvard.edu Faculty and TA website Course Management Class email Social Media Social media guidelines Outside resources and third party vendors (Pearson etc.) Mobile apps Web-based tools (Moodle Piazza etc.) Grades Confidentiality of academic information Surroundings

Special Considerations for Faculty To avoid FERPA violations, do not: post student grades in a public area using any part of the students’ SSNs or ID. post student grades online in an unauthenticated area. leave graded materials for students to pick up by sorting through the materials of all students. circulate a printed class list with the student name and SSN or grades as an attendance roster. discuss the progress of any student with anyone other than the student (including parents) without the student’s prior consent. provide anyone with list of your students for any commercial purpose provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than University officials.

Resources Tutorials Faculty Handbook - Online Services University of Maryland www.sis.umd.edu/ferpa/ University of Southern California, https://ferpa.usc.edu Faculty Handbook - Online Services www.extension.Harvard.edu Questions??? Call or send email. Homa Alasti assistant registrar for academic services homa_alasti@harvard.edu 617-495-7928 Brenda Mahoney associate registrar for academic services brenda_mahoney@harvard.edu 617-495-7928