FERPA: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act U.S. Department of Education FERPA: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act The Basics Protects the privacy of a student’s education record Gives parents certain rights related to their student's education records BUT these rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 OR attends a school beyond the high school level. (At UI this is at the first enrollment.) Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students.“

The Basics Schools generally must have written permission from the eligible student in order to release information from a student's education record. Many of a student’s official education records may be found in the UI student record system called MAUI standing for “Made at the University of Iowa” (and not to be confused with ICON or MyUI or . . .).

What information is on the student education record? This is academic information that is stored and maintained by the institution relating directly to one identifiable student; this information is shared within and across educational institutions. Examples Grade reports; various GPAs. Course schedules Progress toward degree; courses taken and courses needed; credit hours Advising notes/notes from other UI officials Registration information including holds High school information Other institutions attended Transfer credit and grades

The student’s directory information is not considered part of the student record protected by FERPA. However, students may restrict this information and then it may NOT be shared. At UI, directory information includes the following: Name, local and permanent address, local telephone number  Hometown and state E-mail address University of Iowa Hawk ID Programs of study (majors etc) and degree objective (BA, BS etc) Colleges enrolled in (CLAS, Business, Education) Dates of attendance (including current classification or year)   Full-time and part-time enrollment status

More UI Directory Information Most recent institution attended Scholarships but not the dollar amount and other awards or honors Degrees and awards earned Study Abroad participation without the location specified Job title, employing department, work phone number, and work address when employed in a position that requires student status Participation in University sponsored activities and sports

Students may restrict access to this directory information Except. . . for their names and email addresses. No student may be anonymous in class.

The student record page reveals directory information restrictions. These pages also remind viewers that the record contains non-directory information. Be careful! When in doubt, don’t!

Some parents have a “guest account,” giving them access to the student’s education record. This does not create a FERPA exception.

With the WRITTEN permission from the student, you may share the student’s education record. If you need this permission, ask your department for a FERPA information release form and make sure the student signs it before you share the student’s information. The form will say with whom this information can be shared and for how many days. Students sometime limit this time to one week or even one day, for example. Students may also find an electronic form by logging into their MyUI  account and by clicking the Student Information tab. Under the Student Life Management heading is the Academic Record Consent Form. This can be viewed electronically by those with access to MAUI.

What is an "eligible" student? Does this eligibility end? FERPA protects an eligible student’s education record and allows a student to view and correct it. What is an "eligible" student? Does this eligibility end?

What is considered part of the education record at UI? An exam with the student’s ID number on it? The student’s position on the hockey team? The student’s standing in University Honors or in Honors in the Major? A student’s major? A list of students in your class? A student’s arrest for drunk driving? Notes you take about your conversation with a student during office hours? A note from a doctor that a student shares with you showing that the student was sick during an exam? A student’s high school GPA?

When communicating with students over the phone, protect the student’s privacy by verifying the identity of the other person. Yes, we have had parents pretending to be their student in order to have access to the education record! Ask the speaker their Name, HawkID, UI ID number. Only communicate by email using the student’s UI address Example: john-doe@uiowa.edu. This is UI policy. By using the University email, the student and only the student can redirect the email from this alias to his or her preferred email address.

We need WRITTEN permission from the eligible student in order to release information from a student's education record. Except . . . in certain situations.

Some FERPA exceptions do not relate directly to instruction or to the faculty such as exceptions related to financial aid; to institutional accreditation; or for legal reasons. We will skip these exceptions.

Instructors must know the two exceptions below and when to use them. FERPA allows schools to disclose records, without written consent, when School officials have a legitimate educational interest to do so and When appropriate officials are dealing with issues related to health and safety emergencies.

Instructors are considered school officials Instructors are considered school officials. What is considered “legitimate”? Do you need the information to carry out your duties? Will it be used in an appropriate way? “Reasonable Person Test”

Safety and Emergencies Information must be shared only with a person who can assist the student. Information may be shared with Parents, Health Providers, Police & Security, Spouse, others providing safety assistance. Mandatory reporting policies overrule FERPA policies. Student safety matters more than possible FERPA violations.

What is a legitimate reason? Examples? What is a health and safety emergency?

You want to assign students to small study groups that will meet outside of class. Can you share student’s first and last names and UI email addresses with the class? What if two class members have restricted this directory information?

Your department gives out undergraduate awards and two students are voting members of the official committee making decisions about this year’s winners. Can the students review peers’ academic records without those students’ consent?

A student wants you to write a letter of recommendation A student wants you to write a letter of recommendation. You need to mention her GPA and grades earned in your courses. During a meeting, she tells you that is fine (she is an A+ student!) and you write the letter. Would this violate FERPA?

A father calls and wants to discuss the reasons his student has failed two exams in your class. He has a MAUI student record “Guest Account” and sees his student’s grades. He is paying the student’s tuition and he says the student is his dependent and he has a right to this information. What should you do?

You have a high school student in your math class who is only 13 You have a high school student in your math class who is only 13. Can you talk to the parents about the student’s academic progress without the student’s consent ?

You are cleaning out your office and getting rid of materials you do not need to keep. This includes some older newspapers, exams, past class lists, some advising notes, and some transcripts you printed out to use while mentoring students. You put all of these in one of the big blue recycling bins. Is this a problem?

You have access to the MAUI student record system You have access to the MAUI student record system. One of your students in your class is struggling academically and seems depressed. You hope the student record will show you why the student is having a hard time and how you can help. Then you wonder if this is a FERPA issue. Is it?

You like to share essays written by your current students so that the whole class can see some excellent examples of a completed assignment. You post these online after removing the students’ names and ID numbers. You post the essays at your ICON course site and direct students to read them for a class discussion the next day. Then you remember FERPA. Did you make a mistake?

Is your FERPA compliance up to date. Find out Is your FERPA compliance up to date? Find out. Go to UI Employee Self-Service and then to your Learning and Development box. Choose My Training and then in the top banner of the next page, My Compliances.

Why Does Compliance Matter? The University Operations manual states: “Accessing restricted data without permission or need to know is prohibited.” Violating this policy could leave the University open to a lawsuit and could contribute to the dismissal of the individual who violates the policy. It could also affect federal funds to the University.