Office of the University Registrar Ferpa and hb1 Office of the University Registrar

What is FERPA? FERPA is an acronym for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (also referred to as the Buckley Amendment) and is a federal law designed to: Protect the privacy of student education records. Establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records. Provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate and misleading information.

What is house bill 1 (HB1)? Enacted as Code of Virginia§23.1-405(C) on July 1, 2018. Purpose is to protect student privacy. Schools may no longer release a student’s mailing address, email address, or phone number to 3rd parties without “affirmative consent” under the directory information exception of FERPA.

Accessing student contact information All Mason employees, including faculty, staff, student workers, or contractors doing work on the behalf of Mason can continue to access student contact information in the course of fulfilling their necessary job duties and responsibilities. Student contact information can be accessed through systems such as Banner, Patriot Web, and Blackboard, to perform required job tasks.

Impact at mason No student’s mailing address, email address, or phone number may be shared with 3rd parties (including other students), unless the student has provided affirmative consent. Students may still voluntarily share their mailing address, email address, or phone number with other students.

Impact at mason Examples: Departmental websites must remove student contact information until the student affirmatively consents. Faculty and staff cannot disclose student emails to other students and should BCC all group emails. Online student directories, such as PeopleFinder, may no longer display a student’s mailing address, email address, or phone number, unless the student “opts-in”.

Communication and Outreach The Office of the University Registrar will hold a total of 9 Open Forums, at various dates and times The Office of the University Registrar will document and address the concerns of faculty and staff, and take them into consideration regarding compliance with Code of Virginia§23.1-405(C) Mason anticipates the removal of student email addresses from PeopleFinder and Office 365 (Mason Live) directories between October 15 and November 1

Training and contact information Attend a FERPA Training Session for a comprehensive understanding policies and guidelines related to FERPA and the new Code of Virginia§23.1-405(C). Available online and in-person. Visit ferpa.gmu.edu for sign-up information. Direct all questions to the Office of the University Registrar, FERPA Compliance Office at: ferpa@gmu.edu