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FERPA Defined
FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It’s a federal law that protects education records and gives students certain rights to access those records.
Northwestern University must comply with FERPA or financial or other penalties may occur. It is important that University officials like faculty and staff know what information is protected under FERPA, and when that information may be shared and with whom.
Three Student Rights
There are three main rights granted to eligible students under FERPA. Students have rights to:
- inspect and review their records,
- seek amendment of their records if they think something is inaccurate, and
- control disclosure of their education records.
Education records include all information that:
- is directly related to a student AND
- is maintained by an educational institution.
This covers pretty much everything student-related that’s recorded somehow – on paper or electronically – and identifies students personally.
Inspect and Review
Students have the right to inspect and review their education records maintained by the University. Requests to review their records must be honored within 45 days.
Seek Amendment
If students find information in their records they believe to be inaccurate, they have the right to seek amendment to their own records.
Control Disclosure
The third right granted to eligible students under FERPA is the right to control disclosure of their education record information.
Most of the time student education records are confidential. If a student provides written consent, education record information may be disclosed to a third party (that is, someone outside of the University). But even with written consent, FERPA does not require that education record information is disclosed to anyone other than the students themselves. FERPA tells us when we may and when we must not release information.
Exceptions
There are exceptions that allow for release of protected information without written consent. The ones most faculty and staff need to be familiar with are:
- Requests from University officials with legitimate educational interest
- Requests due to health or safety emergencies
- Requests from parents or guardians who provide proof of dependency for tax purposes
- Requests for directory information.
University Officials
Under FERPA, education record information may be shared among Northwestern officials like faculty, administrators, or staff members, when they have a legitimate educational interest. For example, a faculty advisor might access a student’s grades to aid in advising.
It is often necessary to share education record information among faculty and staff members at the University, and as long as there is a legitimate educational interest, written consent does not need to be obtained from students.
Health or Safety Emergencies
If an emergency exists that poses a threat to a student or others, information may be shared without written consent. FERPA says to share only what is necessary, and only with appropriate individuals (like the police).
Parents or Guardians
Parents of college students have no general right to see their children’s records, even if the students are minors. If parents provide proof of dependency for tax purposes, FERPA says University officials may share student education record information with them; but FERPA does not require sharing protected information with parents even if they produce documentation. And in many cases, parents who request education record information are encouraged to speak to their son or daughter directly.
Directory Information
Directory Information is part of the education record, but it is considered public, and therefore may be shared with people outside the University without written consent. Some examples of Directory Information at the University are:
- Name
- Address and telephone number
- Email address
- School or college
- Enrollment status
Students can restrict the sharing of their Directory Information with anyone other than University officials. This is called a FERPA Hold, or flagging directory information.
There are other uncommon exceptions when protected information may be shared without written consent, for example student records may be subpoenaed by a judge. Requests like these require expert-level review by the Office of General Counsel or the Office of the Registrar.
Summary
To review, FERPA gives students rights to inspect, review and seek amendment to their education records. In general, their records are confidential unless they provide written consent. However, FERPA provides for a number of exceptions which allow for access to records without written consent, like University officials with legitimate educational interest, health or safety emergencies, parents or guardians with proof of tax dependency or directory information.
FERPA never says we must disclose information even with written consent; it just identifies situations in which we may or must not.
How to Comply
Some simple ways to comply with FERPA are:
- Don’t share student education record information without written consent of the student, unless a special exception exists.
- Before sharing Directory Information with third parties, check to see if the student’s information is flagged.
- If student record information is disclosed to a third party (because of a special exception), document the request and the disclosure and maintain this documentation with the relevant record.
- Take care to ensure education records are secure.