FERPA and Educational Records: What Every Employee

Transcript:FERPA and Educational Records: What Every Employee:
FERPA and Educational Records: What Every Employee Should Know In the Digital Age Eugene Whitlock, Vice Chancellor HR and General Counsel January 2018 Important note: This presentation is intended to give viewers general information about FERPA and to acquaint faculty and staff with some of the privacy issues surrounding students' educational records. It is not intended as nor is it a substitute for legal advice on any particular issue. What is FERPA? The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also known as FERPA, is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of education records and guarantees eligible students the following four rights: The right to inspect and review educational records The right to seek to amend education records The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent The right to file a complaint with the Department of Education against any institution for an alleged violation of their FERPA rights. The office that administers FERPA and investigates violations is the Family Policy Compliance Office, located in Washington, D.C. FERPA applies to the District because the colleges receive federal funds. 2 Who is protected by FERPA? All Eligible Students An eligible student is a student who is currently attending the college or who has previously attended the college. This includes students attending any educational program, whether credit, non-credit degree or non-degree. FERPA rights continue after the student leaves the institution and are only terminated upon written request or death. FERPA does not apply to applicants who have been denied admission or who were admitted but who have not actually been in attendance. 3 What are the basic rules? As a faculty or staff member you have access to Education Records only for legitimate use in the completion of your responsibilities as a university employee. “Need-to-know” is the basic principle. Education Records are confidential and may generally not be released without written consent of the student. You have a responsibility to protect education records in your possession. 4 What is an Education Record? Education Record An Education Record is any information that is directly related to a student and maintained in a central location by an institution (or party acting for the institution). Education Records may be in any form and include written documents, computer media, video or audio tape, photographs, and electronic