FERPA: AN OVERVI EW Bart Quinet Assist ant Provost and University Regist rar 1
FERPA OVERVI EW • Background • Key Concept s • Annual Not if icat ion • Educat ion Records • Public v. Privat e I nform at ion • Except ions • School Off icials • Rest raint of Public Disclosure • FERPA in YES • Let t ers of Recom mendat ion • FERPA and Access • Your Role as a Dat a Manager • Point s of I nt erest • Best Pract ices • Tools and Resources 2
FAMI LY EDUCATI ONAL RI GHTS AND PRI VACY ACT OF 1 9 7 4 • FERPA is a federal law designed t o: 1. Prot ect t he privacy of educat ion records 2. Est ablish t he right of st udent s t o inspect and review t heir educat ion records 3. Provide guidelines for t he correct ion of inaccurat e and m isleading dat a t hrough inform al and form al hearings • FERPA is enforced by t he Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Depart ment of Educat ion, Washingt on, D.C. 3
KEY CONCEPTS • St udent s’ right s t o access t heir educat ion records as out lined in t he Annual Not ificat ion of St udent Right s under FERPA • Educat ion record defined • Public vs. privat e informat ion • School Official defined • Requirement s for disclosure of st udent educat ion records • Except ions t o t hose requirement s as described in t he Vanderbilt St udent Privacy St at ement 4
ANNUAL NOTI FI CATI ON • Vanderbilt University provides t he Annual Not ificat ion of St udent Right s under FERPA t o st udent s t o inform t hem of t heir right t o: • inspect and review t heir educat ion records ( w it hin 45 days of a request ) ; • request an am endm ent t o t heir educat ion records; • request a hearing if t he request for an am endm ent is unsat isfact ory; • request t hat t he inst it ut ion not disclose t heir direct ory inform at ion; • f ile a com plaint w it h t he U.S. Depart m ent of Educat ion. 5
ANNUAL NOTI FI CATI ON ( CONT.) • I nforms st udent s of: • w hat t he crit eria are for det erm ining w ho w ill be considered school off icials; • w hat inform at ion from educat ion records school off icials w it hin t he inst it ut ion can obt ain w it hout obt aining prior w rit t en consent ; • exam ples of perm issible disclosure of educat ion records w it hout t he st udent ’s consent ; • w hat inform at ion t he inst it ut ion has designat ed as public or direct ory inform at ion. 6
EDUCATI ON RECORDS Educat ion records are defined as records t hat cont ain informat ion direct ly relat ed t o a st udent and t hat are maint ained by Vanderbilt or it s agent act ing on behalf of t he university. Education records include: Education records do not include: Graded papers Sole possession (lap drawer) records • • • Exams • Peer graded papers • Transcripts • Online forums (e.g., Brightspace chats) • Class list on your desktop • Law enforcement unit records • Student’s current class schedule • Medical records • Computer screen displaying student information • Records maintained by the Office of Alumni Relations • Database containing uniquely identifiable • Employment records (unless employment is based on student data student status) • Email containing information about a student 7
PUBLI C VS. PRI VATE I NFORMATI ON Direct ory/ public informat ion: I nformat ion cont ained in t he record w hich w ould not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. • At Vanderbilt , t his includes nam e, address, e-m ail address, phone num ber, m aj or, dat es of at t endance, adm ission or enrollm ent st at us, school, class st anding, degrees and aw ards, act ivit ies, sport s and at hlet ic inform at ion, st udent I D phot os, and t he m ost recent previous educat ional agency. • Disclosure of st udent direct ory informat ion is discret ionary. I nst it ut ions are not required t o release direct ory inform at ion. 8
PUBLI C VS. PRI VATE I NFORMATI ON Personally ident ifiable/ privat e informat ion: I nformat ion cont ained in t he record w hich w ould generally be considered more sensit ive or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. • At Vanderbilt , t his t his includes Social Securit y num ber, dat e of birt h, grades, hours com plet ed, GPA, current class schedule , parent nam e and address, race/ et hnicit y, gender, and count ry of cit izenship. • Personally ident if iable informat ion cont ained in t he educat ion record m ay not be released w it hout st udent consent . 9
EXCEPTI ONS: ACCESS TO STUDENT RECORDS • Legit imat e educat ional int erest / need t o know • School officials may require t he informat ion t o perform t heir dut ies. • Faculty are considered advisers w it h legit imat e educat ional need for t heir enrolled st udent s, t hose seeking t o enroll, or t hose t hey advise. • Law fully issued subpoenas • Various aut horized represent at ives of government ent it ies ( audit s or evaluat ion of educat ion programs, compliance w it h SEVI S, Solomon Amendment , et c.) • Parent s of dependent st udent s ( as claimed w it h t he I RS) • I nst it ut ions may release st udent informat ion w hen t here are healt h and safety concerns. Except ions for healt h concerns include serious communicable diseases, serious infect ious diseases, and suicidal ideat ion. I nformat ion released should be document ed. 10
SCHOOL OFFI CI ALS A school official is • a person em ployed by t he universit y in an adm inist rat ive, supervisory, academ ic, research, or support posit ion ( including law enforcem ent personnel and healt h st aff ) ; • a person or com pany w it h w hom t he universit y has cont ract ed ( at t orney, audit or, collect ion agent , t hird-part y vendor) ; • a person serving on t he Board of Trust ; • a st udent serving on an off icial com m it t ee ( e.g., Honor Council, St udent Conduct Council, a grievance com m it t ee) or assist ing a school off icial in com plet ing his or her t asks; • a st udent em ployed by t he universit y in a posit ion t hat requires access t o st udent records. 11
RESTRAI NT OF PUBLI C DI SCLOSURE • I f a st udent does not want her or his direct ory informat ion released t o any person ot her t han officials w it h legit imat e need, she or he may complet e and submit a rest rict ion form t o t he Office of t he University Regist rar. • This rest rict ion w ill also block informat ion from appearing in People Finder. • To remove t he rest rict ion, t he st udent must complet e a removal form and submit it t o t he Office of t he University Regist rar. 12
FERPA I N YES 13
COMPLETE RESTRI CTI ON AS VI EW ED I N YES 14
NO PARENTAL RELEASE AS VI EW ED I N YES 15
PARENTAL RELEASE AS VI EW ED I N YES 16
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATI ON • St at ement s made from personal observat ion or know ledge do not require w rit t en consent from t he st udent . • I f personally ident ifiable informat ion is included in t he let t er of recommendat ion ( e.g. grades, GPA) , t he w rit er is required t o obt ain w rit t en consent from t he st udent specifying: 1. That t he personally ident ifiable informat ion may be disclosed 2. The purpose of t he disclosure 3. To w hom t he disclosure may be made 17
FERPA AND ACCESS • Access t o st udent records at Vanderbilt is based on t he school official’s “ legit imat e need t o know.” • Technical measures are used t o rest rict dat a based on legit imat e need ( row-level security) . • Access t o t he Vanderbilt St udent I nformat ion Syst em ( PeopleSoft ) requires successful complet ion of t he FERPA Tut orial. • Access t o t he YES environment is assigned based on j ob role ( faculty, adviser, administ rat or, t echnical/ syst ems) . 18
YOUR ROLE AS A DATA MANAGER I f you handle st udent informat ion, you have a dat a management role. • Do you share st udent informat ion w it h int ernal or ext ernal individuals on behalf of t he university? • I s t he recipient of t hat inform at ion aw are of st udent privacy law s? • I s t he recipient a school off icial, and do t hey have a legit im at e need t o access t he inform at ion? • Are safe dat a-handling pract ices in place w hen sharing t he inform at ion? • Do you manage a depart ment syst em cont aining st udent informat ion? • Are users aw are of st udent privacy law s? • Have users t aken t he FERPA t ut orial? • Does t heir t raining include safe pract ices for handling dat a? 19
POI NTS OF I NTEREST • Direct ory exclusions do not give st udent s t he right t o remain anonymous in class or impede class communicat ion. • I nst it ut ions are now required t o use “ reasonable met hods” t o ensure t hat school officials ( including out side service providers) obt ain access t o only t hose educat ion records – paper and elect ronic – in w hich t hey have legit imat e educat ional int erest s ( role-based security) . • Biomet ric records have been added t o t he list of personal ident ifiers. • FERPA prohibit s t he use of t he Social Security number as an ident ificat ion element w hen disclosing or confirming direct ory informat ion. 20
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