FERPA for Faculty: Home

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (also known as FERPA) is federal legislation that provides certain rights for parents regarding their children’s education records. When a student reaches 18 years of age or attends an institution of postsecondary education at any age, the student becomes an “eligible student,” and all rights under FERPA transfer from the
parent to the student.  Eligible students have the right to access their own educational records as well as as the right to limit, for privacy reasons, the release of those same records to anyone other than the student and/or the student’s designee. FERPA applies to all current and former students of NYSMDA.

• Right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of a request
• Right to request an amendment of the education records that the student believes is inaccurate or misleading or in violation of the student’s privacy rights
• Right to provide written consent to disclose personally identifiable information from their records
• Right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by NYSMDA to comply with FERPA requirements

•  Grades
•  Test Scores
•  I.D. Numbers or Social Security Numbers
•  Financial Records
•  Disciplinary Records
•  Class Schedule

•  Circulating a printed class list with student name and Student ID number or grades as an attendance roster.
•  Discussing the progress of any student with anyone other than the student without the consent of the student (e.g. parents, employers, other students).
•  Providing anyone with lists of students enrolled in your classes for any commercial purpose.
•  Providing anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than school employees in finding a student on campus.
•  Giving out directory information about a student who has requested confidentiality.
•  Re-disclosing confidential information to a third party without authorization.
•  Including personally identifiable information about student “A” in student “B’s” record without student A’s permission.
•  Including FERPA protected information in a letter of reference without the student’s written permission (this includes the student’s GPA or grade in your class).

To avoid FERPA “Danger Zones” related to the posting of grades, MAKE SURE TO:

•  Never leave graded tests in a stack for students to pick up by sorting through the papers of all students. You may leave them with another faculty or staff member to give out to the student and you may place each test in a sealed envelope with the student’s name on it.
•  Never require students to use social security numbers, student ID numbers, birthdays, phone numbers, auto tag numbers, or derivatives of those numbers. Use a pin number that only the professor and the student know.
•  Never link the name of a student with that student's ID number in any public manner.
•  Never post the grades, even if coded, in alphabetical order or any other recognizable order.
•  Post grades only for students who have given written consent for such a posting.
•  Never mail grades to students UNLESS consent is received and a self-addressed envelope (no post cards) is supplied by the student.
•  Use e-mail as a last resort. While emailing grades is permissible under FERPA, the Department of Ed has ruled that an institution will be held responsible for a violation if any unauthorized individual sees the grade via your electronic transmission.
•  If you are giving out grades or other FERPA protected information over the phone, make sure that the person you are speaking to is your student. Ask questions that only the student could answer, such as the name of the course, an example of an assignment from the course, or questions that were on the final exam.

Contents of this guide adapted with the permission of the Eastern Michigan University Office of Records and Registrations from FERPA at a Glance: A Guide for Faculty.