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Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): Quick Reference For Faculty
- Private notes of a faculty/staff member concerning a student and intended for the faculty/staff member's own use are not part of the student's educational record, provided they are kept separate from the student's educational records. Only those individual student records that are necessary to fulfill professional responsibilities should be kept.
- Requests for information from the educational record custodian must not be made without a legitimate educational interest and the appropriate authority to do so.
- Student scores or grades may not be displayed publicly in association with names, social security numbers or other personal identifiers. Some other code known only to the instructor and the individual student may be used to post grades/scores.
- All papers or lab reports containing student names and grades should be secured. Students should not have access to the scores and grades of others in the class.
- Factual information regarding grades and performance in an educational record may be amended when the student is able to provide valid documentation that information is inaccurate or misleading. See College Catalog
- Under Academic Standards for Appeals and student Grievance and Matriculation standards for waivers and challenges.
- Student educational record information is not to be shared, including grades or grade point averages, with other faculty or staff members of the College unless their official responsibilities identify their "legitimate educational interest" in that information for that student.
- Information from student educational records, including grades, grade point averages, and letters of recommendation should not be shared by phone or correspondence with parents or other parties outside the institution, without written permission from the student.
- Information from medical, psychiatric, or psychological reports; records from law enforcement officials on or off the campus; or notes of a professional or staff person which are intended for that individual alone are not to be included in a student's educational records or made available to him/her, or to a third party.
- FERPA enforcement may include sanctions as severe as the withholding of federal funding. Civil litigation against individuals for alleged FERPA violations is also possible.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on FERPA regulations please contact the Office of the Vice President of Student Services (408) 741-2020 or Admissions and Records 408 741 2002 or visit the federal website.
U.S. Department of Education FERPA website ^
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/
FERPA: Basic Guidelines for Faculty and Staff
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/FERPA-Overview.htm
