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50

academic, career, and personal development. The student and the faculty

advisor have a shared responsibility in this advising process.

IV.A.4. FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), once referred to as the

Buckley Amendment, is the legislation which determines policy for confidentiality and student

privacy in advising. It applies to student records after 1/1/75.

Under the Act, students have the right to see their permanent academic records, with the

following exceptions: security records; health and counseling records; confidential letters of

recommendation or other confidential evaluations (where students have waived the right of

inspection); parents’ confidential statements and income tax returns; and personal notes made by

advisors, faculty members, and administrative personnel.—

Advisors should remove personal

notes from advising folders when they are forwarded to a new advisor or permanently

transferred when students leave campus; otherwise, these notes become part of the official

record that students have a right to inspect.

FERPA also restricts access to and disclosure of information from a student’s educational record

without the written consent of the student, except in certain instances permitted under the Act.

Data considered “Directory Information” may be disclosed without prior written consent, unless

a student notifies the Records Office to restrict release of that information.

Although in no sense a substitute for legal advice on particular issues, the list below offers some

guidelines for advisors’ and faculty members’ compliance with the Act:

In general, parents, spouses, and their relations do not have a right to information

contained in a student’s educational record. Many students, though, will allow

their parents or guardians the right to these records. Advisors may check with the

Records Office to see if a student has signed a form to this effect. Nevertheless, it

is advisable not to release information over the phone since it is difficult to

confirm a caller’s identity. If the need to discuss confidential information arises,

suggest a personal meeting instead of a phone conversation.

Students’ scores or grades should not be displayed publicly. Even with names

obscured, numeric student identifiers are considered personally identifiable

information and must not be used. Grades, transcripts, or degree audits

distributed for purposes of advising should not be placed in plain view in open

mailboxes located in public places.

Graded papers or tests should not be left unattended on a desk in plain view in a public

area, nor should students sort through them in order to retrieve their own work.

Class rosters, grade sheets, and other reports should be handled in a confidential manner

and the information contained on them should not be disclosed to third parties.