FERPA Friday February 24th, 2023
What is FERPA Friday?
FERPA Friday will be a new installation that will cover FERPA related topics to help faculty, staff and students better understand the rules and regulations. There will also be a question-and-answer section that pertains to that week’s topic, along with a real-life example to help with context. If you have any suggestions of topics that you would like to have covered, please email ferpa@wm.edu.
What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a federal law that affords students certain rights with respect to their education records and defines situations in which the university may release information from student records with student consent. These rights transfer from the parents to the student when either the student turns eighteen years old or enters a postsecondary educational institution, regardless of age.
Rights afforded to students under FERPA include:
- The right to inspect and review their education records with 45 days after the day the university receives a request for access.
- The right to request the amendment of an element of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
- The right to provide written consent before the university discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the university to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
*For an in-depth analysis of FERPA with frequently asked questions click here.*
Quiz Question
True or False?
FERPA regulations do not apply to most dual credit high school students, as they are under the age of 18.
Answer:FALSE: Parental rights transfer to the student upon attending a school beyond secondary level regardless of age. |
Did you Know?
Education records are files, documents and materials that are:
- Directly related to a student
- “Personally identifiable” to the student
- “Maintained” in any capacity by the institution
Personally identifiable information of a student would include:
- Social Security Numbers, Banner IDs, biometric records
- Indirect identifiers such as Birth date & place, or mother’s maiden name
- Any information alone or in combination that would be able to link a specific student and allow a person to identify that student (Home Address, Phone Number etc.)
Education Records do not exist as a single file. Records can be created by any W&M department or employee, and maintained in physical files, on software systems, email exchange between faculty/staff and students, and other means of maintenance/storage.
Examples of education records include, but are not limited to:
- Graded materials
- Class rosters
- Individual students’ class schedules
- Financial aid records
- Archived transcripts stored on microfilm
- Conduct hearing notes
- Correspondence between faculty and students
If you have any questions regarding a FERPA related matter, or suggestions that you would like to see on a future FERPA Friday please email ferpa@wm.edu.
