FERPA Friday March 10th, 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.

How to Properly share or disclose a student's education records?

For Students:

If a student wishes to inspect/review his or her education records, they have the right to do so under FERPA. The student should fill out a Request To Inspect Education Records form which can be found here.
Completed request forms are submitted/emailed to the Office of the University Registrar at ferpa@wm.edu.
The University Registrar’s Office will have 45 days from the day after the Request to Inspect Education Records form is submitted to review and notify the student of the time and place where they may inspect their records.

For Families/Outside Parties:

Families are considered a "third party" and do not have a right to student information and education records, regardless of the student's age. W&M school officials may discuss general information, but not the specifics of a particular student.

General information can include:

Open courses for the upcoming term
Admissions deadlines and requirements
Major requirements as defined by the catalog
The financial aid process, forms and requirements
How to navigate W&M's website for more information

*As a "rule of thumb" if a W&M school official must look a student up in a system (ex: Banner) they are not dealing with general information and should not share. *

Any caller requesting information about a student should be directed to:

Dean of Students Office – to assist families with health and safety emergencies; where students provide permission for office to discuss academic and student conduct with families; where students can grant families proxy access to view student info through their my.wm account.

University Registrar's Office – process requests for access to education records.

University Counsel - all legal matters, including subpoenas, all court orders, and powers of attorney

What to do if you or someone else has inadvertently disclosed a student's education records?

If a student files a complaint citing FERPA infractions, or if an administrator or faculty member realizes they have disclosed a student’s information improperly please contact the Office of the University Registrar so they may be aware of the situation and involve the necessary legal personnel depending on the severity of the circumstances.
In the case of a compliant or inadvertently disclosed information, please reach out to the parties who received said information and ask them to destroy/delete and not share any documents that they may have received in error.
If the Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) is involved, the institution will have to show steps taken to remedy the infraction and put better practices into motion (i.e. updating policies & procedures) to make sure it does not happen in the future.

*NOTE: If you are uncertain if you have inadvertently disclosed a student’s education record, please DO NOT hesitate to contact the Office of the University Registrar or W&M Legal Counsel, as they can help determine if an infraction has indeed occurred and guide you through the process to amend the situation. *

Case Study for Disclosing Student Education Records

Shonda is an undergraduate student, majoring in physics. Her parents want to know how Shonda is doing in her major courses, so they call the physics department to find out about her class attendance and midterm grades. How should the physics department respond?

The physics department cannot share attendance or grade information with Shonda's family because this information is part of her education record. However, the Dean of Students office is authorized to engage with families, and the physics department should direct Shonda's family to this office.

Shonda can file permission with the Dean of Students office, allowing the office to discuss Shonda's academic and student conduct records with her family. Shonda can also grant her family proxy access to view student information in her my.wm account.

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.