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FERPA Compliance and Bb
STUDENT'S RIGHTS
"The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law designed to protect the privacy of a student's education records. The law applies to all schools which receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education."
Because of the wording of the act, which originated in 1974 and did not envision the internet, all computer files and records in courses using WebCT, Blackboard, or other online components are considered educational records protected by the act. Also, since FERPA does not allow disclosure of information as to whether a particular student is enrolled in a given course, faculty may not allow those without a legitimate education interest in a student access to any data in a course with an online component that contains personally identifiable information.
What this means in practice is that students have the right to expect that any material they submit in a course with an online component, as well as their names and other identifying information, will not be viewable by guests or other individuals permitted access to the course. The exception to this is cases in which students have given written, signed consent. (Verbal consent or email is insufficient.)
Additionally, students who have selected to have their directory information (information that the University can normally release) restricted may ask to their name withheld from other members of the course. Legally and ethically, such requests must be taken seriously and honored.
The
Registrar's Office has primary
responsibility for ensuring FERPA
compliance, but the law requires
all faculty and staff to treat
students' educational records
in accordance with FERPA in order
to ensure student records remain
secure.
To
ensure
your
handling
of
student
record
information
is
FERPA
compliant
and
safeguards
the
confidentiality
of
this
information,
DO
NOT
- Provide
access to your course site to
anyone other than a student
enrolled in the course or a
University employee who needs
access to the course site to
perform his or her responsibilities.
- Publicly
display the class roster list.
- Share a student's work on the course site with any others beyond the other students in that class or those employees with access to a course site without the express written permission of that student.
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