FERPA Basics for Students

What is FERPA?

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, is designed to protect the privacy of students' education records and personally identifiable information. This federal law spells out the rights of students and the responsibilities of educational institutions.

FERPA Regulations

FERPA Annual Notification of Student Rights 

What rights do students have under FERPA?

• The right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of their request
• The right to request an amendment to their education records
• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in their education records
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures to comply with FERPA

What is directory information?

Institutions may disclose the following information on a student without violating FERPA if the student has not restricted their information

• Student’s name
• E-mail address
• Local and home address
• Local and home telephone number
• Major and field of study
• Enrollment status and credit hour load (e.g., undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time)
• Classification
• Dates of attendance
• Degrees, honors, and awards received
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Position, weight, height, and photograph of student athletes

What is a restricted directory?

Students have the right to restrict disclosure of personally identifiable information the University has designated as directory information that may be released without the written consent of the student.

Restricted records cannot be released without the written permission of the student. This permission must be signed and dated, specify the records to be disclosed, state the purpose of the disclosure, and identify the party or parties to whom the disclosure may be made.

There are exceptions to the consent to disclosure requirement. Please see the following Web site for further details: http://www.purdue.edu/policies/records/viiia4.html

What is personally identifiable information?

Personally identifiable information includes, but is not limited to:

• student name
• name of student's parent or other family member
• address of the student or the student's family
• a personal identifier (PUID, SID, SSN)
• biometric record
• other indirect indicators (birth date, place of birth, mother's maiden name)
• other information alone or in combination that would make the student's identity easily traceable

Public Posting of Grades

The public posting of grades, either by the student's name, institutional student identification number, or social security number is a violation of FERPA. Using an assigned random number that only the student and instructor know would be an appropriate way to post grades. Even then, the order of posting should not be alphabetic.

What are education records?

An education record is any record that is directly related to a student and maintained by the university. A student has the right of access to these records.

Education records include any records in whatever medium (handwritten, email, print, magnetic tape, film, diskette, etc.) that is in the possession of any school official. This includes transcripts or other records obtained from a school in which a student was previously enrolled.

What aren't education records?

• sole possession records or private notes held by school officials that are not accessible or released to other personnel,
• law enforcement or campus security records that are solely for law enforcement purposes and maintained solely by the law enforcement unit,
• records relating solely to an individual's employment by the institution that are not available for any other purpose,
• records relating to treatment provided by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other recognized professional or paraprofessional and disclosed only to individuals providing treatment,
• records of an institution that contain only information about an individual obtained after that person is no longer a student, i.e., alumni records,
• grades on peer-graded papers that have not been collected and recorded.

Letters of Recommendation

Statements made by a person making a recommendation that are made from that person's own observation or knowledge do not require a written release from the student who is the subject of the recommendation. However, if personally identifiable information obtained from a student's education record is included in a letter of recommendation (grades, GPA, etc.), the writer is required to obtain a signed release from the student which:

1. specifies the records that may be disclosed,
2. states the purpose of the disclosure, and
3. identifies the party or class of parties to whom the disclosure can be made.

Since the letter of recommendation would be part of the student's education record, the student has the right to read it – unless he/she has waived that right of access.

Indiana SSN Law

Internal use of SSN information within the Purdue system for the purpose of conducting normal business is still permitted under the Indiana law. However, it is important to remember that Purdue data handling guidelines address the usage and methods of exchanging sensitive and restricted data, in addition to just SSN information. These guidelines can be found at:

https://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue/data-handling/index.php

"Health and Safety" Exception

Institutions may take into consideration circumstances pertaining to the health and safety of a student or other individuals to disclose information from education records without a student's consent. If the institution determines there is "articulable and significant threat" to the health and safety of the student or others, information from education records can be released "to any person whose knowledge of the situation is necessary to protect" the health and safety of the student or other individuals.

What happens if non-compliance occurs?

The student has the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C.

This complaint may result in the loss of federal funding for financial aid and educational grants for Purdue University and the filing of civil litigation.

Action to terminate funding is generally taken only if compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means.

FERPA and Parents' Access to their Student's Education Records

1. When a student reaches the age of 18 or begins attending a postsecondary institution at any age, FERPA rights transfer from the parent to the student.
2. Parents may obtain non-directory information (grades, GPA, etc.) at the discretion of the institution if the student is a dependent per federal tax law.
3. Parents seeking information about their student may review the information here.
4. MyPurdue Proxy:  A student can give parents, legal guardians, or other trusted parties access to view certain pieces of their student information online. This access is referred to as proxy access, and the person who is granted this authorization is called myPurdue proxy. The student controls the entire process through his/her myPurdue Portal and can add anyone with a valid e-mail address as a proxy.
   • Frequently Asked Questions for Students and Proxies 
   • Creating a Proxy Account: Student Guide: myPurdue Proxy Access - Student Guide (.pdf)
   • Authenticating a New Proxy Account: Instructions for Proxies: myPurdue Proxy Access - Instructions for Proxies (.pdf)
   • Future Proxy Login

Call 765-496-0509 or email ferpa@purdue.edu for FERPA assistance.

Sources of Additional FERPA Information

Email ferpa@purdue.edu for FERPA assistance.