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FERPA Information for Faculty
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for Faculty & Advisors

St. John Fisher College complies fully with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights of Privacy Act (FERPA).

Annual Notification of Rights Under Family Educational Rights of Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of a student’s education records. It provides guidelines for appropriately using and releasing student information. It is intended to broadly define and apply student rights.

Once a student is enrolled in a postsecondary institution, the student is considered to be the ‘owner’ of the education record and the institution and its personnel are the ‘custodian’ of that record.

Under FERPA, students have, with certain limited exceptions, certain rights with respect to their education records.

These rights include:

The right to inspect and review the student's educational records within 45 days of the day the college receives the request

Students should submit to the Registrar, Dean, Head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect.  The College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.  If the records are not maintained by the college official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

Only records covered by FERPA will be made available.  Students may have copies made of their records, except for an academic record for which a financial "hold" exists, or transcript of an original or source document.  Copies will be made the student's expense at prevailing rates. 

The right to request the amendment of student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate or
misleading.

Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading.  They should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.

If the College decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception is disclosure to parents of dependent students.  Another exception is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests, on a “need-to-know” basis, as determined by the administrator responsible for the file. A “school official” includes: anyone employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); any person or company acting on behalf of the College (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); any member of the Board of Trustees or other governance/advisory body; and any student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. 

Upon request, the College may disclose education records without consent of the student to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

Other exceptions are described in the FERPA statute and regulations at 34 CFR Part 99.

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.

The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202-4605.

Directory Information

The College has designated the following information as directory information:

• Student’s name
• College e-mail address
• Address
• Telephone number
• Date and place of birth
• Hometown
• High school
• Field(s) of study
• Advisor name(s)
• Full-time/part-time status
• Class year
• Dates of attendance
• Date of graduation
• Degrees and awards received
• Most recent previous educational institution attended
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Weight and height of members of athletic teams.

The College may publicize or respond to requests for such information at its discretion. However, the use of the records for commercial or political purposes is prohibited unless approved by the appropriate Dean.

Currently enrolled students may request that directory information be withheld from disclosure by filing the appropriate form with the Registrar within two weeks after the first day of classes for the fall semester. Requests made after this date should still be forwarded since they will prevent directory information from being released in the  future. The College assumes that failure on the part of the student to specifically request the withholding of any directory information indicates approval of disclosure.

Request for nondisclosure will be honored by the institution and remain in effect until withdrawn by the student in writing. Students are advised to exercise caution in requesting non-disclosure of directory information since the inability to verify attendance and/or graduation may adversely affect future employment.

Release of Personal Information to Military Recruiters

At the request of military branches, the regulations under the Solomon Amendment, 32 CFR Part 215, require the College to release select information on currently enrolled students to military recruiters for the sole purpose of military recruiting. Before releasing the requested information, the College will ask if it is the intent to use the requested information only for military recruiting purposes.

The military is entitled to receive information for students who are “currently enrolled” which is defined as registeredfor at least one credit hour of academic credit during the most recent, current or next term.

Under the Solomon amendment, the military is entitled to receive the following student information:

• Name
• Address
• Telephone number
• Age or year of birth
• Level of education (i.e., freshman, sophomore or degree awarded to a recent graduate)
• Major

If a student has requested that his or her directory information not be disclosed to third parties, as is permitted under FERPA, that student’s information will not be released to the military under the Solomon Amendment. In such instances,the school will remove the student’s information sent to the military and note “We have not provided information for X number of students because they have requested that their directory information not be disclosed as permitted by FERPA.”

"10 Steps to Avoid FERPA problems" when dealing with student information.

Record Custody, FERPA and YOU!

The Registrar's Office is the designated official custodian of the academic record of a student but every advisor and faculty member has records and therefore is a custodian.

A student can challenge a grade for one calendar year after the end of the semester in which the contested grade was earned.
You should keep all materials related to grading for a minimum of one calendar year from the end of each term.

A student may be able to subpoena your advising notes.
You should write all of your notes in a professional, objective tone listing only the facts and refraining from an pejorative statements. Everything you write and place in the student's official advising folder is an educational record and could be subpoenaed. The only exception is a sole possession record that you keep in one of your locked drawers or cabinets and to which no other person has access. A shared advising folder is a education record even if stored in your office under a lock and key.

A school or department keeps its own advising records under lock and key.
As long as these records are shared they are education records which can be subpoenaed. Like all education records, the student has the right to inspect these records.

In cleaning your office, you toss all your old student related notes and files in the recycle bin.
Never toss anything related to a student in the trash or recycle bin! Any piece of paper with personally identifiable information about a student must be shredded and you are responsible for seeing that it is shredded or deposited in a secure bin for shredding. If your department or school keeps advising/student folders, the department or school must have a Records Retention Policy and must adhere to it.

Record Custodians