Office of
Admission/Registrar-->
Data Privacy at Lewis-Clark State College
Printable Documents (PDF):
What is FERPA?
The Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (1974) is a federal law designed
to protect the privacy of education records and is enforced by the Family Policy
Compliance Office of the U.S. Department of Education (FPCO). Essentially, the
act states that 1) "students" must be permitted to inspect their own
“education records” and 2) “school officials” may not disclose personally
identifiable information about a student without written permission from
the student.
Who is considered a "student" at LCSC?
Students
are defined as those individuals who are enrolled and have a final admission
status. Persons who applied for admission but were
not admitted, or have not
enrolled after the tenth day of a term, have no rights under FERPA.
However, if admitted and enrolled, all admission records are then "folded into"
the education record.
What is an "Education Record"?
Education records are defined
as those records directly related to a student and maintained by LCSC, or by a
party acting for LCSC.
An education record is any record maintained by the
college that is directly related to a student. These records may contain a
student’s name, social security number, student ID number, address, or any other
piece of information that could be considered “personally identifiable.”
“Sole
possession notes” (those made by one person and kept in the possession of
the maker) are not considered education records. However, sharing these notes
with another person or placing them in an area where they can be viewed by
others will make them education records and, therefore, subject to FERPA.
Other records that are not considered education records:
- Records maintained by a law enforcement unit of the educational agency.
- Records relating to individuals who are employed by the institution that
relate exclusively to their capacity as employees.
- Records relating to a student which are created or maintained by a
physician, psychiatrist (or related professional) used solely in connection with
the provisions of treatment to the student.
Who has access to my student records?
Within the LCSC
community, only those "school officials", individually or collectively, acting
in the students' educational interest, who have a legitimate "need to know,"
are allowed access to student education
records.
College personnel are determined to
have legitimate educational interest if the information requested is necessary
for them to:
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Perform appropriate tasks that are specified in
his/her position description, or by a contract agreement.
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Perform a task related to a student’s education.
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Perform a task related to the discipline of a
student.
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Provide a service or benefit relating to the
student or student’s family, such as health care, counseling, job placement or
financial aid.
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School officials typically include (but are not
limited to):
- LCSC faculty and staff
-
Appropriate transfer school officials
- Authorized
officials conducting audits
- Dual credit high school
officials
- Appropriate parties in connection with
financial aid
- Organizations conducting studies for
LCSC
- Officials with lawfully issued subpoenas
-
Officials in cases of health/safety emergencies
What is "Directory Information"?
“Directory information” is information that, if disclosed, is not normally
considered a violation of a student’s privacy and, therefore, can be released
without the student’s written permission. Directory information can
never include a student’s race, gender, social security number, grades, GPA,
country of citizenship, or religion. As an institution, LCSC must provide
“annual notification” of students’ FERPA rights and the categories designated as
directory information.
What information can
and cannot be released at LCSC?
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This information
CAN be released without written consent (directory information). |
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This information
CANNOT be released (written consent is required). |
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What does FERPA
say about grade posting?
Instructors may post grades without the
written consent of the students only if the identities of the individuals are
completely disguised such that no direct correlation to each student can be
determined from the list. Accordingly, instructors should refrain from openly
discussing grades in class or distributing graded material in such a way that
the grades may be seen by other students.
How can a student withhold their directory information?
Students can submit a
Directory
Information Restriction Request (see form above) to the Office of Admission/Registrar so that
all or a portion of their directory information not be released.
What are the rights of parents under FERPA?
When a student reaches the age of 18 or begins attending
a postsecondary institution regardless of age, FERPA rights transfer to the
student.
- Parents may obtain directory information at the discretion
of the institution.
- Parents may obtain non-directory information (grades, GPA, etc.) only at
the discretion of the institution and after it has been determined
that their child is legally their dependent.
- Parents may also obtain non-directory information by obtaining a signed
consent from their child.
In an emergency, can I tell a student’s mother where her daughter’s next
class is today?
A student’s class schedule is non-directory
information. For the safety of the student, you cannot tell another person
where a student is at any time.
When this situation arises, forward the inquiring person to
the Office of Admission/Registrar and we will contact the student directly.
However, we will not contact students for non-emergency reasons.
What is the Solomon Amendment?
Under this 1996 amendment, institutions are required to provide
directory-type information on students at least 17 years of age who are
registered for at least one credit, upon request from the Department of Defense
for military recruiting purposes.
May I
include a student's GPA in a letter of recommendation?
If personably identifiable information (such as GPA, grades, etc.) obtained from
a student's record is included in a letter of recommendation, the writer is
required to obtain a signed release from the student which 1) specifies the
records to be disclosed, 2) states the purpose of the disclosure, and 3)
identifies the party to whom the disclosure can be made.
Statements made by a person making a recommendation that are
made from that person's personal knowledge do not require a written release from
the student.
Where can I get more information?
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