FERPA: Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law administered by the U.S. Department of Education; 34 CFR Part 99. FERPA applies to all educational agencies and institutions that receive federal funding.

Purpose

FERPA aims to protect the privacy of Student Education Records. Education records include any record containing personally identifiable information (PII) directly related to the student. PII is not limited to name, but may include indirect identifiers as well.

Examples of documents that contain personally identifiable information:

Class rosters or grade lists
Place of birth
Ethnicity
Residency status
Advisor’s name
Class schedule
Courses completed
Grades
Disciplinary records
Student info displayed on a computer screen

Access

Student education records are accessible to instructors, teachers, and administrators. However, if a teacher/instructor wants to use student data for research purposes, FERPA applies and consent is required, unless one of the exceptions to consent as outlined in FERPA is met.

Consent

The use of educational records for research purposes requires consent. A consent form must:

Specify the records to be disclosed;
State the purpose of the disclosure;
Identify the party to whom the disclosure is to be made;
Include a dated student signature
- This may include a signature in an electronic form that 1) Identifies and authenticates a particular person as the source of the electronic consent; and 2) Indicates such a person's approval of the information contained in the electronic consent.

Exceptions

The only PII obtained constitutes “directory information” and the student has not opted out of having their information included in the directory
- At NKU, the Registrar’s Office maintains the list of students who have opted out of the directory
The release is to an authorized representative of state/local educational authorities for an audit or evaluation of federal or state supported education programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with federal legal requirements related to those programs
- Investigators must provide the IRB with evidence that they are acting as authorized representatives of a state or local educational authority and that their audit or evaluation meets the conditions described above (e.g. a Memorandum of Understanding between university and educational authority)
The release is to organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of educational agencies or institutions to develop, validate or administer predictive tests; administer student aid programs; or improve instruction;
- A written agreement which meets criteria listed in FERPA between the university and the educational agency or institution is required

Visit NKU's FERPA website