FERPA, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, is an American federal law that governs how institutions protect student Education Records.
FERPA does this by:
- Outlining students’ rights concering their Education Records
- Establishing conditions for when student Education Records can be shared with third parties
In short, FERPA does three things:
1) Defines "Education Records"
2) Ensures students’ rights to inspect their own Education Records and to request amendements to inaccurate infomation
3) Requires that university officials receive students’ consent before disclosing student Education Records to third parties
According to FERPA, Education Records are those academic records, files, documents and other materials which (i) contain information directly related to a student and are (ii) maintained by an educational institution.
Education Records include:
- Academic transcripts including official documents related to grades
- Disciplinary Records
- Financial records, incuding those of a parent which pertain to a given student
FERPA defines "Directory Information" as information contained in an education record of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
According to FERPA Directory Information includes a student’s:
- Name; address; telephone listing; electronic mail address; photograph; date of birth; major field of study; grade level; dates of attendance; and honors and awards received.
Under FERPA, Insititutions and School Officials may disclose Directory Information to third parties without students' consent.
Yes, and we do much more than is required by FERPA to protect our users’ privacy. We believe that, in the long run, it’s impossible to be successful as an internet technology company without the trust of our users.
We do two primary things to ensure we’re FERPA compliant:
1) First, we classify all of the types of data users can create or store on Campuswire, and determine if users are using Campuswire to create or store Education Records.
- Campuswire Basic users only encounter one feature that includes Education Records protected by FERPA: the Class List
- Campuswire Pro includes our Lectures feature, which professors use to track class attendance, and in-class polling participation, which are Education Records
2) When students register for Campuswire, we receive their consent for us to store their Education Records, pursuant to FERPA 34CFR Part 99.31(a), by their agreeing to our Terms and Conditions.
Instructors own right, title, and interest to all Student Data provided or otherwise made available to Campuswire, and Campuswire does not own or license such data, except so as to provide our basic Services.
- We also allow for students to fully inspect all of the Education Records Campuswire has about them
- Students can also request for any Education Records pertaining to them to be destroyed