FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and is a federal law that was
enacted in 1974. FERPA protects the privacy of student education records. All educational
institutions that receive federal funding must comply with FERPA.
In primary and secondary educational institutions (i.e. K-12), all FERPA rights belong
to the parent. However, when the student reaches the age of 18 or begins to attend a post-secondary institution regardless of age, all FERPA rights transfer to the student.
If you're a student, it's important for you to understand your rights under FERPA.
If you're a parent, you'll need to understand how the law changes once your student
enters a post-secondary institution. If you're a University employee, you'll need
to understand what information can and cannot be released, and the appropriate procedures
for release of student information.
Eligible students have four primary rights under FERPA including the right to:
inspect their education records,
consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information except to the extent
that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent,
seek correction of their records, to prevent inaccurate or misleading information,
and
file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education if they feel their rights are
being violated.
According to the law, a person becomes a student for purposes of FERPA when they are
"in attendance" at an institution. In attendance means a student is officially registered
for at least one class and that class has started.
Students' rights do not cease after enrollment ends or the student graduates. Former
students have the same rights as currently attending students.
Deceased students are not covered under FERPA; however, it is the University's policy
not to release educational records of deceased students after the student's death.
We recommend that anyone requesting information on a deceased student be referred
to the Office of the Registrar.
FERPA permits each institution to define a class of information as "directory information."
FERPA permits public disclosure of directory information without the student's consent.
Directory information may appear in public documents and may otherwise be disclosed
by the University for any purpose in its discretion, without the student’s consent.
The following categories of information have been designated as directory information
at Missouri State University:
Name (current, former, and chosen)
Address (residence hall, current and primary/permanent)*
Telephone number*
Campus email address
Field of study, including majors, minors, certifications and pre-professional areas
of study
Classification (e.g., sophomore)
Enrollment status (e.g., full-time, part-time or less than part-time)
Participation in officially recognized activities and sports, including photographs
of athletes
Dates of attendance, including matriculation, drop and withdrawal dates
Degrees and certificates applied for and/or received including award date
Awards received, including Dean's list, scholastic honors, departmental honors, memberships
in national honor societies, athletic letters and university-funded scholarships (excluding
those that are need-based)
Previous education institutions attended
* The University maintains a number of different address and telephone types for students.
Three (residence hall, current mailing, and primary/permanent) are considered directory
information. General requests for student addresses (e.g., requests for an "address
directory of current students") will be fulfilled by providing one address for each
student based on availability according to the following hierarchy: (1) residence
hall; (2) current mailing, and (3) primary/permanent. General requests for student
telephone numbers will be generated in similar fashion.
* Cell phone numbers, unless provided as a residence hall, current, or primary/permanent
telephone number, are not considered directory information.
All non-University contact information provided for purposes of the emergency notification
system is not considered directory information.
Student has two options:
Option 1:ThePeople Search websiteis the University's official directory of students, faculty, and staff. A request
to exclude information from People Search may be completed by currently enrolled students
in My Missouri State>My Profile channel>Update Online People Search Preferences. To be removed from anything other than People Search, including the Outlook Address
Book, a FERPA hold must be completed.Read more about People Searchand your options regarding display of your information.
Option 2:AFERPA holdmay be requested by currently enrolled students. This non-disclosure option means
that the University may not release any directory information about the student (except
as permitted under the provisions of FERPA). The University may not even acknowledge
to third parties that the person is a student at the institution. Requests for confidentiality
are in effect until student submits aFERPA Hold Removal form.
Yes, FERPA does contain some exceptions to the written consent rule. Those exceptions
allow disclosure without consent:
To University officials (including third parties under contract) with legitimate educational
interests.
To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
To appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency in order to protect the student
or others.
To parents in cases of drug or alcohol violation when the student is under the age
of 21.
To the provider or creator of a record to verify the validity of that record (e.g.
in cases of suspected fraud).
To organizations conducting research studies on behalf of the University, provided
there is a written agreement between the University and the research organization.
To officials at an institution in which the student seeks or intends to enroll or
is currently enrolled.
Who are "University officials"?
A university official is a person employed by the University in an administrative,
supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement
unit personnel and health staff). Also considered university officials are members
of the Board of Governors, a person or company with whom the University has contracted
(such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent), temporary employees, student
workers, and graduate assistants employed by the university.
What constitutes "legitimate educational interest"?
Legitimate educational interest is the need to review an education record in order
for a university official to carry out his or her responsibilities in order to: perform
an administrative task outlined in the official’s duties; perform a supervisory or
instructional task directly related to the student’s education; or perform service
or benefit for the student such as health care, job placement, or financial aid. It is important to understand several points related to "legitimate educational interest:"
Curiosity is not a legitimate educational interest. Just because you have access to
view the record of your neighbor's son, does not mean that you have a legitimate educational
interest in his grades and cumulative GPA.
Simply the fact that you are a university employee does not constitute legitimate
educational interest. Your need to know must be related to your job responsibilities
in support of the university's educational mission. In other words, records should
be used only in the context of official business in conjunction with the educational
success of the student.
Your legitimate educational interest is limited. While you may have a need to access
education records for students in your college, you do not necessarily have a similar
need to view records of students outside your college. In other words, access to information
does not authorize unrestricted use.
FERPA Forms
The Release of Information Authorization form is used by students to authorize the University to disclose education records
that are otherwise protected under FERPA.
The FERPA Hold Request form is used by currently enrolled students to request that the University not release
any "directory information". In accordance with the FERPA Policy, currently enrolled
students may request that the University not release any "directory information" by
submitting a FERPA Hold Request form. Please consider this request carefully as this will limit the University's
ability to communicate with you.
The FERPA Hold Removal form is used to rescind a FERPA hold. If you are not a current student and are unable
to log into your Missouri State account and wish to submit a FERPA Hold Removal form,
please contact the Office of the Registrar at Registrar@MissouriState.edu to request a .pdf form.
The People Search website is the University's official directory of students, faculty, and staff. A request to exclude information from People Search may be completed by currently enrolled students. To be removed from anything other
than People Search, including the Outlook Address Book, a FERPA hold must be completed. Read more about People Search and your options regarding display of your information.
The Letter of Recommendation Authorization form is used by students to authorize a University employee to include personally
identifiable information (such as grades, GPA, etc.) in a letter of recommendation.
Letters of recommendation which are made from the recommender’s personal observation
or knowledge do not require a written release from the student who is the subject
of the recommendation. However, if the student wishes the recommender to include personally
identifiable information from a student’s education record (such as grades, GPA, etc.),
the student must provide a signed release.
The Acknowledgement of Confidentiality Regulations form may be used as a written agreement for any employee (i.e., full-time, part-time,
student) who has access to private/confidential information. Acknowledgment of Confidentiality
Regulations is a standardized form a department may use as a written agreement for
an employee (full-time, part-time, student) who has access to confidential student
information. Return completed and signed form to your immediate supervisor. Do not
return form to the Office of the Registrar.
A FERPA online training program is available to all University employees in My Missouri
State → Learning and Development card → My Learning Connection.
Many questions are addressed in the FERPA FAQs. Contact the Office of the Registrar, Carrington Hall, Room 320, 417-836-5520, if
you have any additional questions.
FAQs for faculty and staff
When speaking with any student/alumni by telephone, and before you disclose any Non-Directory
information,always confirmthe individual’s date of birth and full Social Security Number, if applicable.
Also confirmat least two or threeof the following items (confirmed in Banner on the SPAIDEN screen) until you are confident
that you are speaking ONLY with the student:
Major and/or Minor
Classes attended during the last semester (Instructor Name, Instructional Method)
Advisor Name
Final GPA
Address (residence hall, current, or primary/permanent)
Beginning term and year attended
Ending term and year attended
Institution previously attended or transfer credits
Personal Email
*Instructors: To ensure you are speaking with the correct student, use information
specific to the course/student, based on your relationship with that student. Examples
would be last test/quiz scores, topics discussed in class, etc.
Note: If you have any doubts that you are not speaking to the student,donot release any Non-Directory information by phone! Ask the individual to come in person with a valid picture ID.
Social security number: A student’s social security number may not be used either
alone or in combination with other data to identify a student when disclosing or confirming
directory information, unless the student has provided written consent. Instead, other
directory information should be used to identify students. When a person submits a
student’s social security number along with a request for directory information, the
person should be informed that the University has not used the social security number
to locate the student’s records and that the University’s response does not confirm
the accuracy of the social security number supplied with the request for directory
information.
Citizenship
Gender
Ethnicity
Religious preference
Grades
GPA
Daily class schedule: This is very important. Local police authorities may be trying
to find your student. Parents may be asking what classes the student is in today.
You can't give that out. This even means to parents who are paying the bills. If it
is a health or safety related emergency, contact the Registrar, Dean of Students,
or General Counsel to determine if an exception for disclosure can be made.
No. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Education has clarified that an electronic
signature may substitute for a written one. In order to qualify as an electronic signature,
appropriate authentication must occur. A student accessing their My Missouri State
account satisfies the requirements for an electronic signature. Since students must
log in to My Missouri State using their BearPass access accounts, an email note from
a student's @missouristate.edu email address satisfies FERPA's written consent requirement.
However, other email systems are not as strict, an email received from a Gmail, Yahoo
mail, or AOL mail account for example would NOT qualify as written consent.
Education records include those records which contain information directly related
to a student and which are maintained by the university or by a person acting for
the university. In accordance with FERPA guidelines, the following are not education
records: law enforcement records, student employment records, medical records, and
alumni records. The regulations also exclude from the definition of education records
any record that is in the sole possession of the maker of the record where the record
is used only as a personal memory aid for the maker and the record is not accessible
or revealed to any other person (except a temporary substitute for the maker of the
record).
Yes, unless these notes fall into the category of "sole possession" records (see definition
above), then they are part of the student's education record and subject to FERPA.
Since FERPA gives the student the right to review any or all of his/her education
record, these notes could be included in that review. Therefore, it is important that
notes or comments be factual and objective and that University employees who are recording
notes or comments avoid making value judgments or using inappropriate language.
No. If a third party asks an instructor about a specific student’s attendance in his/her
class, the information should not be released without the student’s written consent.
There is no problem with this practice so long as only the names are on the sheet,
with no numbers or dates, and it is only used in the classroom; it cannot be posted
outside the classroom, physically or online, for students to sign or view. Additionally,
past sign-in history should not be available on any daily sign-in sheet. The regulations
specifically provide that a student, even if he or she opts out from directory information
disclosures, cannot prevent an institution from displaying the student name, institutional
email address, or electronic identifier in class.
Review the release to ensure it indicates authorization of educational records; a
generic release or medical release is not sufficient in order to release information
from the student’s educational record.
Check ID of the person to make sure the release is valid.
It is recommended that you keep a copy of the release and ID for one year.
Yes, if the email is sent directly to the Missouri State student email account.
No, if the email address is one other than an Missouri State account (i.e., Hotmail,
Yahoo, etc); only directory information should be released in this case (unless you
have the student’s written consent.)
Yes, anytime non-directory information such as grades, student ID, GPA, etc. is easily
accessible and/or viewable by someone other than the student himself or herself, it
is a FERPA violation.
