Student Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
FERPA
As required by federal law the Board of Regents adopted the University institutional policy regarding “The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended” on January 27, 1977. At this time it would appear that several issues and practices regarding this Act remain unclear. Yet after several months of study and initial steps of implementation it is clear that the University needs to state explicitly the formal processes and procedures it will follow in attempting to operate fairly and legally within the bounds of thispolicy.
The purpose of this memorandum is not to repeat or replace the institutional policy statement. Rather, it is being issued to provide explicit guidance to Students, Faculty, and Staff alike as to how the University will officially respond in the many practical matters affected by the Act to protect the rights of Students, University Personnel, and the institution under the provisions of the Act. This statement is not made to replace the policy but rather relates in practical terms and examples the rather complex provisions of this policy. (The complete text of the institutional policy is contained in Concordia Bulletin, Undergraduate Studies1977-78, pp. 140-143. A copy of the entire Act as contained in the Federal Register is on file in the Office of the Registrar.
Directories
The University will maintain and publish two current editions of a so-called “Student Directory”. The Published Student Directory will contain NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, and CLASS for only those students who have waived Category I directory information disclosure rights. This directory will be distributed to all Faculty, Staff, and Students as available. (The Published Student Directory is not available for distribution or sale to any off-campus group or individual, and such unauthorized distribution or use violates University policy.)
The University will also publish a Confidential Information Student Directory. This Directory will contain the NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, and CLASS for all registered students of the University for each quarter or term. This directory will be distributed only to the following: Administrative Council Members, Chief of Security, Director of Housing, Director of Placement, Controller, and Postmaster/Postmistress (Oak Park Station No. 2). The information contained in the Confidential Student Directory is available only for legal, necessary use by the University and its employees in carrying out its official functions and activities as a post-secondary educational institution.
A student may waive Category I rights annually either in the Fall Quarter Registration process or when first registering at the campus subsequent to a Fall Quarter as a new or returning student. Changesin waiver status will not be made sporadically throughout the year. Itshould be noted that a student, even if not opting to waive Category I, II, and/or III directory information, does NOT thereby gain any right to withhold disclosure of such “directory information” (as defined in the Act) to the Institution when requested for its records. Withholding such information may prohibit admission or prohibit continued registration as a student.
Any University employee needing information contained in the Confidential Information Student Directory in the performance of his or her duty at the University may get the information from any of the institutional staff holding or having access to that directory. Each Faculty, Staff, and Student employee is warned, however, that the release of such information for other purposes could subject the employee to personal liability for any complaint filed with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Office (FERPA) for failure to comply with the Act.
MAIL DISTRIBUTION
All students will receive a mail box according to the current institutional assignment policy, and will have all mail distributed to them regardless of their individual status in the listing contained in the Published Student Directory. Mail will be returned to sender not based on this Act but relative to applicable Postal Regulations for mail not delivered or accepted.
PHONE CALLS
All phone calls received for “Students” will be routed based ONLY on information provided by the caller or contained in the Published Student Directory. If a name is not contained in that Directory the Switchboard Staff is instructed and permitted to only reply to such inquiry, “That name does not appear in our Published Student Directory. We are not able to connect your call”. The Switchboard Staff is not authorized to provide any additional information relating to the possible “student”. If a plea of emergency is made, theSwitchboard Staff is only authorized to attempt to contact a member of the Vice President for StudentServices Staff, or the Director of Housing so they can take a message of a request for a returncallfrom the alleged “student”. The Vice Presidentof Student ServicesStaff or the Directorof Housing is authorized only to follow up on such a request based on certain limited emergency provisions of the Act far too complex to be contained in this brief explanation. The Student is advised again here that by not waiving “directory information” rights (especially Category I) it is likely that a potential legitimate regular or emergency phone call will at least be delayed considerably, with the added highprobability of no message ultimately getting to him or her due to restrictions of the Act.
REFERENCES ON STUDENTS
- Official Student Academic Record
All requests for official student academic record information, including Transcripts, must be made at the Office of the Registrar, with a signature from the requesting Student authorizing any information to be released to an individual or organization. A written signature on file by the Registrar for a specific request will be deemed as a waiving for that instance of any restriction contained in the Rights and Privacy Act unless so noted in the request for release of information.
- Placement
All requests for information, including Credentials, must be made in writing to the Office of the Director of Placement. The same conditions apply to requests for Academic Records References.
- Personal References
Faculty Members and University Officers receiving requests for personal references on present or former students are advised to not respond to phone or written inquiries unless a previously requested reference is made in writing. A record of all such inquiries, as well as original signed request from the student, must be maintained by the Faculty Member or Officer for hisor her protection, and the protection of the University.
- Employment
Allrequests for references regarding Student Employment must be made in writing by the Student for the potential employer to the Director of Personnel. Absolutely no information, including a simple confirmation of student status or student employment, can be made until such document is received. Faculty and Staff are further alerted that several other Federal acts apply to references on present and previous employees (Student, Staff, or Faculty) of the University. All Faculty and Staff, and especially Student Employee Supervisors, are required to clear such requests on Student Employment References first with the Director of Personnel. Extreme caution needs to be maintained in this area as present law and interpretation has become extremely complex and tends to change frequently.
NEWS RELEASES
In either news releases that are originated by the Concordia Staff, including the University Relations Department and the Spectator staff, or where confirmation is requested by the public news media, no information including admission of the fact that a person is a Student at Concordia can be released unless at least Category I information has been waived by the Student. This restriction includes releases information of general interest to the public, on sports information, on cultural events, on special events’ announcements, and on any other categories that may be of interest to the news media in general.
INSTITUTIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Student names cannot be included unless Category I information (and in some instances Category II, and/or Category III information) has been previously waived in such publications as the Spectator, the Pillars, The Forester, Graduation Programs, “Degrees Conferred” section of Concordia Bulletin, Honors Convocation Program, news releases, athletic event programs or team rosters, in the Daily Bulletin, and other similar publications and activities (such as WCTC). To the extent that checking for the inclusion or exclusion of such names becomes (due to time or available resources) an impossible task, Students, Faculty, and Staff are advised that to err through omission of information is far more advisable than to include a name and run the risk of failure to comply with the Act.
OFFICIAL FILES FOR WAIVING CATEGORY I, II, and III INFORMATION
The Office of the Registrar is the office designated as the official institutional repository for student records. As such it is the only office authorized to collect and maintain the source waiver document for compliance with this Act. No other Student, Faculty, or Staff Member is authorized to maintain his or her own file source document waivers to release information, except as provided above for requests for reference.
The above constitutes the official position of Concordia University regarding the understanding of and compliance with this Act. It is subject to change as additional revisions or court interpretations become available. If you have any questions regarding the implementation of this Act you are invited to discuss this with either the Registrar or the Vice President for Administration.
FERPA (7/13/1978)1 / 4