The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) has two main objectives: to protect the privacy of students' education records and ensure students can access and request amendments to their records. FERPA applies to colleges and universities that receive federal funding. It establishes rules around access to and use of students' personally identifiable information contained in education records. Education records include academic and disciplinary information recorded by the school, such as grades, evaluations, disciplinary records, and financial aid information. Personally identifiable information refers to data like names, social security numbers, dates of birth, or other information that could identify a student. When students attend college, their FERPA rights transfer from their parents to them.

1. FERPA
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Unit One – Education Records

2. EDUCATION RECORDS
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act has two primary objectives:
• Protect the privacy of education records
• Ensure students have a right to review and request amendments to their education
records
FERPA applies to all colleges and universities that receive federal funds, and establishes rules
to limit access to students’ personally identifiable information and how it may be used.

3. FERPA DEFINITIONS
Definitions are key to understanding how FERPA protects a
student’s personally identifiable information.
Before we explain these protections in greater detail, it’s
important to define:
• Who is an “eligible student”
• What is a school’s “education record”
• What is “personally identifiable information” (PII)
These terms are defined in the FERPA regulations at 34
CFR §99.3. For a list of laws, regulations, and other sources of
information in the course, click on the Resources tab.

4. ELIGIBLE STUDENTS
• When students attend college or a university —
regardless of their age — they become
"eligible students," which means that FERPA
rights to access and review education records
transfer from their parents to these eligible
students.
• FERPA protects the education records of all
students who are or have been "in attendance."
Schools determine the point at which a student
is "in attendance," which can be any time after
accepting the offer of admission, but no later
than the first day of classes. Once that
happens, FERPA reaches back and protects the
student's application records.
• However, FERPA does not protect the records
of denied applicants, students who only audit
classes, or alumni's records that are not directly
related to their attendance as former students.

6. IDENTIFY A STUDENT
Generally, if a record contains a student’s PII, it is an
education record.
PII is data that could directly, indirectly, or “in
combination” identify a student, including:
• the names or addresses of students, their parents,
or other family members;
• the student's social security number, student ID
number, or biometric record;
• the student's date of birth, place of birth, or
mother's maiden name; or
• records that are requested by someone who will
likely be able to identify the student.

7. RECORDED INFORMATION
Education records include academic and non-academic
information recorded in documents, electronic files,
email, or other material, such as:
• admissions information;
• class lists, grades, test scores, evaluations, course work,
and related communications;
• disciplinary records;
• medical records (but not "treatment records," which
are defined later);
• employment records if the work is directly related to
their student status (e.g. work-study, resident
assistants, and internship programs); and
• financial aid records and other financial information.

8. MAINTAINED BY SCHOOL
Besides being directly related to a student and recorded
in some way, education records must be maintained
either by the school or someone else on the school's
behalf or under a contract with the school.
While FERPA does not require schools to maintain
education records, it does require schools to protect the
privacy of those records it does keep.
Here are examples of information that
are not considered education records:
• private notes in the "sole possession" of faculty or staff
(e.g., memory aids about a student); or
• information obtained through personal knowledge or
observation.

9. SUMMARY

10. Complete Section Quiz before continuing.