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Enrollment Management & Student Success (EMSS) » FERPA Scenarios for Faculty & Staff

FERPA Scenarios for Faculty & Staff

FERPA Scenarios for Faculty & Staff

FERPA Scenarios for Faculty & Staff



Scenario 1

You receive a frantic phone call from someone stating to be a student's mother who must get in touch with her daughter immediately due to a family emergency. Can you provide information pertaining to the student's class schedule?

No. You can offer to send someone to the student's class to ask her to call home. You can contact the Office of Admissions and Records to locate the student if necessary.

Scenario 2

The faculty advisor for an Honors Society has asked for GPAs of all the members in order that scholarships and academic honors can be determined. Can you provide the information?

Yes. the advisor has a legitimate "needs to know." However, you should remind the advisor not to share the information to the members or anyone else.

Scenario 3

You receive a letter of recommendation supposedly from a student's adviser at a previous institution. You have reason to believe that the letter has been forged. Is it permissible to return the letter to the alleged creator for verification without the student's permission?

Yes, FERPA permits the return of a record to the creator or originator of that record in order to verify authenticity without the student's permission.

Scenario 4

Another department wants to contact the parents of graduating seniors to offer them opportunity to purchase a graduation gift for their son/daughter. They ask if you can provide the parent's email address. Can you?

No. The parent's email address is considered non-directory and, therefore, personally identifiable information on the student. Written student consent would be required from every student.

Scenario 5

A student who is a high school junior enrolls in a UOG course during the summer. The student is 16 years old. The parents ask for a copy of the student's grades. Are you permitted to release the grades to the parents since the student is under the age of 18?

No. When the student enrolls in a post-secondary institution regardless of age, all FERPA rights belong to the student.

Scenario 6

You received a phone call from the local police department asking if you could verify that one of your students was scheduled for a class on a specific date and time. The police officer indicated she is involved in an investigation concerning the student. Are you permitted to provide the requested information?

No, not without a subpoena or official court order. Any subpoenas or court orders should be brought to the Office of Admission and Records/Registrar's Office for processing.

Scenario 7

A local politician requests a list of names and addresses of all 18-year-old students to send them a letter urging them to register to vote. The politician's office promises that the information sent to the students will be non-partisan in nature. Do you provide the list?

No. Although name and address are directory items, release is at the discretion of the institution. University of Guam does not release mailing lists to third parties.

Scenario 8

A caller indicates they are performing a background check on a former student in preparation for a job offer. You do not have written consent from the student to release his educational records. Can you speak to the caller? Are there any questions you can answer?

Yes. You may answer questions regarding your personal observations of the student. You may also provide directory information (e.g. major, degree received). However, without written permission from the student, you may not reveal any information from the student's educational record.

Scenario 9

A prospective employer, or internship company, asks you for basic information about a student, such as directory information, but the student has not been informed first. Do you provide the information?

Before responding to any request for directory information, check to see if the student has requested confidentiality (nondirectory disclosure). If the student has requested confidentiality, you may not release ANY information, even directory items, regarding the student, unless you have the student's written permission. You should simply respond to the requestor that we have no record of the person.

Scenario 10

You are a staff in the School of Education. Your neighbor's daughter Mary, a history major, is a UOG student. The day after grades are posted, your neighbor calls and asks you to check to see if Mary is now off probation, so you look up her academic record in Colleague. Is this an appropriate use of your access to the student information system?

No. While you may have been given access to view student grades, it is assumed that you access only those records in which you have a "legitimate educational interest" in your role as a staff.