In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes (and FERPA). The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) protects the privacy of a student’s academic record. It is technology-neutral, and applies to all institutions that receive federal funding.
Here are some FERPA guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions to consider when conducting your work remotely, or teaching in a virtual classroom:
Students do not attend the University anonymously, and have no right to anonymity inside the classroom. Even those students who have placed a directory information hold on their account can be called on by name during class, can appear on attendance sheets passed around the classroom, and do not need to be hidden from virtual class rosters, discussion forums, or blogs (§99.37(c)(1)).
Course instructors using Moodle need to take precautions to protect the personally identifiable information (PII) about the students enrolled in their class. Security should be in place to ensure that only those enrolled in a class have access to student information such as the names, and email addresses of their classmates, and that protected information (such as grades) is only viewable by the student to whom it pertains.
Question: Is a recorded Zoom meeting or class lecture considered a “student record”?
Answer: Any recording by a school official that involves students is an education record on those students. The recorded class sessions can be shared within the class as part of the learning process – even if a student has opted out of having “directory information” shared, the University can still share the recorded session within the classroom (§99.37(c)(1)). Sharing outside of the class would require the signed consent of all students. Here is Zoom’s statement on FERPA Compliance.
Question: Can someone who is not officially enrolled in my class observe my virtual lessons?
Answer: It depends. If any information about enrolled students might be disclosed, accessed, or viewable, then FERPA prohibits non-enrolled students from participating. As a best practice, students who are not formally enrolled in a course should not be permitted access to the virtual classroom.
Question: I’m working from home and would like to conference with a student. My spouse is also at home and in the same room. Is it OK to conduct the conference?
Answer: Yes, as long as you do not disclose personally identifiable information from the student’s education record within hearing of your spouse. If necessary to discuss PII, you must find private space to conduct your conference, so the discussion is not overheard.
Despite FERPA’s detailed recitation of rights and sanctions, it is student-friendly, legally necessary, and very important for ethical good practice in higher education. FERPA assists the university in respecting students’ privacy by providing specific guidelines about when University employees can and can’t, should and shouldn’t share information about students and their academic work.
It is the responsibility of every Clarkson employee to protect student education records. To that end, please be certain to:
- Protect all electronic and physical data, reports and rosters containing student information. Do not share reports with others.
- Protect data viewable on your computer screens. Do not leave computers unattended, and lock paper data, thumb drives, reports and rosters in a secure place.
- DO NOT post grades in public spaces, including in classrooms or on office doors. This includes leaving graded assignments in public spaces for students to pick up.
- Do not speak with parents or others about specific student information such as attendance, assignments, exams, quizzes, tests or grades without written authorization from the student (which is held on file with the SAS office).
- Request written authorization from students prior to writing letters of recommendation that reference specific course information, grades, class schedules, or internship experiences, etc.
- Call SAS with any questions you may have.
Clarkson University’s FERPA policy can be found in Clarkson’s Regulations, and there are additional FERPA basics on Confluence.