Friday Fun with FERPA
Directory Information
Under FERPA, students enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions own their education records. These records should be treated as confidential unless prior, written, student consent has been given or disclosure falls under a permissible FERPA exception.A common FERPA exception includes release of directory information unless explicitly prohibited by the student. FERPA allows students to restrict the release of their information, including that designated by their institution as ‘directory’. Currently enrolled students may prevent the release of any of their directory information by selecting the desired items to withhold in https://howdy.tamu.edu, select Directory Holds under Personal Info.
Practical Implications
Linking non-directory and directory information to subsequently provide directory information elements for a group of students is not compliant with the Directory Information FERPA exception. For example, providing email addresses for students enrolled in a course discloses non-directory information related to student enrollment. Similarly, providing directory information elements for certain student populations (e.g., veterans, first-generation students) discloses non-directory student education record data. Disclosures such as these are not compliant with FERPA.Students with directory holds are not able to remain anonymous within their classroom environment, so directory holds should not affect in-class activities and should not hinder the instructor’s ability to share directory information with class participants as is necessary to conduct the class and facilitate instruction.
Students can place or remove directory holds at any time, so when working with or disclosing directory information, regularly re-check student preferences for maintaining their directory information. Before disclosing any information falling under the directory information FERPA exception, school officials must ensure that the individual student hasn’t withheld the release of that information.
Checking for Holds
School officials can review items withheld from release in various ways.COMPASS
Within COMPASS, students with directory restrictions will initially display a pop-up noting their information is confidential (see below) and the term “Confidential” will appear on the top of each COMPASS screen displaying their information.
Individual directory items are viewable on the COMPASS form SWAINFO (review the Student, not Applicant tab).
HOWDY
Within Howdy, selections related to withholding directory information are available in multiple places. Once the student is selected, a lock icon will appear next to the student name, UIN, and email icon in the top banner. Course rosters in Howdy will identify which students have placed holds on their directory information by displaying (Confidential) next to their name. Clicking on the (Confidential) indicator provides details about the specific directory information the student has requested to be withheld.For additional FERPA information, be sure to review the Office of the Registrar site for FERPA and FERPA Forms & Resources.
Individuals within the Office of the Registrar are available to participate in FERPA presentations and/or question and answer sessions for any department or college faculty or staff meeting. To schedule, submit a request to ferpa@tamu.edu or call 979-845-1711.
If you have a topic that you are interested in being explored in a future Friday Fun with FERPA, please email ferpa@tamu.edu. Alternatively, you can submit an anonymous form with topic ideas HERE.