FERPA and Faculty

How FERPA Affects Faculty

Under FERPA, grade, grade point average, student ID number and Social Security number information may not be released without the written consent of the student. As such, the following practices are a violation of FERPA and are not allowed:

• Posting student grades by ID number
• Releasing grades over the phone or via e-mail without signature approval of the student
• Leaving personally identifiable papers or test results without supervision for students to pick up
• Releasing student Social Security numbers or student ID numbers
• Releasing of any information on students who have requested that their information remain confidential

Helpful Tips for Faculty to Submit Grades to Students

Grades can be posted using non-sequential number or codes in non-alpha order for the students in the class; however, the numbers cannot be any part or portion of the student's ID number or Social Security number.

Although the student’s final grade is posted online, this does not work for exams and papers. Papers and exam results can only be sent to the student's mailbox in a sealed envelope.

Individual quizzes that count for only a small portion of the student’s grade can be graded and corrected by other students in the class by exchanging papers. For major exam grades or final grades, the student can be requested to leave a self-addressed envelope (no postcards) to have the grades mailed.

Sending exam grades by e-mail is less secure and not recommended by FERPA. To avoid unauthorized access, final exams and major papers not returned to the student should be shredded. They should not be thrown away nor put in a recycle bin.

If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact the Office of the Registrar.