FERPA
establishes requirements for the protection of the privacy
of students. FERPA and its attendant regulations govern
the release of information from student educational records,
provide for student access to their records, and establish
a means for students to request the amendment of records
which they believe are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise
in violation of their rights of privacy. New York University's
Guidelines for compliance summarize ther rights of the
University's students under FERPA and its attendant regulations,
as well as the corresponding obligations of the University,
and may be viewed at http://www.nyu.edu/apr/ferpa.htm.
Generally,
personally identifiable information regarding a student
cannot be disclosed without his or her written consent,
although there are exceptions to this rule, which are
explained in the Guidelines. Information is personally
identifiable if it would make a student's identity easily
traceable. This includes the student's name, address,
social security number or other such identifying number,
photograph, or parent's name and/or address. The disclosure
of personally identifiable information regarding students
in any form to unauthorized individuals or organizations
is a violation of both FERPA and University policy, and
University employees who engage in such acts may be subject
to personnel action.
Requests
by students for access to their education records should
be referred to the appropriate University record review
officer listed in Section IV of the Guidelines.
The
above is not meant to be an exhaustive explanation of
FERPA. Visit the NYU website for University guidelines
by following the link set forth above.
