During this course my take away would be keeping student information confidential. Making sure not to share any type of educational information regarding any student in the institute.
I learned the importance of FERPA and that education records has to be reviewed within 45 days of request, and a student has aright to file a complaint to the US Department of Education.
It is extremely important to maintain and protect student information.
I know I will need to refer back to this To keep straight all the branches straight. I forgot that FERPA has been in existence since 1974.
FERPA is a student's protection rights of their information whether it is grades, personal information or records related to that student. Students can request copies of their information, but the company has 45 days to comply and may impose a fine for copies. It is our job to protect the students' records.
Similar to HIPAA, FERPA protects the educational privacy of students.
Much like HIPPA, FERPA mandates rules for access and disclosure that protects the students rights, privacy and educational records.
I have been working with the notion of FERPA in mind every day since its inception. Most of the time as a Professor we think we don't have to worry about FERPA but when a parent wants to speak to you regarding a students grades ect we cannot talk to the parents unless there is a waiver on file. As a teacher or professor our first instinct is to talk to parents but think before you speak mentality is needed for sure.
My thoughts about FERPA!
Smatt
In my first role as a Academic Advisor I had first hand experience with FERPA, I am happy to learn more about the protection of Alumni as well.
Learning about who qualifies as a a school official. As a faculty member, I wouldn’t have complete access to a students educational record and would only really need access to the information needed for the course I am teaching.
I learned about the penalties for failing to follow FERPA rules and who is entitled to access educational records.
This is interesting how the privacy as well as the right of the students to access their own records are protected by laws. I used to believe that students have right to access their records at anytime they wish, however, now I see institutions can take some time to prepare the records for the students to view.
I am very familiar with FERPA and this just re-emphasized why it is so important to keep student's information private. The course was extremely detailed and was a good way to remember to always protect the company and yourself by understanding student's rights.
One specific thing I learned about FERPA that I did not know prior to this module was that there are no fines for violations of FERPA. In addition to that, I will be more aware of information as it passes my screen. Student's information is very important to keep private for many reasons and being the responsible institution requires attention to detail when handling important demographics.
Faculty may not have the right to access all of the students record. It could be on a "need to know" basis.
From the fundamentals module, I learned that FERPA grants students rights to access their educational records and requires institutions to protect those records. I now better understand the importance of handling records responsibly, ensuring only authorized access, and obtaining student consent when necessary. I intend to apply this knowledge by carefully evaluating requests for information, ensuring disclosures align with FERPA, and maintaining confidentiality when handling records to respect students' rights to privacy.
Having worked in the medical field for 30 years, FERPA reminds me of HIPAA. Basically, if you treat student information the same as you would a patient's then all should be good. The basic difference being that when a student asks for information you have 45 days to comply, where as, with patient information, that is readily available to them. So that will be a change for me to remember that the students have to request access and it is not readily accessible for them.
All information is confidential.
Students educational records are confidential and should be treated as such. Teaching at a higher level education center, it would be rare that a student is a minor but probably not uncommon that parents may be funding the students education. This is a factor in who can have access. Also, if you decide to keep notes on a student(s), they should be kept confidential and secure. Even from other faculty members until you decide that they SHOULD be part of that students records.
