Disclosing information about students (FERPA)


For more on FERPA:
NYU Guidelines
NYU Tutorial
US Department of Education
NYU Policy on Personal Identification Numbers


As faculty members at New York University, you have access to student information that is protected by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and NYU’s Policy on Personal Identification Numbers.  Even those faculty members who have been conscious of and careful about FERPA for years can forget some of its implications, so here are some reminders.
In general, no one other than the student may disclose specific kinds of “personally identifiable” information or the contents of a student’s education record to another or display it where others can see it.

This information includes, but is not limited to:
• University ID number
• NYU/Stern Net ID (including the URLs of student Web pages)
• Stern and other e-mail address
• Home and work phone numbers and addresses 
• Courses a student is taking or has taken
• Grades on assignments, tests, etc. and in courses 
• The contents of a student’s assignment


In more specific terms, these policies mean that professors:

1) Are not entitled access to students’ academic records (transcripts, degree progress, etc.). This information may be accessed by students’ advisers, but not by instructors.
2) May discuss a student’s personal information ONLY with a) the student or b) Stern and NYU officials who have a legitimate educational need for that information.
3) May NOT discuss a student’s academic record with or provide contact information to parents, potential employers, or other outsiders, unless the student has given us written permission.
When speaking with recruiters:
The courses a student is taking or has taken is protected information, so be careful not to reveal it. So, if recruiters say they have heard that a specific student is or was in your class, you may not confirm the student’s enrollment in your class. If a recruiter asks for the names of students in your class whom you would recommend, you may not provide the list. However, if a recruiter asks whether you know a specific student and whether that person is a good student or you would recommend the student for a job, you may give your opinion, reveal what you know by observation, and say that you would or would not recommend the student. You may also give the recruiter a list of students who have impressed you. But you may not reveal what course a student is taking or took with you (or the student’s grades).
If you want to avoid all this, just get permission from the student (in writing) to have a more candid discussion with the recruiter.
4) Do not collect student contact information by passing around a single sheet of paper in class. Instead, collect the contact information on individual sheets or cards, or by email to you or your TF. Students should share their personal information with each other only voluntarily and on their own.
5) When returning assignments, tests, etc., do not leave them in a pile to be picked up or send the pile around the classroom for students to retrieve their own unless students’ information is protected in such ways as:
  • Pass the stack of items around in class so students can retrieve their own, as long as each item has a cover sheet containing no grades, comments, or personal information other than the student’s name and information identifying the course. A cover sheet is necessary because the content of the assignment itself is part of the student’s education record.
  • Leave items in a pile outside your office in individual sealed envelopes labeled with students’ names.
  • Leave assignments with an administrative aide to return by request to individual students (who, if not known, should show an ID).
  • Post grades and comments in NYU Classes and don't return assignments and tests at all.
6) We may not post grades by name or University ID number.
7) When you are no longer a student’s instructor, destroy any personal information you have about that person that you do not have a legitimate educational reason to retain. Generally, keep graded assignments one semester beyond the semester in which the student completes a course, but no longer.