Certain basic pieces of information have been designated as directory information and may be released only at the discretion of the Registrar.  Faculty and staff outside of the Records Office have NOT been authorized to provide any directory information to third parties.  Therefore, requests for even the most basic information about a student, e.g., name and address, must be made to the Records Office so that each request can be appropriately evaluated. The key point is that directory information MAY be released and only the Records Office can make that determination.

All non-directory information is confidential and may NOT be released without the written consent of the student.  This means that no one, including members of the Records Office, can release information about a student's grades, attendance patterns, quality of work, etc.

FERPA applies to all students regardless of their age, marital status or financial dependency.  The College FERPA policy does not allow for the parent of a dependent student to have access to non-directory information any more that it allows the spouse of a student to have such information.

Never post grades in any manner on your office or any other location.

Know to whom you are speaking.  On numerous occasions, parents, siblings, friends and attorneys have asked questions over the telephone as if they were the student.  By answering their questions about the student, you could violate the student's right to confidentiality.

Do NOT leave phone messages that contain detailed information, e.g., "You failed the last exam so you need to make an appointment to see me."  A better approach would be to leave a message that says, "Please make an appointment to see me."

Do NOT ask the Records Office for non-directory information about one of your students unless you can do so in person with proper identification and with a legitimate educational reason for needing the information.

When in doubt, please contact the Records Office at 574-4328.