Understanding the FERPA Eligible Student Definition

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law enacted to protect the privacy of students' education records. Annually, institutions like Loyola University New Orleans inform students of FERPA, which the institution intends to comply with fully. This article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the "eligible student" definition under FERPA and the rights afforded to such students.

What is FERPA?

FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of students' education records. The Act provides certain rights for parents regarding their children’s education records, such as report cards, transcripts, finances and accounts, disciplinary records, contact and family information, and class schedules. FERPA applies to all schools that receive funding under any program administered by the Department of Education (Department). Private institutions of postsecondary education generally do receive such funding (e.g., student aid under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended) and are, therefore, generally subject to FERPA.

Key Definitions Under FERPA

To fully grasp the concept of an "eligible student," it's essential to understand some key definitions within FERPA:

Educational Records: These are records directly related to a student and maintained by the institution or a party acting for the institution. Examples include transcripts, class schedules, course work including papers, exams, grades, and evaluations, disciplinary records, internship program records, and student financial records.
Institution of Postsecondary Education: An institution that provides education to students beyond the secondary school level. "Secondary school level" means the educational level (not beyond grade 12) at which secondary education is provided.
In Attendance: Includes but is not limited to (a) attendance - in person or by correspondence study (program) and (b) the period during which a person is working under a work-study (cooperative) program. Northcentral Technical College considers students to be in attendance on the first day of the first term in which the student is enrolled for academic credit in one or more classes as part of degree or non-degree offerings under any instructional delivery method/modality.
School Officials: Those members of an institution who act in the student's educational interest within the limitations of their "need to know." These may include faculty, administration, clerical and professional employees and other persons, including student employees or agents, who manage student education record information.

Defining the "Eligible Student"

Under FERPA, when a student reaches 18 years of age or attends an institution of postsecondary education at any age, the student becomes an “eligible student,” and all rights under FERPA transfer from the parent to the student. An eligible student under FERPA is an individual of any age who attends or has attended the College. ‘In attendance’ means a student who is or has been enrolled in a post-secondary class. This term does not apply to an individual who never attended the college.

Rights Afforded to Eligible Students Under FERPA

FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:

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Right to Inspect and Review Education Records: Under FERPA, a school or State educational agency (SEA) must provide an eligible student with an opportunity to inspect and review their education records within a reasonable period of time, but not more than 45 calendar days following the receipt of a request. A school or SEA is generally not required to provide an eligible student with copies of education records unless circumstances effectively prevent an eligible student from exercising their right to inspect and review the education records. FERPA’s access provisions apply to education records maintained by educational agencies or institutions, including documents such as academic transcripts. Requests to review educational records must be made in writing and presented to the Student Records Office and the College has up to 45 days to honor a student’s request to review the educational records.
Right to Seek Amendment of Education Records: Under FERPA, an eligible student has the right to seek amendment or correction of their education records that the eligible student believes to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their rights of privacy. However, while a school is not required to amend an education record in accordance with an eligible student’s request, a school is required to consider the request for amendment, to inform the student of its decision, and, if the request is denied, to advise the student of their right to a hearing on the matter. If, as a result of the hearing, a school decides not to amend the education records, then the eligible student has the right to insert a statement in the record commenting on the contested information or stating why they disagree with the decision, or both. While an eligible student has the right to seek to amend non-substantive factual errors in the student’s education records, the right is not unlimited. A student may challenge or request to amend any information contained in their ‘educational records’ that the student believes to be inaccurate, misleading, inappropriate or a violation of their privacy rights. This right does not extend to final grades unless the grade assigned by your instructor was inaccurately recorded in the student’s record. The student must identify the part of the record to be amended and specify why the student believes the record is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of their privacy rights.
Right to Consent to Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Under FERPA, a school generally may not disclose PII from an eligible student’s education records to a third party unless the eligible student has provided prior written consent. Even with the prior written consent of an eligible student, a school is not required by FERPA to disclose PII from education records to third parties. Accordingly, under FERPA, a school may have a policy of not disclosing PII from education records to third parties if the eligible student owes money to the school. Data or information which include (1) the name of the student, the student's parent, or other family members; (2) the student's address; (3) a personal identifier such as a social security number or student number; or (4) a list of personal characteristics or other information which would make the student's identity easily traceable.
- Exceptions to the Consent Requirement: There are several exceptions to FERPA’s general consent requirement, some of which are described below.
  - School Officials with Legitimate Educational Interests: FERPA allows “school officials,” including faculty and staff within an institution of postsecondary education, to access PII from education records without consent, provided the school has determined that they have a “legitimate educational interest” in the information. (Although the Act does not define "legitimate educational interest", it states that institutions must establish their own criteria, according to their own procedures and requirements, for determining when their school officials have a legitimate educational interest in a student's education records. Northcentral Technical College defines school officials with legitimate educational interests as persons employed by the school in an administrative, supervisory, advising, counseling, finance, financial aid, academic, research or support staff position (including security personnel and health staff); persons or organizations under contract with the college to perform a specific task or job duty (such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent); agents acting on behalf of the college, a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee or assisting another school official performing his or her tasks. A school official typically has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for Northcentral Technical College.
  - Disclosure to Another School: Another exception to FERPA’s general consent requirement permits a school to disclose PII from an eligible student’s education records, without consent, to another school in which the student seeks or intends to enroll, or where the student is already enrolled, as long as the purpose of the disclosure is related to the student’s enrollment or transfer. A school that discloses education records under this exception must make a reasonable attempt to notify the eligible student of the disclosure, unless the disclosure is initiated by the student, or the school’s annual notification of rights under FERPA includes a notice that it forwards education records to other schools that have requested the records and in which the student seeks or intends to enroll or is already enrolled, as long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer. A school that discloses education records under this exception also must provide the student, upon request, a copy of the records that were disclosed and, upon request, an opportunity for a hearing to amend the records that were disclosed. Under this exception, a school has the discretion to disclose academic, disciplinary, or any other PII from the student’s education records to the new school.
  - Directory Information: FERPA also permits a school to disclose PII from an eligible student’s education records, without consent, when such information has been appropriately designated as “directory information,” and the eligible student has not opted out of the disclosure of such designated information. The FERPA regulations define “directory information” as information in a student’s education record that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. FERPA provides that a school may disclose, without consent, directory information if the school has given public notice to eligible students of the types of PII that it has designated as directory information and the process, including period of time, for eligible students to opt out of certain directory information disclosures. This notice is often included in the annual notification discussed below.
  - Disclosure to Parents: FERPA provides ways in which a school may share, without the consent of an eligible student, education records of the eligible student with their parents. Schools may, but are not required to, disclose any and all PII from education records to parents, without the consent of the eligible student, if the student is a “dependent student,” as that term is defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code. This exception to FERPA’s general consent rule, where applicable, also permits institutions of postsecondary education to share, without the prior written consent of an eligible student, PII from education records of students who are enrolled in both a high school and the college or university (dually enrolled) with the parents of such dually enrolled students.
  - To law enforcement or emergency personnel and College officials in an emergency: in order to protect the health and safety of students or other persons
  - Courts or legal officers on the basis of a subpoena
  - The Wisconsin Technical College Board as part of the process of securing state funds
  - Properly authorized educational authorities for research purposes, provided that the information is not given in a personally identifiable format
  - Agencies providing financial aid or financial assistance to the student, such as employers, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Veterans Administration, if the information is necessary to determine eligibility, conditions, amounts, or the enforcement of the conditions and terms of aid
  - Accrediting organizations
  - The Comptroller General or Secretary of Education of the United States
  - To parents of a dependent student as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. A copy of the parents most recent Federal Income Tax form, indicating that the parents declared the student as a dependent must be provided to verify dependency
  - To parents or guardians of an eligible student under age 21 who violated alcohol and drug laws and college policies
  - Results of disciplinary hearings to an alleged victim of a crime of violence or non- forcible sex offense
Right to File a Complaint: Under FERPA, a school must annually notify eligible students of their rights under FERPA. The annual notification must include information regarding an eligible student’s right to inspect and review their education records, the right to seek to amend their records, the right to consent to disclosure of PII from their records (except in certain circumstances), and the right to file a complaint with SPPO regarding an alleged failure by a school to comply with FERPA. The notification must also inform eligible students of the school’s criteria for the terms “school official” and “legitimate educational interest” in certain instances. A school is not required to notify eligible students individually, but rather is required to provide the notice by any means that are reasonably likely to inform eligible students of their rights. SPPO will then make a case-by-case determination of the best mechanism for resolving the complaint. Sometimes the action will be an investigation, while for other complaints, consistent with the statute and applicable regulations, we will take other appropriate actions, such as acting as an intermediary or providing resolution assistance.

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Exceptions to Education Records

An educational record is not:

Sole possession records or private notes held by school officials that are not accessible or released to other persons or groups. These are personal notes and are made by one person as an individual observation or recollection.
Employment records
Medical and counseling records used solely for treatment
Financial records of parents
Confidential letters and statements of recommendations placed in records prior to January 1, 1975.
Confidential letters and statements of recommendations for admission, employment, or honorary recognition placed in records after January 1, 1975, for which students have waived the right to inspect and review.
Records that contain only information about a person after that person is no longer a student at this institution (e.g.

Directory Information

Directory information is not openly published and third party requests for directory information will be considered under the provisions of the Wisconsin Public Records Law.

Students have the right to restrict the release of directory information in Workday. Please see our Manage My Privacy Settings guide for instructions on how to manage your privacy settings in Workday. Please note if you do not consent to share your information outside of the institution, no information will be shared about the individual without written consent, including enrollment and degree verifications received for employment, insurance coverage, scholarships, tuition reimbursement, etc.

Access to Student Education Records

Northcentral Technical College may disclose non-directory student education records without a student’s prior written consent within the following exceptions under FERPA:

School officials with legitimate educational interests
Officials of another school in which the student seeks or intends to enroll. This exception includes schools in which a student is dually enrolled as part of a shared program
To law enforcement or emergency personnel and College officials in an emergency in order to protect the health and safety of students or other persons
Courts or legal officers on the basis of a subpoena
The Wisconsin Technical College Board as part of the process of securing state funds
Properly authorized educational authorities for research purposes, provided that the information is not given in a personally identifiable format
Agencies providing financial aid or financial assistance to the student, such as employers, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Veterans Administration, if the information is necessary to determine eligibility, conditions, amounts, or the enforcement of the conditions and terms of aid
Accrediting organizations
The Comptroller General or Secretary of Education of the United States
To parents of a dependent student as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. A copy of the parents most recent Federal Income Tax form, indicating that the parents declared the student as a dependent must be provided to verify dependency
To parents or guardians of an eligible student under age 21 who violated alcohol and drug laws and college policies
Results of disciplinary hearings to an alleged victim of a crime of violence or non- forcible sex offense

Authorizing the Release of Non-Directory Information to Third Parties

To allow someone else (e.g., a parent, guardian, etc.) to access your education record, you must provide consent through your Workday account. NTC does not release or provide copies of these documents to third parties or to students. Upon request, students may view these documents and take notes, but may not have a copy. Exceptions to the policy are at the discretion of the Registrar and Executive Vice President - Student Services, and are granted on an exception basis.

Review of Student Records

Requests to review educational records must be made in writing and presented to the Student Records Office and the College has up to 45 days to honor a student’s request to review the educational records. Students should submit their written request identifying the records they wish to review to:

Northcentral Technical CollegeAttention: Registrar1000 W. Campus DriveWausau, WI 54401

A student may challenge or request to amend any information contained in their ‘educational records’ that the student believes to be inaccurate, misleading, inappropriate or a violation of their privacy rights. This right does not extend to final grades unless the grade assigned by your instructor was inaccurately recorded in the student’s record. The student must identify the part of the record to be amended and specify why the student believes the record is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of their privacy rights.

The Registrar will schedule a meeting with the student and the student will have the opportunity to present evidence relevant to the request to amend the student’s education record. The Registrar will make the determination to approve or deny the request and will notify the student in writing of the decision. The student has the right to appeal the decision to the Vice President for Learning within 5 business days. The Vice President for Learning will schedule a meeting and the student will have the opportunity to provide any additional documentation relevant to the appeal to amend the educational record. The Vice President for Learning will provide a decision in writing and reason’s for the decision. The decision of the Vice President for Learning is final.

If the Registrar and Vice President for Learning deny the request to amend the educational record, the student has the right to place an explanatory statement of the challenge in the records.

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