FERPA Questions for Staff

What information about students may I release to faculty members and other Empire State College staff members?: Items defined as directory information may be released without a student's written permission, provided that the student has not chosen to restrict his or her directory information. All other personally identifiable information in a student's educational record is confidential and may be disclosed to appropriate Empire State College faculty and staff members only if their normal job duties require such access.

What information about students may I release to parents?: You may disclose directory information to a parent (as you may to any third party) if the student has not restricted his or her directory information. If the student has restricted his or her directory information, you should respond to any inquiries by saying "I have no information to provide about that individual." Confidential information may be released to parents with the express, written permission of the student.

What is directory information?: FERPA has identified certain information, called directory information, that may be disclosed without the student's permission. Empire State College has designated the following information as directory information:

Name
Address
Telephone Number
Dates of Attendance
Most recent previous educational institution attended
Major Area of Concentration (Area of Study and Concentration)
Degrees and Awards Earned
Participation in officially recognized College activities
Birth Date

Do I have to release information from a student's educational record?: FERPA regulations state that you MAY release directory information about a student, but FERPA does not require or compel you to do so.

Do I have to keep a record of the release of information from a student's educational record?: A record of each request for access and each disclosure must be kept, unless the request was made by or the disclosure was made to one of the following:

The student
A party seeking directory information
A designated school official
A party with written consent from the student
A party with a law enforcement subpoena or court order which specifies that the existence or contents of the subpoena or court order not be disclosed
The US Attorney General in response to an ex parte order (Patriot Act)

These records must be kept with the educational records of the student as long as the educational records are maintained by the school.

What do I do about subpoenas?: All subpoenas should be accepted and forwarded to the Office of Administration. If the subpoena is about a student, it will be forwarded to the Office of the Registrar for the institutional response.

Please contact the Office of the Registrar at Registrarsoffice@esc.edu with any questions or concerns.