FERPA

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 permits current or former students to inspect certain college educational records pertaining to them as individuals and to obtain copies for a fee. Students are also accorded the right to question the content of a record and to receive a formal hearing if dissatisfied with the responses to such questions.

Written consent from a student is required before personally identifiable information can be released from the individual educational record in all cases except tuition and fee obligations and those specifically exempted by law.

There is certain directory information which the university may release without the student's permission. Directory Information at SUNY Oneonta is defined as the following:

  • student name, postal addresses (not residence hall addresses), phone numbers and electronic mail addresses.
  • major field (s) of student, class year, academic advisor, dates of attendance, full/part-time enrollment status, degrees and awards received.
  • previous educational agencies or institutions attended.
  • Photographs, height and weight of members of athletic teams.

Students wishing to prevent directory information from being released must contact the University Registrar, in writing or in person, to request that a "confidential" flag be placed on his or her record. These confidential flags will be placed within 48 hours of receipt of the request and will be in effect until the student provides the University Registrar with a written request to remove the confidential flag.

The Institutional FERPA Policy Statement, containing complete university policies and procedures for exercising student rights under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, is available from the University Registrar. Inquiries or complaints may be filed with the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.

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In response to a New York State law enacted in 2000, all students are assigned an Oneonta ID number or A00 number. These numbers are used as a unique student identifier. They are printed on class rosters and are used by students when asking for services at the University. According to FERPA and campus policy, these numbers are to be treated in the same manner as the social security number. Please take care to provide the maximum security for all student record information. It is incumbent on all of us to protect our students’ privacy. If you would like a refresher on FERPA or if you have any questions regarding privacy of student records, please contact Maureen Artale, College Registrar at 607-436-3216 or Maureen.Artale@oneonta.edu.

Federal law (FERPA) prohibits posting grades using student names and/or identification numbers. However, it is permissible to post by code name or number (not the Oneonta I.D. number, social security number, or any part thereof) agreed to by the student and the faculty member. If you use the web to inform students of grades on course assignments, tests, etc., you must also assign a code name.

Wherever you post grades, please scramble the names on the roster before assigning codes so that the list does not reflect an alphabetical listing of your roster.

It is also against FERPA regulations to leave students’ graded work in a general pick-up area. Graded course work must be returned individually to students.

Please be aware that under no circumstances may a listing of student names and ID numbers, or any part thereof, be posted for any reason.

Violations of this law can result in termination of Federal funding to the college. Questions regarding the privacy of student records should be directed to Maureen Artale, College Registrar at 607-436-3216 or via e-mail at Maureen.Artale@oneonta.edu.

Faculty who use an anti-plagiarism service must remove the students name and assign a code name to each paper you submit. The code name must not be the students ID number or any part thereof and should only be known to you. Using the students name or ID number is a violation of the students FERPA rights because it is a release of personally identifiable information without his/her written consent.

If you have any questions on FERPA please contact Maureen Artale, College Registrar at 607-436-3216 or via e-mail at Maureen.Artale@oneonta.edu.

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