Understanding FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g is a federal law enacted in 1974. FERPA is designed to protect the privacy of students' educational records. All educational institutions that receive federal funding must comply with FERPA.
Definition of Education Records
FERPA covers information from “education records,” which are any record, file, document, and/or other materials containing information directly related to a student that are maintained by the institution or a party acting on behalf of the institution. Education records can be maintained in paper, digital/electronic, and other formats. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
- LSCO student ID number (contact Admissions at 409-882-3923)
- Academic status (e.g., probation, suspension)
- Grades/GPA (grade point average)
- Testing scores
- Student class schedule
- Academic transcripts
- Disciplinary records
The term “education records” does not include:
- Records in the “sole possession” of instructional faculty and staff for their own use as reference or memory aids and not shared with others
- Personal observations
- Records created and maintained by a college law enforcement unit as part of their law enforcement function
- Records created and maintained by medical and mental health providers in connection with the provision of treatment to the student and not available to anyone other than persons providing such treatment
- Alumni records
- Peer-graded papers and exams prior to the grade being recorded in the instructor’s grade book
When FERPA Rights Begin
Any person who attends or has attended LSCO is considered an eligible student under FERPA. To meet LSCO's definition of eligible student, a person first must have received an official offer of admission and must have accepted the offer of admission. FERPA rights begin on the first day of the person's first term of enrollment.
At a postsecondary institution, rights belong to the eligible student, not the parent, regardless of age. Persons who have applied for admissions but have NOT been admitted to LSCO are NOT covered by FERPA. Persons who have received an offer of admission but who have not accepted the offer are NOT covered by FERPA. Persons who accepted an offer of admission but who never enrolled in classes are NOT covered by FERPA.
Directory and Non-Directory Information
Directory information, which is information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released, can also be disclosed to outside organizations without a student’s prior written consent.
If a student does not want LSCO to disclose any or all of the types of information designated below as directory information without prior written consent, students must complete a FERPA Release form. Students may also designate access to non-directory information to a third party by entering the release through enter text here.
In accordance with FERP, LSCO has designated the following information as Directory Information for students:
- Student name
- Year of birth
- Active mailing address
- Preferred telephone number
- LSCO-issued and personal student email address
- Degrees, certificates, honors, and awards received
- Major field of study
- College
- Date of attendance
- Date of graduation
- Enrollment status
Any information from education records that is not referenced above is considered non-directory information and may not be released by the institution without written consent of the student. The list below of non-directory information is meant to be illustrative but not exhaustive:
- LSCO student ID number (contact Admissions at 409-882-3923)
- Academic status (e.g., probation, suspension)
- Grades/GPA (grade point average)
- Testing scores
- Student class schedule
- Academic transcripts
- Disciplinary records
- Place and date of birth (month and day)
- Social security number
- Marital status
- Residency status
- Gender/race/ethnicity
- Religious preference