UMass Boston

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law enacted in 1974 to protect the privacy of student education records. It is incumbent upon all employees of the university to protect educational records, be it in files, documents, spreadsheets, and other materials (paper or digital) containing information related to a student.

These guidelines are to help you know what you can and cannot disclose to parents and others about a student’s record. It does not mean you can’t speak with a parent and use general terms to discuss university rules and guidelines. You just can’t give out specific details without permission. Often times, the general information is enough to help the person asking the questions. Information that is protected by FERPA:

Education records include (but are not limited to) student names in conjunction with:

1. Grades or GPA (FERPA)

2. Test scores or grades

3. Student course enrollment or schedules and Class lists (FERPA)

4. Disciplinary records (FERPA)

5. Student financial records (FERPA, and Personally Identifiable Information PII)

6. Payroll records for employees who are employed as a direct result of their status as students (e.g. work study, assistantships, resident assistants)

7. Student identification number (FERPA)

8. Ethnicity, race, or religious affiliation (FERPA and PII)

9. Gender (FERPA, PII)

10. Nationality (FERPA, PII)

11. Social security number or ID numbers(FERPA, PII)

You must not disclose any of the above information without the written consent of the student.

Directory information is public information and can be made public. UMass Boston has determined the following to be directory information:

• Name
• Place of Birth
• Dates of Attendance at UMass
• Major
• Participation in sports or recognized university activities
• Degrees, Awards, certificates
• Student Employment status
• Most Recent previous educational institution

EMAIL ADDRESS IS NOT DIRECTORY INFORMATION AND WE DO NOT RELEASE IT.

Some FERPA “Danger Zones”:

1. Do not circulate, post, or project on a screen a class list with student names and ID numbers, or home address

2. Do not discuss a student’s progress or grades with anyone other than the student without permission of the student (ex: parents) You can speak in general terms about the polices of your class or the university.

3. Do not leave graded papers or exams in a stack or someplace for students to pick them up.

4. Never require students to put their social security number or ID on any paper.

5. Never disclose information about a student without the written consent of the student.

6. Do not post grades using an identifying information or partial identification.

“When in doubt, don’t give it out”

Please refer to our full FERPA Guidelines on our website

If you have any questions please contact our office Registrar@umb.edu