FERPA Guidelines for Faculty and Staff

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. Faculty and staff should keep the following guidelines in mind when dealing with student records. Refer any questions to the Registrar's Office; 812/464-1762 or 800/467-1965. 

A FERPA tutorial and online training program is available through myUSI.  After logging into myUSI, look for the gold certificate icon to the left.

• When in doubt, DO NOT release information to others. Consult the Registrar's Office.
• DO pay attention to any confidential indicators in Banner (pop-up box) and myUSI (text with warning icon on each page). Consult the Registrar's Office for assistance determining the items for which the student has requested nondisclosure before releasing any information about the student; 812-464-1762 or 1-800-467-1965 (ext #3).
• DO NOT release a student's class schedule to anyone. For security purposes, this information must be kept confidential.
• DO NOT display student scores or grades publicly in association with names, social security numbers, USI Student ID number, or other personally identifiable information. If scores or grades are posted, use only a coding method agreed upon mutually by the entire class, a method which does not include personally identifiable information. The list should be randomly generated, i.e., displayed in such a way that it does not appear in alphabetical order or by student name.
• DO NOT display, email, or share a class roster or other list of student names with social security numbers or USI Student ID numbers in a manner that is accessible to students or the general public.
• DO NOT share non-directory information from a student’s education records, such as grades or class schedules, with parents unless the student is present or if the student has voluntarily provided written permission for you to discuss the records with the parent. Refer parents to the Office of the Registrar.
• DO NOT provide non-directory information to third parties such as prospective employers, associations, honorary organizations, etc., without the student’s written consent.
• DO understand that only the appropriate educational record custodian may release information about a student’s educational record to a third party outside the University.
• DO refer requests for information from the education record of a student to the proper educational record custodian (e.g., academic, financial, medical, placement, etc.)
• DO NOT provide copies to students of their transcripts from other institutions. If you release copies of transcripts, you are acting as a third party testifying as to the accuracy of the information on the transcripts.
• DO NOT request information from the educational record custodian, or access a student’s record in Banner or myUSI unless you have a legitimate educational interest with respect to that student and that record.
• DO follow the confidentiality principles of FERPA by not sharing education records information with your colleagues or co-workers unless a legitimate educational interest exists.
• DO keep only those individual student records necessary for the fulfillment of your teaching or advising responsibilities. Private notes of a professor/staff member concerning a student and intended for a professor/staff member’s own use are not a part of the student’s education record.
• DO keep any personal professional records relating to individual students separate from their education records. Private records of instructional, supervisory and administrative personnel and ancillary educational personnel are to be kept in the sole possession of the maker and are not to be accessible to any other person, except a substitute.
• DO NOT leave your workstation or computer unattended while logged in to Banner or myUSI, and DO NOT give your password to another employee or student. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your workstation or computer. This includes all transactions that occur under your username and password.
• DO shred unneeded documents that include personal student information (i.e. social security number, grades, etc.). Placing records in the trash is a violation of FERPA.