Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA in Less Than 5 Minutes

What is FERPA?

FERPA is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.  The law and its regulations for implementation provide students with the following rights:

  • The right to inspect and review their education records
  • The right to seek amendment of the their education records if they believe them to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy rights
  • The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in their education records, except to the extent that the University is authorized to disclose the information without consent
  • The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with FERPA requirements

Understanding FERPA

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974

Department of Education FERPA Regulations

Department of Education FERPA website

FERPA on Your Campus: 

 

University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana:

Guidelines and Regulations for FERPA Implementation*

Guidelines and Regulations Governing Access and Release of Student Records

University of Illinois Chicago:

Student Records Policy*

Confidentiality of Student Records

University of Illinois Springfield:

Student Record Policy*

*These policies identify the education record custodians, by record type, at each campus.

Statutory Reference

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974