What is FERPA?
What is an Education Record?
What is Personally Identifiable Information?
What is Directory Information?
What is Non-directory Information?

What is FERPA?

The 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law (20 U.S.C. 1232g) that protects the privacy of a student’s educational record. FERPA applies to all educational institutions receiving funds from the United States Department of Education, from kindergarten through university level.

At the University of North Florida, the privacy of academic records is also protected by Florida Statute, Section 1002.22 (2006) and University Policy 5.0060P.

The U.S. Department of Education summarizes the rights afforded to students by FERPA as follows:

• The right to inspect and review their educational records.
• The right to request an amendment to educational records due to inaccuracies
• The right to restrict any or all information from public access
• The right to file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office if they feel their FERPA rights have been violated

FERPA requires universities to provide students with annual notification of these rights. UNF's annual notification is published in the undergraduate and graduate catalogs, the student handbook and our website. Students who suspect that a FERPA violation has occurred may contact the Family Policy Compliance Office within the U.S. Department of Education.

What is an Education Record?

Academic records are any records, files, documents and other materials in paper or electronic form that contain information related to a student's education and are maintained by an educational institution.

Examples of an academic record include, but are not limited to:

• Biographical information including date and place of birth, gender, nationality, information about race and ethnicity, and identification photographs
• Grades, test scores, evaluations, courses taken, academic specialization and activities, and official communications regarding your status
• Coursework including papers and exams, class schedules, as well as written email or recorded communications that are part of the academic process
• Disciplinary records
• Financial aid and financial aid records
• Internship program records

Academic records do not include:

• Sole possession records that are used only as memory aids and not shared with others
• Law enforcement unit records
• Employment records, unless the employment is dependent on the employee’s status as a student (such as evaluations of graduate assistants)
• Medical records
• Records that only contain information about an individual after he or she is no longer a student at that agency or institution

What is Personally Identifiable Information?

Personally identifiable information is any information — directory and non-directory information — easily traced to the student, and may include name, name of parents or family members, address, social security or UNF N number, grades, GPA, class schedules, transcripts, a list of personal characteristics, or any other information that clearly distinguishes the student’s identity.

What is Directory Information?

Directory information is the information available about a student that is not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. While FERPA and state law protect the privacy of educational records, directory information is not treated as confidential and may be disclosed by the university without student consent unless the student requests non-disclosure. At UNF, the following has been designated as directory information:

• Name
• Address
• Telephone number
• Dates of attendance
• Admitted College / Majors
• Degrees Awarded
• Status (Full or Part-Time)
• Classification (freshman, sophomore, etc)
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Honors
• Weight/ Height of Athletes

What is Non-directory Information?

Non-directory information refers to information that generally cannot be released without the student's consent. This includes:

• Birth date
• Religion
• Citizenship
• Disciplinary status
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• GPA (grade point average)
• Marital status
• UNF N or social security number
• Grades/exam scores
• Standardized test scores