Guidelines for Faculty and Staff

• Directory information on individual students may be made available publicly by the appropriate educational record custodian.
• Staff using the Banner system should always determine the students’ confidentiality preference settings by using the SPAPERS form.
• Information from a students’ educational record may be shared among University officials or any person or company with whom the University has contracted who has legitimate educational interests.
• Access to students’ educational records by school officials is restricted to that portion of the record necessary for the discharge of assigned duties.
• The release of non-directory information to parties outside of the University is restricted to the appropriate educational record custodian and only if the custodian has a signed and dated authorization to release statement from the student.
• The University does not provide mailing lists to any third party for either commercial use or for solicitation of any product or service.

General Faculty/Staff Do's and Don'ts

Good practice by faculty and staff members requires that they maintain, use, and report student data in compliance with the requirements of FERPA and the University's Policy. The following statements provide practical guidelines to follow:

1. Do refer requests for student record information to the proper educational record custodian.
2. Do keep only those individual student records necessary for the fulfillment of your teaching or advising responsibilities.
3. Do keep any personal records relating to individual students separate from their educational records. Private notes of a professor/staff member concerning a student that are intended for professor's/staff member's own use are not part of the student's educational record.
4. Do insure privacy when asking for student CWID. When on the telephone, be aware that the student may not be in a private environment.
5. Do ask for only the last four digits of the CWID on exams and other documents, if needed, to identify different students with the same name.
6. Do properly dispose of all papers and documents that contain the CWID.
7. Do not include the CWID in the subject line of an email message; however, the CWID may be shown in the body of the email message and in any attached documents. In no case should the students’ full Social Security Number be provided.
8. Do notinclude the CWID on documents mailed by surface mail where the CWID is visible on the outer document or in a window envelope.
9. Do not display student scores or grades publicly in association with the student name, CWID, social security number, or other personal identifier. Scores or grades may be posted using a code known only to you and the student.
10. Do not put papers or lab reports containing student names and grades in publicly accessible places. Students may not have access to the scores or grades of others in the class.
11. Do not request information from the educational record custodian without a legitimate educational interest and the appropriate authority to do so.
12. Do not share student educational record information with other faculty or staff members of the University unless their official responsibilities provide for a legitimate educational interest.
13. Do not ask for the CWID on any document that will be viewed by anyone other than a University employee with an educational need to know. Examples:
    • On exams, homework assignments and attendance rosters - if other students may view these documents.
    • On questionnaires, surveys and other documents soliciting additional personal information.
    • On checks payable to the University or to the student.
    • On non-academic documents or an appointment sign-in sheet.

14. You may not release personal information such as ID number, grades, or GPA via phone, fax, or email as it is impossible to verify identity through those means.