The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, is a federal law that protects the privacy and confidentiality of personally identifiable information contained within student education records. The University of Kentucky takes the issue of confidentiality and privacy of student records very seriously. We believe that only a student has the right to decide whether to release their records, to in effect tell their story regarding their time with us at the University of Kentucky. As you likely know, the issues surrounding the confidentiality of student records – and the protection for that privacy as provided by federal law in cases involving sexual misconduct – have been the subject of litigation and media attention at UK and across the country at universities large and small, public and private. This is a critically important issue for us – and for all of higher education — and we believe strongly that protecting student privacy is one of the key components of our efforts here to build a community where everyone feels like they belong.

Key elements of this law include:

• Education records are any record maintained by the institution which include student information, regardless of the medium (paper, electronic, et al).
• FERPA rights transfer to the student upon enrollment in a higher education institution regardless of age. Parents have no inherent rights to student education records.
• Institutions may only release directory information to third parties and then only if the student does not have a privacy flag and/or has not provided explicit signed consent to the release of non-directory information.
• Students have the right to prevent institutional disclosure of any student record information, including directory information (i.e. a FERPA/privacy flag – displayed in myUK and SAP).
• Students have the right to review their own education records.