Students’ rights to access academic documents under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) has been in the national spotlight following a movement to request admissions records at Stanford University.
On Jan. 26 the Hopkins Office of the Registrar drew attention to the issue when it sent out an email outlining students’ rights under FERPA. However, this email was not a response to a similar request for documents.
Erin Yun, deputy to Vice Provost for Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger, wrote in an email to The News-Letter that the message was sent as a matter of routine.
“The email message was sent in compliance with the provisions of FERPA. Under the Act, institutions must notify students annually of their FERPA rights,” Yun wrote. “The Homewood Campus Registrar’s Office routinely sends these notifications out at the start of the spring semester. Information on how to request access to student records is and has been available to students on the JHU site.”
According to Shelly Placek, associate director of marketing and communications for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, students can contact the specific offices linked to whichever parts of their records they would like to examine.
“Because a student’s education record includes information that is used by different offices around campus, students should contact the office that corresponds to the information they’re interested in reviewing,” Placek wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “This is reiterated in the university’s FERPA policy: the right to inspect and review your education record within a reasonable time after the University receives a request for access. If you wish to review your record, contact the University office that maintains the record to make appropriate arrangements.”
The centerpiece of the recent FERPA controversy at Stanford concerned admissions records, specifically letters of recommendation and application reviews. However, not all students will be allowed to review their letters of recommendation.
“Upon request, JHU provides students with an opportunity to review components of their education record that FERPA gives them the right to access. Pursuant to the terms of the law, there are limitations on what aspects of their educational records students are permitted to inspect and review,” Yun wrote. “For letters of recommendation in particular, students can waive their rights to see these documents when they submit their application; in that case, they would not be able to view their recommendation letters in their application file.”
Another point of contention regarding educational records is whether or not they are truly confidential. Under FERPA, students have the right to consent to the disclosure of personal information contained within their educational record. However, FERPA does allow student records to be released without consent to certain school officials, including student employees.
Yun wrote that students with that level of clearance are given strict guidelines regarding the disclosure of information. They are also informed that they could face legal action if they fail to abide by these guidelines.
“Employees of the University, including student employees, are permitted by FERPA to access those education records that the employee needs in order to perform his or her university job,” Yun wrote. “In both the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of the Registrar, student employees must sign a FERPA statement acknowledging the confidentiality of the information and that disclosure is prohibited under FERPA.
“This statement also includes language that intentional disclosure to unauthorized persons may subject the student to legal penalties and may be cause for disciplinary action. Neither office has received any complaints about students having access to confidential educational records.”
Since Jan. 26,, only 34 students — mostly graduate students — have requested their records.
“I didn’t even know it was an option,” freshman Holly Tice said. “I would never think to ask. I don’t think I’ll [request my record] now that I know that it is an option. But I guess it’s nice to know that you have access to it.”
At Stanford, a student-run anonymous email newsletter called The Fountain Hopper decided to explore students’ rights under FERPA and asked many students to request their educational records. By mid-January, at least one student had received a record of several hundred pages, including his admissions information.
The Fountain Hopper then sent out a mass email to its subscribers, encouraging them to request their records. The email contained links that the students could use to request these records. According to a Fountain Hopper staff member, more than 700 people had clicked on the links in less than 24 hours.
Lisa Lapin, a Stanford University spokeswoman, admitted that the Fountain Hopper had incited an increase in students’ requests for records, but she refused to quantify the magnitude of this increase.
Aside from the letters, the Stanford student who received his admissions record was able to view written assessments of his applications as well a set of scores on a scale of 1 to 15 that were assigned to him based on criteria such as his test scores, high school record, personal merits and interview.
