FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, is a federal law that governs the privacy of student educational records, access to those records, and disclosure of information from them. More information about FERPA can be found on the Department of Education website.

FERPA can be summarized by the following two points:

1.       Access: An eligible student is permitted certain rights regarding his/her educational records:

a.       Right to inspect and review the records

b.      Right to seek to have the records amended or corrected

c.       Right to control disclosure of certain portions of the records

d.      Right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education

2.       Confidentiality: UW-Madison school officials must protect the privacy of student educational records and shall not disclose personally identifiable information about a student or permit inspection of the student’s records without his/her written consent unless such action is permitted by FERPA.

More detailed information, including resources and faculty/staff guidelines can be found at http://registrar.wisc.edu/ferpa_overview.htm.