Overview

FERPA gives students the right to restrict UW–Madison from releasing some or all of their directory information.

In SIS, there are two ways to check whether a student has put a FERPA restriction -- commonly referred to as a FERPA flag or a FERPA hold -- in place. A blue flag/window shade icon () indicates the student has restricted some or all of their information from release.

Before getting started: Review the Office of the Registrar's FERPA Overview and FERPA for Employees webpages to make sure you understand your responsibilities under the law.

Steps

1. Log in to SIS.
2. Navigate to the Student Records WorkCenter.
   
   

Using Add/Update a Person

1. From the menu at the left, select "Add/Update a Person." You can also search for "Add/Update a Person" in the search bar at the top of the screen.
   
   
   
   
2. Search for the student using their name, Campus ID number, and/or SIS ID number. Confirm the student's date of birth or other identification matches with the name of the student for whose records you are searching.
3. If the student has any FERPA restrictions in place, a blue flag/window shade icon () will be displayed to the right of their Campus ID number.
   
   
   
   
4. Click on the flag to review what directory information can and cannot be released. Select a specific category of information (i.e. addresses, email addresses) for the details of the information you could release.

   1. If at least some of the information in a category can be released, click the corresponding category name to view a list of all information that can be released.

      
      

   2. If the student has restricted the release of all information in a specific category (i.e. all of their addresses), you will not be able to click the corresponding category, which will read "No Releasable [category]."
      
      

Using Review FERPA Display

1. From the menu at the left, select “Review FERPA Display." You can also search for “Review FERPA Display" in the search bar at the top of the screen.
   
    
   
   
2. Once on the page, you can search by the student's Campus ID number, SIS ID number, and/or name.
   
   
   
   
3. After finding the student for whom you're searching, browse through the various tabs to determine what information, if any, you can share. The tabs are separated by category (i.e. FERPA Bio Demo, FERPA Addresses, FERPA Email Addresses).
   1. If the student has not restricted the release of the corresponding directory information and it can be shared, it will be listed as releasable information.
      
      
      
      
   2. If the student has restricted the release of the corresponding directory information and it cannot be shared, a message saying no information designated releasable will be displayed.