Research Integrity & Compliance:Use of Student Education Records for Research Under FERPA Requirements
The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act affords certain rights to students and parents of minor students, including the right to privacy with respect to disclosure of their education records. Only directory information can be released without student consent. For a list of directory information see here.
Protected Records
Education record information protected under FERPA includes but is not limited to:
- University ID Number, Social Security Number, Date of Birth
- Race/ethnicity, country of citizenship
- All graded material
- GPA
- Transcripts
- Class rosters
- Class schedules
Acceptable Use
FERPA protected records may be used for research purposes under one of three conditions:
A. The student provides written permission
When a researcher wishes to access identifiable education records solely for research purposes, FERPA consent is required. The researcher must document the FERPA consent by having the student sign and date a one-time FERPA release. This requires IRB approval.
Written permission must include:
- a. Description of the records to be disclosed
- b. Purpose of the disclosure
- c. Party or class of parties to whom the disclosure may be made
- d. Time period or event to which the permission pertains
- e. Signature of the student and date
B. There is a legitimate educational interest
The institution whose education records will be used determines that the records will be used by school officials with legitimate educational interest.
Faculty are not automatically entitled to access all information about their students. Faculty have a legitimate educational interest in information only if that information is relevant and necessary for them to fulfill their role in the student's education. Researchers may be considered school
officials with a legitimate education interest when the research is necessary in order for the school official to fulfill their professional responsibility. Such research may include research designed to study the effectiveness of an instructional technique, curricula, or classroom
management method. If faculty are undertaking this research (as opposed to an institutional effectiveness unit), this requires IRB approval.
C. The researcher receives de-identified data
The researcher receives records that do not include personally identifiable information.
Faculty researchers can receive de-identified data from a school official, usually the Registrar's Office. This requires approval from IRB and the Registrar's Office.
Faculty researchers who are also teachers cannot de-identify their own students' records or the student records of their colleagues and use them for research purposes.