Student Privacy

Student privacy is the concern of FERPA. While FERPA was created in 1974 before the popularity of online classes, the law is still interpreted to apply to modern classrooms. Its application is more interpretational, however, and "each institution will have its own subtle permutation on how much to protect confidential information" (O'Donnell 680). It is interpreted through law, code, and application (Edmonds 127), and "Because FERPA leaves much to individual schools' discretion, systems administrators, and registrars often may not consult the statute or may be confused as to what is appropriate under FERPA in regard to computer logging" (Wasson 1358).

FERPA also concerns the way information is collected, processed, and used" (Edmonds 127). Another concern for student privacy is how information is stored. This storage concern was of concern even in 1974 when FEPRA was created. According to Senator Buckley, "The growth of the use of computer data banks on students and individuals in general has threatened to tear away most of the few remaining veils guarding personal privacy" (O'Donnell 681). As of 2010, Edmonds stated that "Courts have not yet definitively ruled how FERPA applies in the Internet context" (130).

References:

Edmonds, Vincent Harold. Court Cases Involving Schools and Universities Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Diss. The U of Alabama, 2010. Ann Arbor (Mich.): ProQuest, 2010. Web.

O’Donnell, M. L. (2003). FERPA: Only a piece of the privacy puzzle. Journal of College and University Law, 29, 679-715.

Wasson, J. C. (2003). FERPA in the age of computer logging: school discretion at the cost of student privacy? North Carolina Law Review, 81, 1348-1369.

See: FERPA