FERPA FAQs for Faculty & Advisors

No. You should never post grades of students under any circumstances. This is confidential information and it is your responsibility as an instructor to protect that confidentiality. UIndy students have access to midterm (undergraduate, full-term courses) and final grades via UIndy Self-Service.

Papers: The majority of student academic information is confidential. It should be handled with care. Graded papers or tests should not be left unattended on a desk in plain view in a public area nor should students sort through them in order to retrieve their own work.

Grade Sheets: These and other reports should be handled in a confidential manner and the information contained in them must not be shared with third parties.

Yes. Records that are kept in the advisor's sole possession, are used only as a personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person, are not considered education records under FERPA.

Advisement Meetings: An advisement meeting of a group of students in academic difficulty would be a violation of FERPA, since it would invade the privacy of all of the students to each other.

No. Unless a faculty member has written permission from the student to do so, s/he must not discuss specific grade or evaluation issues with anyone but the student. A faculty member may, in general terms, relate the requirements of the course, performance standards of the class, and other syllabus information.

With proper identification, a current or former student has the right to inspect and review official records, files, and data pertaining to him/her as a student. The university keeps files for undergraduate students for 10 years after the student's last year of attendance.

For more information on FERPA, visit the U.S. Department of Education FERPA site.