FERPA Compliance
All University employees are charged, under FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act), with safeguarding the privacy of student education records. All Faculty must complete the FERPA Tutorial and should be aware of the information listed below.
FERPA Tutorial
You must complete the FERPA Tutorial if you need access to the Banner Student Information system; this system encompasses Admin Pages and Faculty Self Service.
Faculty Access to Student Data
As a University of Memphis faculty or administrative staff member, you may request access to student records, provided you have a legitimate need for these records that pertains to your University duties.
Reporting FERPA Violations
If you believe a FERPA violation may have occurred, follow these steps.
- Contact the Registrar's Office immediately. Speak to Sheynah Craft, Assistant Registrar of Student Records, before notifying anyone else of the violation. If Ms. Craft is not available, speak to Dr. Darla Keel, Registrar.
- Write a summary of the violation, and submit it to the Assistant Registrar of Student Records.
When a FERPA violation is reported, the Registrar's Office will complete the following steps.
- Investigate the complaint.
- Meet with all parties involved.
- Involve other areas (e.g., Office of Legal Counsel, Information Technology Services) depending upon the details and scope of the violation.
- Write up a complaint summary upon completion of the investigation.
Writing Letters of Recommendation
Because a letter of recommendation may include information from the student's academic record, and is itself considered part of the student's academic record, writing a letter of recommendation is not as straightforward as you might think.
Privacy of Education Records: Compliance with FERPA
Read UofM's official policy on FERPA compliance.