What is FERPA?
FERPA stands for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended. It is commonly known as FERPA, the Privacy Act or the Buckley Amendment. It is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate and misleading data through informal and formal hearings.FERPA allows release of specified items but does not require it. Items that may be released are called directory information. Texas A&M University has classified these items as directory information:
Directory Information Items |
---|
Name |
Universal Identification Number (UIN) - effective January 2012 |
Local Address |
Permanent Address |
Email Address |
Local Telephone Number |
Permanent Telephone Number |
Dates of Attendance |
Program of Study |
Classification |
Previous Educational Agencies/Institutions Attended |
Degrees, Honors, and Awards Received |
Participation in Officially Recognized Activities and Sports |
Medical Residence Location (Health Science Center students) |
Medical Residence Specialization (Health Science Center students) |
Currently enrolled students wishing to withhold any or all directory information items may do so by going to https://howdy.tamu.edu and following the steps below:
- Select the "My Information" icon
- From the toolbar drop-down, select "Personal Information"
- Select "Directory Holds"
Items which cannot be identified as directory information are a student's Social Security number, race, religion, national origin, gender, grades, or GPA.