FERPA Information

What is FERPA?

FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA protects the privacy of student educational records and affords students the right to refuse to permit New Mexico Tech (and other educational institutions) from releasing or disclosing any information about them.

Students have three fundamental rights under FERPA:

• Right to review and inspect education records.
• Right to request to amend education records.
• Right to limit disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in education records.

Who is responsible for FERPA?

Educational institutions are required to develop policies for implementing appropriate provisions of FERPA. At NMT, the Registrar is the steward of all current and former enrolled student academic records and has been delegated the responsibility to ensure that information from education records is released only to those individuals and agencies that:

• Have a legitimate educational interest, or
• Have been granted legally authorized access.

At the federal level, the responsibility for administering FERPA has been assigned to the Family Compliance Office within the Department of Education.

To whom does FERPA apply?

At New Mexico Tech, FERPA applies to the education records of:

• Persons who attend a postsecondary school (regardless of age) and
• All educational agencies or institutions receiving funds under any program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

A student’s FERPA rights begin on their first day of class at New Mexico Tech.

What is an education record?

“Education records” mean records that are maintained by New Mexico Tech in any form or format (e.g. paper, electronic, digital image, film, video, audio tape), which contain information directly related to a student and are personally identifiable to a student. Education records do not include:

• Personal records of school employees that are in the sole possession of the maker (i.e. notes of conversations), are used as a personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any individual except to a successor in the position held;
• Records of the NMT campus police department used for law enforcement purposes;
• Student medical and counseling records maintained and used only in connection with the provision of medical treatment or counseling of the student and are made available only to the individuals providing the treatment;
• Employment records unrelated to the student’s status as a student;
• Records created or received after an individual is no longer a student in attendance and that are not directly related to the individual’s attendance as a student (i.e. alumni records); or
• Grades on peer-graded papers before they are collected and recorded by a faculty member.

What are the rights of students?

1. If you are a currently enrolled student or former student, you may inspect your educational records by submitting an official request and obtaining an appointment to do so.  
2. You may challenge inaccuracies or misleading items.  However, you may not challenge the fairness of a grade under this provision.
3. Your record is not released without your written consent except to New Mexico Tech school officials with a legitimate educational interest.  School officials are agents of the school in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research or support staff position; members of school committees, boards and/or councils; and persons under contract to the school to perform a specific task, such as an attorney or auditor.  School officials have a legitimate educational interest in accessing or reviewing a student’s educational records if they are:  

• Performing a task that is specified in his/her position description or contract  
• Performing a task related to a student’s education or to student discipline  
• Providing a service or benefit relating to the student or student’s family.  
• Maintaining safety and security on campus.  

Other exceptions are to comply with a judicial order, or in an emergency involving the health or safety of a student or other person.  

1. When a record is released, the recipient is notified by NM Tech that the record may not be released to a third party. 
2. With the exception of disclosures to school officials, a record is kept of disclosures of personally identifiable information for which the student has not given written consent. 

When can a student’s education records be disclosed without the student’s consent?

The general rule is that NMT may not disclose personally identifiable information from a student’s education records to a third party unless the student has provided written consent. However, there are several exceptions which may permit the school to disclose personally identifiable information from education records without consent. Some of the more commonly invoked exceptions are described below:

Student directory information

One exception permits the school to disclose a student’s personally identifiable information when the information is properly designated as “directory information.” Directory information is information that would not generally be considered harmful nor an invasion of privacy if disclosed. At New Mexico Tech, student directory information is defined as:

• Name
• Student ID number
• Address
• Telephone number
• Dates of attendance
• Class
• Previous intuition(s) attended
• Major field of study
• Awards and honors (includes honor roll)
• Degree(s) conferred (including dates)

You have the right to withhold the disclosure of directory information.  Any requests for such information from non-Tech persons or organizations will be refused. NM Tech will honor your request to withhold directory information but cannot assume responsibility to contact you for subsequent permission to release it. Regardless of the effect upon you, NM Tech assumes no liability for honoring your instructions that directory information be withheld.  Should you wish for your directory information to be withheld, please complete the following form and return it to the Registrar’s Office.

Request to Withhold Directory Information

Release to school officials

A second exception is that the school may release personally identifiable information from student education records without the student’s consent to school officials who have a legitimate educational interest to access the records. FERPA rights do not supersede the financial obligation of a student, former student or alumnus to NMT. Requests for official transcripts will be withheld until all financial obligations are paid. “School official” means:

• An employee, agent or officer of the school acting in his or her official capacity;
• A person serving on school committees, boards, and/or councils, including an individual serving on a disciplinary or grievance committee;
• Another educational institution that requests records for a particular student who seeks or intends to enroll or where the student is already enrolled provided the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer; and
• A person or company with whom the school has contracted (e.g. internship and clinical facilities, attorney, auditor, or collection agent) but limited to only the specific student information needed to fulfill the contract. The contracting entity is bound to follow FERPA regulations for control, maintenance, use and re-disclosure of the information provided to it.

“Legitimate educational interest,” means the school official is performing an authorized task or an activity within their scope of authority on behalf of NMT, and access to an educational record is necessary or appropriate to fulfill the school official’s professional responsibilities for the school.

Additional exceptions

FERPA contains some additional exceptions, including, but not limited to, those listed below. FERPA rights do not supersede the financial obligation of a student, former student or alumnus to NMT. Requests for official transcripts will be withheld until all financial obligations are paid. Depending upon the exception, the institution may be required to make a reasonable attempt to notify the student in advance when educational records are sought (e.g. subpoenas) and/or to permanently notate in the educational record the details relating to a nonconsensual disclosure permitted by an exception.

• Disclosure to another school in which the student seeks or intends to enroll;
• Disclosure in connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or w which the student has received, if necessary for certain purposes outlined in the Act;
• Disclosure to appropriate parties, including parents, in connection with a health or safety emergency;
• Disclosure to certain authorized representatives of the Comptroller General or the Attorney General of the USA, the U.S. Secretary of Education, state and local educational authorities for audit or evaluation of federal or state supported education programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with federal legal requirements that relate to those programs;
• Disclosure to comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena;
• Disclosure to the victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense concerning the final results of a disciplinary hearing with respect to the alleged crime, and disclosure to any third party the final results results (limited to name, violation and sanction) of a disciplinary proceeding related to a crime of violence of non-forcible sex offense if the student who is the alleged perpetrator is found to have violated the school’s rules or policies.

Information Protection

Additionally, until repealed or amended, guidance relating to administrative, technical and physical security of data is identified in the Written Information Security & Privacy Policy.

What should I do if I become aware of a FERPA violation?

If you inadvertently disclose protected student data, or suspect someone else has, you should immediately email [email protected] and provide a description of the situation.