FERPA Quiz

1. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz

2. Question 1 Is it wrong for professors to leave graded exams, papers, etc. outside their office for students to pick up? YES No

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4. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz Yes. That is a violation of the privacy rule because it is inappropriate for students to have access to other students’ information. General Rule: You cannot leave personally identifiable materials in a public place. Next

5. Question 2 An unauthorized person retrieves information from a computer screen that was left unattended. Under FERPA, is the institution responsible? YES No

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7. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz Yes. Information on a computer screen should be treated the same as printed reports. General Rule: The medium in which the information is held is unimportant. No information should be left accessible or unattended, including computer displays. Next

8. Question 3 You have been granted access to certain educational records in accordance with your duties at MAC. Since this is information you are entitled to under FERPA, can you disclose this information to any party? YES No

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10. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz No. FERPA states that you may not redisclose information without prior written consent of the student. General Rule: There are some occasions when this is allowable, such as release to organizations conducting educational studies, accrediting agencies and judicial orders. Next

11. Question 4 You are facing an emergency situation where you fear for the health and safety of the student or other individuals if you do not release certain protected information to a third party. Can you exercise judgment and release this information? YES No

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13. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz Yes. The health and safety of members of the MAC community are paramount and FERPA is not intended to increase the risk of individuals’ safety in an emergency situation. General Rule: There is a provision in FERPA which states that you may release information from an educational record to an appropriate person “in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.” Next

14. Question 5 If a student’s parent calls asking how a student is doing in a class, can you give out that information? YES No

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16. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz No. Even though the person inquiring may be the student’s parent, FERPA recognizes students in post-secondary education as adults, regardless of age. Therefore, you cannot give out that grade, or any other non-directory information. General Rule: You must assume that the student is an adult who is entitled to privacy, even from parents. Parents may (not must) be allowed access to the records if the student is a dependent according to the code. Note: FERPA does not mandate that the school provide parents access to the records even if the parents can prove the student is a dependent. It is always best to obtain written consent form the student before providing parents access to records. Next

17. Question 6 You receive a call from a recruiting firm asking for names and addresses of students with a GPA of 3.0 or better. They say they have good job information for these students. Can you help these students get jobs by giving out this information? YES No

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19. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz No. Although we all want to help students get good jobs, that request should be sent to the appropriate office. General Rule: Do not give out student information that pertains to grade point average to anyone without prior written consent of that student. Though Directory Information (e.g., names, addresses, etc.) may be given out, if it is filtered against non-Directory Information (e.g., GPA), prior student written consent is required. In this case the request should be forwarded to the Registrar’s Office. ALL outside requests for any information should be referred to the Registrar’s Office. Information about the recruiting firm could be provided to students in the appropriate major. Next

20. Question 7 A student’s father presents a piece of paper signed by the student that states: “I consent to the disclosure of my education records to my father.” The paper is signed and dated. The father proves to you that he is the father of the student in question. Does this constitute sufficient written consent under FERPA? YES No

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22. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz No. This consent does not specify the records to be disclosed, or the purpose of the disclosure. Specific information concerning the records, the name of the person to whom the disclosure is made and the purpose of the disclosure must be presented in writing. Next

23. Question 8 You receive a phone call from the local police department indicating that they are trying to determine whether a particular student was in attendance on a specific day. Since they are in the middle of an investigation, are you allowed to give them this information? YES No

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25. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz No. There must be a subpoena presented to you to access the information. If pressured to respond to the subpoena immediately, FERPA requires notification of the student, unless it is specially stated on the subpoena that the student must not be notified. General Rule: There must be prior written consent or a legally binding subpoena. Should you be served with a subpoena, contact the Registrar’s Office immediately. Next

26. Question 9 You get a frantic phone call from an individual who says she is a student’s mother and must get in touch with her immediately because of a family emergency. Can you tell her when and where her next class is today? YES No

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28. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz No. For the safety of the student, you cannot tell another person where a student is at any time. General Rule: When this situation arises, follow prescribed MAC procedures. Next

29. Question 10 Tom Faculty has posted his grades of all the students in his class on the wall outside of his office. Is this a violation of FERPA? YES No

30. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz It depends... The answer depends on how he posted the grades. If the grades are posted by name, social security number or something that can be fairly easily interpreted by a third party, then “yes” it’s a violation of FERPA. If, for example the grades are posted by some “code” known only by the student and the instructor, then it may be OK . But we would still not recommend the practice. Next

31. Mineral Area College Congratulations! You have completed the FERPA tutorial and quiz. You are well on your way to becoming an expert on student confidentiality rights. If you have completed this tutorial and quiz as part of your Mineral Area College employment, please click Finish to access the form that verifies your completion of the FERPA tutorial and quiz. Otherwise, thank you for taking the time to familiarize yourself with student confidentiality rights as outlined under FERPA. Finish

32. Mineral Area College FERPA Quiz is Complete! Please click either the student or MAC employee form below. Print the appropriate form, complete and sign it, then return to the Office of Human Resources. Return to the beginning of the FERPA Quiz. MAC Employee Statement of Understanding Student Employee Confidentiality and Agreement