📅 Book a 30-min Demo📞 Call/text (571) 293-0242

FERPA Basics for Faculty and Staff

Education records, students' rights and when you may disclose

A higher education course from ibl.ai (self-paced, 6 to 8 hours, free). A foundational, self-paced course on FERPA for college and university faculty and staff: what counts as an education record, the rights that belong to students, and when information may be disclosed, taught from the statute, 34 CFR Part 99 and Department of Education guidance.

Last updated:

Course description

FERPA Basics for Faculty and Staff teaches the fundamentals of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act for people who work with student records in higher education. You will learn what an education record is and what FERPA excludes, why the rights belong to the student at a postsecondary institution, how the annual notification, inspection within 45 days, amendment and complaints work, and when information may be disclosed with written consent, as directory information or under an exception such as school officials, parents of dependent students, health or safety emergencies and subpoenas. Worked examples cover grades, letters of recommendation, parents calling, law enforcement and sole-possession records, and safeguarding. Every rule is cited to 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, 34 CFR Part 99 or studentprivacy.ed.gov, last verified 2026-11-02.

About this course

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives college and university students the right to see their education records, to seek to have them amended, and to have some control over who else sees them. Everyone who handles student records shares responsibility for those rights. This foundational course teaches the rules from the primary sources: the statute at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, the regulations at 34 CFR Part 99, and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's Student Privacy Policy Office at studentprivacy.ed.gov. Worked examples, templates and an AI tutor turn those rules into everyday decisions.

What you will be able to do

  1. Decide whether a record is an education record under 34 CFR § 99.3, and recognize the six kinds of records FERPA excludes.
  2. Explain when FERPA rights belong to the student at a college or university, and what that means for parents, spouses and others who ask.
  3. Describe the rights an annual notification must announce, and handle a request to inspect records within the 45-day limit and a request to amend records through to a hearing.
  4. Judge whether a disclosure is permitted with written consent, as directory information, or under an exception in 34 CFR § 99.31, including school officials, parents of eligible students, health or safety emergencies and subpoenas.
  5. Keep the record of disclosures required by 34 CFR § 99.32 and apply the redisclosure limits in § 99.33.
  6. Apply FERPA to everyday faculty and staff situations, safeguard student records, and know when and whom to ask before disclosing.

Who this course is for

Roles: faculty and teaching staff, academic advisors, registrar and records staff, student-services and student-affairs employees, and new administrators.

Institutions: colleges and universities that receive funds under programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education, which includes institutions whose students receive federal student aid.

Before you start: no legal background is needed. Have your institution's annual FERPA notification at hand; several exercises ask you to find things in it.

Format

Time: 6 to 8 hours, self-paced. Level: introductory.

Structure: a Start here section, four content sections of readings, worked examples, templates and hands-on exercises, each ending in an AI assessment, and a capstone in which you audit an illustrative request log or build a FERPA quick reference for your own office, followed by a reading list.

Grading: the four section AI assessments count for 60 percent of the grade and the capstone assessment for 40 percent. The pass mark is 70 percent.

Currency

Last verified 2026-11-02 against the statute, the current eCFR text of 34 CFR Part 99 and studentprivacy.ed.gov.

FERPA guidance changes. On the verification date, the Student Privacy Policy Office listed its model notification for postsecondary institutions, its model directory information notice and its model form for disclosure to parents of dependent students as being reviewed and updated. Check the current sources before relying on any template, and take specific cases to your institution's registrar or FERPA office. This course is training, not legal advice.

Outline

  1. Section 0 · Start here

    • 0.1 Welcome and orientation

  2. Section 1 · Know what FERPA protects and whose rights they are

    • 1.1 What FERPA is and what it protects
    • 1.2 Eligible students and records outside FERPA
    • 1.3 Section 1 assessment

  3. Section 2 · Honor students' rights to notice, access and amendment

    • 2.1 The annual notification and the right to inspect
    • 2.2 Amendment, hearings and complaints
    • 2.3 Section 2 assessment

  4. Section 3 · Decide when you may disclose: consent and its exceptions

    • 3.1 Consent and directory information
    • 3.2 The exceptions used most on campus
    • 3.3 Section 3 assessment

  5. Section 4 · Apply FERPA in everyday work

    • 4.1 Faculty and advisors
    • 4.2 Staff practice, safeguarding and when you are unsure
    • 4.3 Section 4 assessment

  6. Section 5 · Capstone and wrap-up

    • 5.1 Capstone: audit a request log or build your office quick reference
    • 5.2 Capstone assessment
    • 5.3 Reading list and next steps