Chapman University is committed to the protection and confidentiality of student educational records, adhering closely to the guidelines established by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act - federal legislation established to regulate access and maintenance of student educational records. FERPA protects “education records,” which are generally defined as records that are directly related to a student and maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records, including the right to inspect their education records, request certain amendments of the records that the student believes are inaccurate, and the right to control disclosures of their records except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. Further information about these rights is provided in the Annual Notification to Students.
Please note: all rights to access move to the student when that student is in a post-secondary education institution; parents, spouses, and significant others have no inherent right to access to student educational records, although there are exceptions for dependents for tax purposes.
- U.S. Department of Education FERPA Guide
One of those exceptions to disclosure without a student’s consent that is permitted by FERPA, is the release of Directory Information. Directory Information is defined by FERPA as information that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
Students may withhold Directory Information by notifying the Registrar in writing. Students with “holds” are noted in the Student Information System; release of “directory Hold” records to third parties or acknowledging that such students are at Chapman is prohibited without the student’s written permission to do so.
Students may provide consent for Chapman University to share information with specified parties by completing a FERPA Chapman Release Authorization eForm (see guide below.) The Release and Waiver of Student Information Form for Recommendations and References (PDF) can be submitted to the Office of the University Registrar via email to regforms@chapman.edu through a Chapman email address.
Application of FERPA to Videos and Photos
As with any other “education record,” a photo or video of a student is an education record, subject to specific exclusions, when the photo or video is: (1) directly related to a student; and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. Among the factors that may be considered if a photo or video should be considered “directly related” to a student are the following:
- Chapman uses the photo or video for disciplinary action (or other official purposes) involving the student (including the victim of any such disciplinary incident);
- The photo or video contains a depiction of an activity:
- that resulted in Chapman’s use of the photo or video for disciplinary action (or other official purposes) involving a student (or, if disciplinary action is pending or has not yet been taken, that would reasonably result in use of the photo or video for disciplinary action involving a student);
- that shows a student in violation of local, state, or federal law;
- that shows a student getting injured, attacked, victimized, ill, or having a health emergency;
- The person taking the photo or video intends to make a specific student the focus of the photo or video (e.g., ID photos, or a recording of a student presentation); or
- The audio or visual content of the photo or video otherwise contains personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education record.
A photo or video will not be considered directly related to a student in the absence of these factors and if the student’s image is incidental or captured only as part of the background, or if a student is shown participating in school activities that are open to the public and without a specific focus on any individual. If the photo or video is not directly related to a student, it is not an education record protected by FERPA.