What is FERPA?
FERPA (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act) does two things:
- Allows current and former students access to their own educational records.
- Ensures the privacy of their records.
All University employees are legally and ethically obligated to protect the confidentiality of student records.
Who should take FERPA Certification?
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Any Faculty or Staff member who plans to apply for SPIRE access.
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Undergraduate TAs - In addition to completing FERPA Certification, navigate to SPIRE:
Main Menu > Student Home > TA FERPA Agreement
(Be sure to read the reminder, then click.)
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Student Employees.
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Anyone who has access to student records.
Get FERPA Certified
Complete FERPA Certification training online. Log on with your NetID and Password.
FERPA Resources
About FERPA. (University Registrar's guidelines for disclosing student information)
FERPA tutorial (PowerPoint, 1524k) (A review of FERPA's provisions and how they are applied at UMass Amherst)
FERPA tutorial accessible pdf draft (DRAFT - the content of the PowerPoint tutorial in a more accessible pdf document)
Remember that FERPA Certification is required to gain access to student information pages in SPIRE.