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:
On your SPIRE Center, select the Academics tile. Under the Forms & Academic Requests heading, select the TA FERPA Agreement page.
(Be sure to read the reminder, then select the checkbox and click "I agree to follow FERPA guidelines.") -
Student Employees.
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Anyone who has access to student records.
Get FERPA Certified
Complete FERPA Certification training online. Log in with your NetID and Password.
FERPA Resources
About FERPA. (University Registrar's guidelines for disclosing student information)
Remember that FERPA Certification is required to gain access to student information pages in SPIRE.
Class Photo Rosters feature students' UCard photos and are available to any active instructor who successfully completes the online FERPA quiz. Advisors who complete the quiz also can see photos of advisees who have been assigned specifically to them.
If you currently have instructor or advisor access, your SPIRE profile will be updated with access to Photo Rosters within three business days, but usually sooner. If you do not have Photo Roster access after that time, email spire-support@it.umass.edu to inquire about your status.