Understanding what information is deemed private and how to protect it is essential to ensuring student rights. FERPA also provides legal protections and guidelines that stipulate student access to information related to their education. However, specifying what is deemed to be a student record and what is not also protects university employees in maintaining records that are not identifying and/or shared. The use of MUST and MAY here are determinates of how the university should act in situations, Similarly, the goal of transparency should be honored to the most extent to avoid misunderstandings and the escalation to legal remedies. Under the law -failure to comply with federal mandates could result in financial penalties and punitive actions to the university. As a result. Universities and their agents should know and follow FERPA laws and also where possible, act in student’s interests.
