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Organizational Membership

Connect to the world of higher education

With AACRAO membership you'll be connected to more than 11,000 members from institutions around the world. Facilitate your professional development by attending discounted meetings, gaining complimentary subscriptions to our College & University journal and more.

Why should you join? State higher education coordinating boards, higher education associations, accrediting bodies and international ministries of education and more can collaborate with our members and lend their voices to discussions about practices in the field. 

Annual Membership Price: $710

Requirements: YOU MUST BE A PUBLIC SECTOR AND/OR A PRIVATE NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION WHOSE INTERESTS ARE CLOSELY ALIGNED TO AACRAO.  

Develop Professionally

Organizational Membership - Professional Development


Professional Competencies

Work on your skills like change management, technical knowledge and professional development and contributions to the field. We have the tools for you.

Online Learning

Strategic enrollment management. Admissions & recruitment. Transfer & articulation.  AACRAO regularly partners with organizations to hold joint discussions. No matter what your focus is, our webinars are loved by our members, and can raise the profile of your work. 

Take the next step in your career

AACRAO's Career Navigator is a wealth of job postings and resources for training. 

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Intl Students - Recognition


Get Published

AACRAO's professional journals College & University and SEM Quarterly are always accepting articles and have a wide circulation base.

Research Opportunities

Leverage the expertise of our over 11,000 members and contribute to one of the premier sources of practice related research within the global higher education community. 

Join a committee

Do work you're passionate about, with support and mentoring from fellow members. From Caucuses to specialized topics, it's all one community, no matter where in the world your institution is located. 


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AACRAO's bi-weekly professional development e-newsletter

Ask the FERPA Professor

Sep 7, 2021, 08:58 AM
legacy id :
Summary : The FERPA Professor weighs in on Name/Likeness rules and personally identifiable information.
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Dear Professor, 

With the new Name/Image/Likeness rules outlined by the NCAA and many state laws, there are questions about how this affects a student’s education record. Because our institution must review any contracts that the students sign with possible companies/sponsors to ensure that it does not conflict with an institution’s contract, the student is submitting to the institution their contract that includes identifiable data and the student name. Because the institution will maintain this and it contacts identifiable information (such as name, etc.), our interpretation is that this is part of the education record and therefore must be protected as such. Is this a correct interpretation? 

Thank you,
A FERPA guardian


Dear FERPA Guardian,

Your interpretation of FERPA is correct in the example you provide.  FERPA defines education records as those records that are directly related to the student and maintained by the institution or a party acting for the institution.  (See §99.3 "Education Records.")  As described below, the contracts submitted to the institution for review meet the FERPA definition because they are personally identifiable to the student-athlete and the institution is maintaining the contracts.  Thus, any action, including disclosure of the contracts, must be done in accordance with FERPA. 

I hope this is helpful in answering your question.  You can find the above-cited regulation on page 154 of the 2012 AACRAO FERPA  Guide.

The FERPA Professor

Categories :
  • FERPA
  • FERPA Training & Review
  • Student Academic Records and Academic Policy
Tags :
  • FERPA
  • FERPA Professor
  • Student Records Management
cartoon figure reminiscent of Einstein stands in front of a chalkboard with the board "FERPA" written on it
cartoon figure reminiscent of Einstein stands in front of a chalkboard with the board "FERPA" written on it
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AACRAO's weekly e-newsletter delivering policy and industry news

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Questions? Contact us at membership@aacrao.org or (202) 355-1040