AACRAO & Federal Relations Update
AACRAO's Government Relations team provided an update on new initiatives from the national office and a broad overview of the legislative and policy developments affecting higher education. Executive Director Michael Reilly, Associate Director of Government Relations and Communications Michelle Mott, and Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs Quintina Conway briefed attendees on the state of the federal budget process; legislation governing student loans, transparency efforts and campus safety; and various measures related to military students and veterans.
The team also outlined several issues to watch throughout the remainder of the year, including two affirmative action court cases, immigration reform and the federal DREAM Act, and the upcoming Higher Education Act reauthorization, among other things.
The 2012 FERPA Regulations: How Have They Affected Our Campuses?
The U.S. Department of Education recently revised the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), dramatically altering the privacy act to ease the creation of state databases to track academic progress. The amended regulations took effect January 2012.
Representatives from four different institutions in as many states provided an overview of the amendments and discussed how the amended regulations have affected their campuses. K. Celeste Campbell of Oklahoma State University “ Main Campus, Paul Robinson of the University of Michigan “ Ann Arbor, Adrian Cornelius of the University of Maryland College Park, and Kathleen Jones of Iowa State University addressed the issues related to data sharing for studies, audits and evaluations, and policies limiting disclosure of directory information.
Panelists presented a number of creative solutions for releasing information, including seeking state amendments and requiring an MOU for the internal release of large data sets for research purposes. They also encouraged attendees to examine and update their institution's annual public FERPA notice to reflect the updated regulations.
FERPA: What You Need to Know: The "Update"
In the wake of highly-publicized incidents involving well known institutions, FERPA compliance has become a key issue for universities and colleges nationwide. AACRAO's LeRoy Rooker, former director of the Family Policy Compliance Office at the U.S. Education Department, provided a targeted update on the recently revised FERPA regulations that became effective in January 2012.
Rooker detailed the ins and outs of the new amendments and what institutions need to be aware of to remain in compliance with the law. He also discussed the legal challenges attempting to block the agency's December 2011 final FERPA regulations. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)' lawsuit argues that the new rules exceed the agency's statutory authority, and are contrary to law.
By: AACRAO Connect