Greetings FERPA Professor,
In the past our institution has released the GPAs of student athletes in press releases if they were to be honored for an award. I believe this to be a violation of FERPA because student GPA is not included in our directory information. Can you please advise on how other institutions handle this and if this is a violation?
Thanks,
Row D. Piper
_____________________________________________________________________
Dear Row,
Directory information is defined as information not generally considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. See §99.37 "Directory Information" on page 153 of the 2012 AACRAO FERPA Guide and §99.37(a) on page 166. The College could disclose information on student athletes who receive a honor or award so long as the College has included "honors and awards" as a directory information item in its notice to students. If it is not included, then the students would need to sign a consent form as outlined in §99.30 of the FERPA regulations prior to any such disclosure.
I hope this is helpful in answering your question.
Sincerely,
The FERPA Professor
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