Dear FERPA Professors,
Could you speak to using AI recording during meetings with students, specifically meetings where a student is appealing an action before a university-appointed committee that is academic in nature?
We are not recording meetings now. Students receive written notification of the decision on their appeal, but they are not given the notes on the committee's discussion leading to the appeal decision. A transcription of an AI recording could help us document the discussion more accurately for reference. I believe the saved transcription would be considered an education record. Would the audio or video recording itself be considered an education record? Would we be required to save a copy of the audio/video recording if the transcription has been saved?
Regards,
Artie Fishal
Dear Artie Fishal,
FERPA is technology neutral. Thus, an institution can determine what technology it uses so long as its use does not create or permit a FERPA violation. In the example you outlined, the University could create a recording and also create a transcription of the recording. Both of these would be education records if they are maintained by the University. (See § 99.3 "Education Records" and § 99.3 "Record" in the FERPA regulations.)
However, FERPA does not generally require that an institution maintain an education record unless, as required in § 99.10(e) of FERPA, the record exists at the time a student requests the opportunity to inspect and review it. Therefore, any decision on maintaining the recording would be up to the University.
I hope this is helpful in further clarifying this issue. You can find the above cited FERPA regulations on pages 154, 155, and 157 of the
2012 AACRAO FERPA Guide.