14.2 The Administrator’s Role

All FNU employees and staff are to act in accordance with FERPA regulations whenever representing the university. A University Official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position, a person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Directors, Board of Governors; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. Employees may only access and use education records as necessary to conduct official university business. A University official exercises “legitimate educational interest” (interests essential to the general process of higher education, including teaching, research, public service, and directly supportive activities such as academic advising, general counseling, therapeutic counseling, discipline, vocational counseling and job placement, financial assistance and advisement, medical services, academic assistance activities, and co-curricular activities including varsity and intramural sports, social fraternities, specific interest clubs, and student government), if the official needs to review an education record in order to perform his or her professional responsibilities.

All employees, staff and administrators are always responsible for protecting the student information in his/her possession. These are guidelines to follow when acting as a University Official:

Individual directory information may be released without written consent, except when the student has filed a Request to Withhold Student Information document. Directory information includes:
1. Name
2. Local address
3. Local telephone number
4. Permanent/Home address
5. Hometown and state
6. E-mail address
7. FNU identification number
8. Programs of study: field(s) of study and degree objective being sought
9. Program or department enrolled in
10. Dates of attendance (including current classification or year)
11. Full-time or part-time enrollment status
12. Photographs and video recordings of students in public and non-classroom settings
13. Registration in a study abroad program degrees, certificates, honors, scholarships, and awards received, and date awarded as well as those applied for during the current academic term
14. Information about participation in officially recognized activities and sports.
15. Job title, employing department, work phone number, and work address when employed in a position that requires student status.
Students are entitled to restrict the release of directory information, and former students may restrict address and telephone number. To avoid publication of any or all this information, a student must request that their information be restricted. A request to restrict directory information will remain in effect until revoked by the student in writing.
University officials may release non-directory information to a third party in the case of an emergency when knowledge of information is necessary to protect the health or safety of students or other persons.
Information must not be released to third parties outside of the University, including parents of students, without the student’s written consent. University officials may release information without a student’s prior written consent to the following groups:
1. FNU faculty and staff with legitimate educational interest
2. Representatives of agencies or organizations from which the student has received financial aid, including banks and other lending agencies
3. Officials from other educational institutions in which a student intends to enroll
4. Individuals or groups specifically exempted from the prior consent requirement
5. Federal and state officials, organizations conducting studies on behalf of FNU and accrediting organizations.
If employee has any doubts about the information sought, do not give it out.