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To: Faculty
From: Amy Hammett, University Registrar
Re: Student Privacy and the Posting of Grades
This message is a reminder to all faculty regarding the public (both
physical and electronic) posting of grades. While many of you want to
be able to provide a timely and convenient method for students to receive
feedback on course grading throughout the semester, student record privacy
laws must be taken into consideration. According to the Family Education
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), posting of grades by student names
or Social Security numbers is prohibited. In addition, a recent ruling
from the U.S. Department of Education prohibits the posting of any portion
of a student's Social Security number. Thus, using (for example) the last
four digits of the SSN is a violation of the privacy law.
Likewise, it is not appropriate to leave a pile of student-identifiable
papers or tests in a public place for students to pick up. If you are
not able to distribute these types of materials directly to students in
class, they can be left with a secretary/department assistant who can
assure student identity and hand them directly to the individual student.
However, it is permissible to post by code name or number agreed to by
the student and the faculty member. If you use the web to inform students
of grades on course assignments, tests, etc., please use such a code name.
Also, whenever grades are to be posted by code name, please scramble the
names on the list before assigning codes so that the list does not reflect
an alphabetical listing of student names.
We appreciate your cooperation in protecting students' privacy in accordance
with the law. Click here for more information regarding Case's interpretation
of FERPA. If you have questions about a proposed practice, feel free to contact us. Thank you.
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