A FERPA Minute from the Office of the Registrar

Since FERPA prescribes that access to student education records by faculty and staff should be used only when the school official has a legitimate educational interest, does that mean you shouldn’t access any records for students in other departments?

According to the Office of the Registrar, “Legitimate educational interest” exists if the school official needs information from a  student’s records in order to do their job. While you may never encounter a need to do so, FERPA does permit access to a student's record outside of your department if this criterion is met.  Questions about FERPA may be directed to the Office of the Registrar at reginfo@isu.edu or (208) 282-2661.