FERPA (Student Rights & Privacy)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, commonly known as FERPA, is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of student education records. With few exceptions, all student education records are considered confidential and may not be released without written consent of the student. This protection for college education records begins when the student enrolls in a higher education institution, regardless of the student’s age.

The University of Arkansas is dedicated to complying with FERPA and to educating students, faculty, staff and parents about this important federal law. Each semester students are referred to the Annual Notification of FERPA Rights for Students which outlines their privacy rights. The U.S. Department of Education provides information on FERPA through the Federal Family Policy Compliance Office.

Please see below for information and tutorials on FERPA.