What can I release?

The following steps provide a simple means to determine what information may be released. Release of any information other than that listed in Step 3 may have serious legal implications. If you receive a request for information other than what is covered in these steps, refer the inquirer to the Office of the Registrar. Refer ALL inquiries under the USA PATRIOT Act to the Office of the Registrar.

All access and use at Oregon State University of the Social Security Number is prohibited except for meeting federal or state requirements, compliance and reporting.

You may copy these guidelines as needed, or request additional copies from the Office of the Registrar. We suggest that you keep a copy for  reference.

Step 1

Check the confidentiality of the student's records. Has the student restricted the release of all information?

  • Look at the grade roster or class roster. If a student's record is confidential you will see a dash before the student's name.
  • Sign on to Banner. If this student's information is confidential, Banner will show *CONFIDENTIAL* in the upper left portion of the form.
  • If you do not have access to Banner, ask someone who has access to check the student's record for you, or call the Office of the Registrar for help.

Step 2

If the student's record is CONFIDENTIAL, you must respond to the inquiry in a way that does not acknowledge the student's existence on campus. Example: "There is no information available on that person." If the person inquiring persists, you might suggest that they ask the student in question to contact the Office of the Registrar directly, or refer the caller to the Office of the Registrar.

Step 3

If the student's records are NOT confidential, then determine what information about the student is being requested. Oregon State University will provide only the following  Directory Information to all inquiries without students' written consent. Non-directory Information may not be released without written consent.

Step 4

If anything other than the above information is requested, the request should be denied. Refer all inquiries from law enforcement officials directly to the Office of the Registrar.

NO information may be released about students who have established confidentiality of their records.

 

OtR Guidance on Student Access to Other Students' Education Data

At OSU, we take protecting student education data seriously. In each instance where we provide an individual access to student education data (other than their own), we must assess what legitimate educational interest exists to justify providing access. The following are guidelines we follow when considering requests to provide students access to other students’ education data:

First, we consider whether the student is an employee of the institution.

  • If the student is an employee of OSU, does the student need access to the data requested in order to fulfill their professional responsibilities?   

If the student is not an employee of OSU, we ask about the level of the student (e.g. undergraduate, graduate).

  • If the student is a graduate student and needs access to student information to complete a curricular requirement (e.g. practicum or internship credit), we need documentation of the experience. This will likely take the form of a learning contract, where the description of duties and how those duties require access to student education data are clearly described. Further, this should include a statement about how the student accepts their responsibilities to protect student data under FERPA. This document also requires both the signature of the student and the student’s supervisor/advisor for the experience.
  • If the student is an undergraduate student who is not an employee of OSU, there is no permissible access to identifiable student data.