Monday, April 6, 2009
The University is re-examining its policy concerning parental notification following students’ alcohol-related violations.
Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, said her department had formed a work group to review its interpretation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, after the death of Jason Wren, a 19-year-old freshman from Littleton, Colo.
Reader poll
Do you think the University's FERPA policies should be reevaluated?
- Yes 57% 43 votes
- No 42% 32 votes
75 total votes.
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What is FERPA?
A federal law designed to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate and misleading data through informal and formal hearings with university officials.
Wren’s Department of Student Housing contract was terminated after repeated policy violations. FERPA is the law that sets guidelines on which student records schools and universities can release.
Wren was asked to leave Oliver Hall about a week before his death in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1301 West Campus Road, March 8.
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Your directory information not protected under FERPA:
* Name, address, e-mail address, telephone listing
* Field of study
* Weight and height of athletes
* Most recent previous school attended
* Photographs
* Date and place of birth
* Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
* Dates of attendance, degrees and awards
Information can be released in a print or online university directory.
Wren’s father has spoken out against housing officials’ refusal to release information at his request about the type of infractions Jason was accused of.
FERPA has several exceptions, allowing universities to release student records in cases of underage drinking or if a student is deemed a risk to themselves or others. The law also allows universities to release information to parents if students are claimed as tax dependents.
The law allows, but does not require, universities to release information in these cases.
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Who is protected under FERPA?
Once a student begin classes at KU, regardless of whether the student has reached 18 years of age, all FERPA rights transfer to him/her. Generally speaking, the student must provide a written consent in order for the parent or guardian to gain access to his or her education records. However, under the Kansas Board of Regents policy, the University may not withhold from parents the written record of grades earned by a student who is a dependent for tax purposes. The parent may have access to the grades of that student without the student’s written consent, but not to the student’s other education records.
Source: KU Privacy Office
Roney said it would be easier to notify parents of students with alcohol violations if they were living on campus.
“But for students who live off campus, I have no idea how we would be able to be aware of underage drinking or drug use and be able to disclose that.”
By signing FERPA waivers, students can allow parents access to as much information as they choose.
Jay Wren, Jason’s father, said his son never completed such a waiver. Students are offered the opportunity to sign a waiver at new student orientation and can fill them out in the Bursar’s office at any time.
Jay Wren said he thought the University’s interpretation should be changed to allow for more parental notification.
“It’s a right the parents have,” Wren said.
Roney said many administrators were involved in constantly interpreting FERPA and applying it to the University.
“There’s a policy review process at the University, and typically everything has been signed off by the chancellor,” Roney said.
Roney said it was difficult balancing students’ privacy with parents’ need to know.
“I don’t want to make it sound like we are trying to set up a situation where students can hide behind the University because that certainly is not what we want to do,” Roney said. “On the other hand, when students enroll at the University of Kansas, it is certainly my expectation that students are responsible adults and that they are able to make good decisions.”
Different universities interpret the law differently.
Kansas State University uses parental notification to contact parents in cases of underage drinking on campus, upon receiving a second violation.
After the first infraction, students are put through an on-campus counselling program, paid for by K-State. If a student is caught a second time, the Office of Student Life, which also includes the campus police, sends a letter to the student’s parents. The letter details the circumstances of the infraction and the resources available for dealing with alcohol.
Heather Reed, assistant dean and director of student life at K-State, said her office complied with FERPA but took a different approach than the University’s, because she said notifying students’ parents helped them in the long run.
“We don’t want it to be punitive for students, we just want them to get the help they need,” Reed said. “We feel that requires getting the parents involved.”
Reed said she stood behind K-State’s FERPA interpretation as being effective for students and parents. Reed said she could not remember a student reaching a third infraction in her four years at K-State.
K-State students can opt out of parental notification by request. K-State, unlike the University of Kansas, allows those of age to consume beer on campus.
Roney said the work group would examine the possible repercussions of a more forthcoming policy like K-State’s.
“Nine times out of 10, there’s no apparent harm in releasing that information, but we listen carefully to try to figure out if it is in your best interest as a student to release that information,” Roney said.
Roney said the group consisted of University administrators and would eventually seek student representation. Roney said the work group would look at possible amendments to the current policy, but acknowledged that there was a bigger issue of underage drinking in general.
“My sense is sadly, we have a lot of KU students who drink underage,” Roney said.
— — Edited by Sonya English
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Comments
University re-examines privacy policy
http://media.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/2009/04/07/News/Sae-Death.No.Longer.isolated.Incident-3699802.shtml#cp_article_tools
Still an isolated event here? Sound familiar?
University re-examines privacy policy
Every parent should be notified that Article 9 under "Exceptions to the "Prior Written Consent" Rule", parents have a legal right! NO MATTER WHAT THE UNIVERSITY CLAIMS! "9. Parents of dependent students as defined in the Internal Revenue Code"
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/leg-history.html
If you feel you or your child has been damaged because of the University not notifying YOU of your child's behavior, please contact me directly at : wrenvideo@yahoo.com
-Jay R. Wren, Jason's dad
University re-examines privacy policy
When Roney says, “On the other hand, when students enroll at the University of Kansas, it is certainly my expectation that students are responsible adults and that they are able to make good decisions.”
Why is it that KU has TWICE the national average of 21% of the student body binge drinking? Is that meeting their "expectations of good decisions"? Maybe it's because of this exact policy which denys information to the parents, that is uniquely KU policy, that KU has problems like this. Remember, a student died last year in Oliver, the same dorm that Jason was in.
Because of the numerous infractions in his first semester, NOT ALL alcohol related, Jason should have, and could have been, kicked out between semesters. Then we would have had time to find an alternative educational system to put him into. As they did, they waited until the middle of the second semester which was paid for and THEN they kicked him out. AND they did not release to us any information we were legally entitled to when they kicked him to the curb! THEN we could have made a better decision in letting him stay in a WET fraternity like SAE.
The University has not refunded our money either. They did send a notice saying how we can get out from having to paying his student loans. But not how we can be refunded any of our money.
Do you suppose that if the parents were notified when their kids acted up, the parents would pull them from the University? You bet they would! We would have, had we known his behavior and it happened at the end of the first semester. It's all about the $. Don't kid yourself.
-Jay, Jason's dad
University re-examines privacy policy
I've read the FERPA laws. And quite honestly, I don't understand how the university interpreted the law to read how they're indicating in this column. The laws are very straight forward, concrete and decisive. KU, believe it or not, it's in your best interest to abide by the laws that protect the students by informing their parents. How many student deaths do you think it will take in order for parents not to allow their kids to enroll at your university? Do you honestly believe they will think their children are being well cared for? NO!! Because they're not. So, as you think of the all mighty dollar, think of all the lack of revenue your university will incur by a decrease in its admissions to your school, if you keep your policies as they stand. Or, is it a gamble that you're willing to take? Maybe so. I'm appalled that you're trying to hide behind an interpretation of the law when in fact, there's no room for misinterpretation. It's stated too precisely to indicate any other information than the PARENT HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW AND BE INFORMED!!! The reason that your university has twice the national average of binge drinking is because its tolerated and the students know that their parents won't be notified. That's an absolute travesty and a disgrace. Start acting responsibly AND abide by the policies as they are written. NOT as you interpret them. I truly hope that until you do so your enrollment greatly decreases for the sake of all of our children.
University re-examines privacy policy
I've read the FERPA laws, directly from the US Code, and I wholeheartedly disagree with DenverDad and HRTherapist in their interpretation that it gives a parental right to disclosure. FERPA only does not punish the University for making disclosures to parents of dependent students; it imposes no penalty whatsoever against the University for failure to disclose information.
See 20 USC 1232g here: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/20/1232g.html
It only sanctions the University if its privacy policy permits disclosure to people other than who is specified in the law (specifically not allowing it to receive federal funding); it has absolutely no sanctions whatsoever if it has a stricter privacy policy.
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