Privacy of Information (3-B)
Many Graduate Assistants will have access to information about students, employees, or research subjects at North Carolina A&T. Much of this information must be kept confidential, and you should not share any information without first consulting your supervisor.
You must be very careful with personal or academic information of students, employees, and research subjects. Be careful with written and typed documents that contain student information. Do not leave such materials out in the open where passersby might view them. Use safe file-saving and file-sharing practices (make sure your supervisors know where files are located). Make sure you do not take this information with you out of the office.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that places restrictions on the disclosure of student information (including student ID# and grades). The general principle is this: student education records (of current and former students) are confidential, and without the student's written consent, such records may not be disclosed to, or discussed with, any unauthorized person -- even the student's parents in most cases.
The only people at N.C. A&T who may examine a student's education records without the student's consent are University employees with a legitimate educational interest in the record at issue. Breach of confidentiality is grounds for discipline, and may subject the person who violates confidentiality to liability in a civil lawsuit.
The Registrar's Office has additional information about FERPA: https://www.ncat.edu/registrar/ferpa.php
