This came up in a conversation at work, and I figured I’d toss it out here hoping that pgw or someone would actually be able to give me a real answer. Or, even better, could tell me where to find a better answer, since I don’t even know where to start looking.
Some universities have online directories, in which you can look for students by last name, first name, in some cases major or class year or other info.
More and more are putting these directories behind login-screens. You need to prove that you’re a member of the University community before the info is available to you.
I have a vague recollection that this screen is a result, in at least some cases, of a law passed in response to companies like MBNA and Capital One using online directories to generate mailing lists. That is, I think there is some kind of a Federal mandate that schools protect that information.
But I’m not positive. I tried a Google search, but I don’t even know what to Google on, so nothing useful turned up. I’m hoping that someone with more experience in the legal arena might be able to point me in the right direction.
November 17th, 2005 at 9:20 pm
hmm. a quick search actually suggests they don’t have to. check out the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (‘FERPA’). It’s Spending Clause legislation, meaning Congress will deny federal funds to any school that violates it. This appears relevant (sorry for bad formatting):
(2) No funds shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency or institution which has a policy or practice of releasing, or providing access to, any personally identifiable information in education records other than directory information…
(5) (A) For the purposes of this section the term “directory information” relating to a student includes the following: the student’s name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.
(B) Any educational agency or institution making public directory information shall give public notice of the categories of information which it has designated as such information with respect to each student attending the institution or agency and shall allow a reasonable period of time after such notice has been given for a parent to inform the institution or agency that any or all of the information designated should not be released without the parent’s prior consent.
(6) For the purposes of this section, the term “student” includes any person with respect to whom an educational agency or institution maintains education records or personally identifiable information, but does not include a person who has not been in attendance at such agency or institution.
There might be state laws, though.