Communicating with Students Remotely and Complying with FERPA

When communicating remotely, employees and students must continue to comply with and operate within the bounds of the college’s FERPA Policy, located in the [Loading Policies and Procedures link…] section of the College Catalog.

The following methods can be used to authenticate a student’s identity:

• Telephone inquiries: student must provide FERPA password
• Zoom/Videoconferencing: student must present ID on their webcam
• Email: student must communicate from their Hudson Valley email account

What information should employees use to find a student record in Banner?
College personnel should not ask a caller for an ID number to access a student’s record in Banner. Instead, ask for the student’s name and date of birth and search for the record in Banner. When the student record has been found, use the Banner SFAZFRP page to confirm the FERPA password, authorized individuals and choices to disclose or not disclose information.

Why can’t an employee use the student’s ID number to validate the student's identity?
By entering the ID number and continuing the conversation, you will have confirmed the ID number to be correct, which would violate FERPA since the identity of the requestor has not been authenticated and confirmed as the student or an individual authorized by the student.