What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, is a Federal law that sets forth requirements designed to protect the privacy of student education records. The law applies to UMBC because it receives funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. UMBC is committed to protecting the education records of students to the extent required by law.
More Information on FERPA and the Privacy and Release of Student Records at UMBC
What is Your FERPA Responsibility?
As a faculty member, instructor, teaching assistant, advisor, grader, or staff member who has access to student records for any other legitimate educational purpose (for example, your job responsibilities include maintaining data), you have a legal responsibility under FERPA to protect the confidentiality of student education records in your possession or to which you have access.
What is the FERPA Training Requirement?
To ensure that faculty, staff, and student employees are informed of and prepared to fulfill their FERPA responsibilities, all who are granted access to student data available through PeopleSoft will be required to complete FERPA training.
Beginning September 23, 2025, all new faculty and staff, or current users who need access as a result of new job responsibilities, will be required to attach their FERPA Training Certificate of Completion to their SA access request form. Users will need to provide this certificate before access will be granted.
What About Current Users and FERPA?
In the near future, faculty and staff who already have system access will be required to complete FERPA training as part of their annual FERPA acknowledgement.
In the meantime, current users who are interested in learning more or completing the training before it becomes required may do so by following the instructions below. Please download and save your certificate so that you can provide it for verification when the current user process is rolled out.
What are the instructions for completing the FERPA training?
- Visit citiprogram.org
- Select Login Through My Organization (type in University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
- Scroll down to or click Add a Course
- Scroll down to or search (Ctrl + F) for “FERPA” (shows up as “Question 8” on this page); you don’t have to answer or select anything else, but DO click “submit” at the bottom of the page.
- Take the course (~15-20 mins, answer the 5-question quiz)
- Print, save and share “Certificate of Completion.”
Here is the link to the video instructions for CITI Training:
https://umbc.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/faq/pages/757071874/How+do+I+complete+FERPA+training
What if you have questions about FERPA training?
Contact the Registrar’s Office by sending an email to Bethany Spore, Compliance Manager