Posting of Grades

The Federal Department of Education stipulates that posting of grades, using even a portion of the student identification number, is considered a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA protects the confidentiality of educational records and prohibits distribution of that record unless with the student's written consent.

Do not: post grades as a class listing using any portion of the student identification number, either via paper or electronically. (Note that this policy applies whether the student identification is the social security number or a generated identification number.)

Questions related to this federal guideline: Wanda Hankins Dean, University Registrar

Options to communicate grades:

1. Blackboard software as the gateway for viewing of grades--this does not require you to utilize all options of the BLACKBOARD system. BLACKBOARD requires students to enter their PID/password combination to view grades and the viewing is limited to their grades. More information can be found at BLACKBOARD.
2. Waiver forms: Professors may construct a waiver that students may sign (must not be mandatory). Waiver should state: "(Name of Student) grants permission to Professor XYZ in Subject Number to list my graded material in a listing format using the last four digits of my student identification number." It must be signed, dated, and retained for one academic year.
3. Unique Identifiers: Professors may assign a class number to each student, known only to the student and the professor (or TA); the grades can then be listed by that number; the number cannot be any portion of the student identification number.