Module 2 FERPA and Maintaining Student Privacy

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All about the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) and how to ensure you maintain student privacy when teaching online at MiraCosta.

Key Points to Remember about FERPA

Select each item below to see details.

Student Privacy Rights

Students have the right to privacy regarding their education records.
Protected records include information such as class enrollment/schedule, student gender and ethnicity, and information related to a student's participation in education. Even directory information (information which may by default be publicly disclosed) such as student names and email addresses can be requested by an individual student to be kept private, and such information should also generally be assumed that it also must be kept private.
Education records include grades, feedback, submissions, discussion posts, messages, and recordings tied to student identity.
Review MiraCosta's explanation of student rights under FERPA for more details.

Protect Student Records and Limit Access

Student data must be kept secure and confidential.
Access to grades, feedback, and course records should be limited to authorized systems and personnel with a legitimate educational interest.
This requires careful thought about the technologies used in online course design, teaching, and communication, as well as access to the course by anyone who is not an enrolled student.
This may also have repercussions for electively combined Canvas course sections.

Don't Share Without Consent

Student consent is required before sharing education records with others, including parents or guardians (even if the student is a minor).
Students must provide explicit consent if the instructor wishes to share recordings or student work which reveal protected student identity information outside of the course section.
The college provides media release and online submission forms which may be useful for many situations.

Best Practices for Maintaining Student Privacy

Select each item below to see details.

Adding Non-Students to a Canvas Class

Do not try to add students manually to your Canvas class. Enrolled students are added via the SURF-Canvas integration.
Follow college procedures when adding observers, tutors, evaluators, community ed students, instructional aides, or others to an online class. This ensures they are provided the appropriate permissions in Canvas to maintain student privacy.
Do not grant access informally or outside approved processes as described in the link above.
Ensure all added users have a legitimate educational role.

Third-Party Tools

Be cautious when using tools not licensed or approved by MiraCosta College.
Unapproved tools may collect, store, or share student data in ways that are not FERPA‑compliant - even when they claim to be FERPA-compliant.
Whenever possible, use college‑supported platforms (e.g., Canvas, college‑approved integrations).

Communicating to Students

Discuss grades, feedback, and academic progress only through secure communication tools.
Recommended options include:
- Canvas gradebook and feedback tools
- Canvas inbox
- Pronto
- Zoom (using your MiraCosta credentials)
- MiraCosta College email
Avoid discussing grades and academic performance via personal email, text messages, or non‑secure messaging platforms.

Disclosing to Parents

Do not share student information with parents or guardians unless:
- The student has provided explicit written permission, or
- The request has been formally vetted through appropriate college channels.
When in doubt, refer the request to Admissions & Records.

Elective Combination of Course Sections in Canvas

Faculty may choose to combine multiple sections of a course they are teaching into one Canvas shell.
When doing so, because of FERPA, students from the different sections must not be able to interact or discover others' identities.
Canvas limits the visibility of students from other sections in a merged Canvas course, but not completely, so if you request to merge Canvas courses, you’ll need to take additional steps to ensure privacy is maintained.
See FERPA Compliance and Student Interaction in Merged Canvas Course Sections to learn more.

Sharing Course Content and Student Work Outside the Course Section

If you collect student work to share with other students (perhaps as examples in future classes), make sure that the students' identities are not revealed in the work, or that you obtain written permission to share the work.
It is good practice to establish a class norm with students that the interactions and resources that are part of a course section and available in Canvas must not be shared outside of the class.

Using Zoom

Help students to be aware of Zoom settings that can maintain the privacy of their settings when their cameras are on, such as virtual or blurred backgrounds.
Provide options for students to turn cameras off in accordance with the MiraCosta College Academic Senate guidance for camera use in synchronous instruction and assessment.
If you hold Zoom meetings with your students that are recorded, and student identities are revealed in the recording, do not share the recordings outside of the course section, unless you obtain written permission from the students. Follow the practices in the Guidance for Synchronous Instruction at MiraCosta College to Protect Student Privacy document.

Quick Check

A student sends you an email from their personal Gmail account asking for detailed feedback on a recent assignment and their current grade in the course. How should you proceed?

Reply directly to the Gmail account to provide the information as quickly as possible.: Incorrect: Personal email is not considered a FERPA-compliant way to discuss student grades or class performance.
Reply and ask them to check the Canvas Gradebook or message you via the Canvas Inbox.: Correct: Right! Faculty should discuss grades and academic progress only through secure communication tools like the Canvas Gradebook, Canvas Inbox, or Pronto. Personal email and text messages should be avoided for these discussions.
Text the student on their provided phone number to discuss the grade.

If you reply, include the parents on your response to ensure they are aware of the student's progress.