FERPA and Cloud Storage

FERPA is the federal law designed to protect the privacy of education records. It provides guidelines for appropriately using and releasing student education records. When working with programs like OneNote, OneDrive, or Microsoft Office 365, remember to take note of where documents are stored. If a document or notebook will be stored in the cloud (e.g. OneDrive, Sharepoint), it may not contain any non-directory information. Get full details about FERPA at WSU.

Non-Directory Information

The following types of student information are examples of information that are not directory information, and should neither be stored in any cloud based storage location nor shared by email:

  • GPA
  • Grades
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Gender/Sex Type
  • Social Security Number
  • WSUID
  • Financial information, including Financial Aid

Directory Information

The following types of student information are considered directory information, and are therefore permitted to be stored in the cloud:

  • Student’s Name
  • Address
  • Telephone listing
  • Email
  • Photograph
  • Age
  • Major field of study
  • Dates of attendance
  • Grade level
  • Enrollment status
  • Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
  • Weight and height of members of athletic teams
  • Degrees
  • Honors and awards received
  • Most recent educational agency or institution attended

Any student, current or former, may withhold disclosure of “directory information.” If a student is marked with the indicator “confidential,” their directory information should not be stored in the cloud.

Examples

Acceptable* Unacceptable

A list of current students with contact information and majors

A list of students that contains WSUIDs and/or grades

A document discussing the previous school of a recent transfer student

A document discussing the GPA of a recent transfer student

*It is always unacceptable to save information in the cloud regarding any student marked “confidential.”