Attachment D

Theses and DissertationsThe FERPA Rule

"As you know, FERPA generally protects a student's privacy interests with regard to "education records." "Education records" are defined as those records that are 1) directly related to a student and 2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or a party acting for the agency or institution. 34 CFR 99.3. Accordingly, any records which are directly related to a student and are maintained by the University are education records subject to the provisions of FERPA. Thus, there are no distinctions between undergraduate and graduate theses.

FERPA prevents subject educational agencies and institutions from disclosing education records without prior written consent, with specified exceptions 34 CFR 99.30 and 99.31. None of the exceptions would permit making student theses available to the public, such as in the University Library, without first obtaining written consent from the student. Further, the written consent must specify the records that may be disclosed; state the purpose of the disclosure; and identify the party of class of parties to whom the disclosure may be made. 34 CFR 99.30(b). This Office recognizes that undergraduate honors theses and graduate theses differ in nature from typical student research papers and other education records in that theses often become research sources themselves and are on occasion published. As such, this Office would consider any written statement by a student permitting publication of a thesis sufficient consent under FERPA because such statement shows that the student intended the work to become publicly available."

The Family Policy Compliance Office will not take any action on this issue unless it receives a complaint.

(LeRoy Rooker, Directory, Family Policy Compliance Office, 26 August 1993, in ALA Washington Office Newsline.)