FERPA Q&A

Q: In light of the recent data incident, a student emailed me asking for a copy of their record. Should I provide the information? 

A: If a student is asking for a copy of their academic record, it is best to refer the student to the Data Request Center. The Data Access and Privacy Office will coordinate with the various offices and respond to the student. If a student is only asking for specific information from your subject area, you can fulfill that request. 

2024-2025 FAFSA

Normally available October 1, the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will not be available for students until December 2023. This is due to the FAFSA Simplification Act, which also resulted in following changes to the upcoming FAFSA:

• A streamlined and easier process to complete the FAFSA.
• A new method for determining financial need.
• New terminology added to the FAFSA.

For a complete list of changes, see the FAFSA simplification page on the One Stop website. Additional information is available on the Federal Student Aid website. 

Twin Cities One Stop Student Services to launch a chatbot

In early October, One Stop Student Services will replace the live agent chat on its website with chatbot technology provided by Ivy.ai. It’s the same chatbot technology the Office of Information Technology uses on its website. We hope the bot will help students and staff find answers to their registration, financial aid, academic records, billing, veteran services, and graduate student services questions. 

One Stop will continue to be available via email, phone, Zoom, and in person. You can find contact information on the One Stop website.

Coursedog update

Coursedog successfully launched on August 21. Thank you to the many people on all campuses who contributed to the success of this project! Moving forward, Coursedog will be managed by a support team in ASR and governed by a systemwide Curriculum Administration Best Practices Working Group. 

The Coursedog support site provides information like training courses, supplemental guides, access role information, and a link to the Coursedog ARF (Access Request Form). The support team can be reached at coursedog@umn.edu for any questions or issues.

Board of Regents Policy: Student Records Changes

Board of Regents Policy: Student Education Records was adopted in 1991 and last amended in June 2021. This policy sets forth the University’s implementation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), including what student information can be released to the public as “directory information” and what student information can be more narrowly shared as “limited directory information.” The limited directory information category includes “student’s physical addresses, University email address, telephone numbers, and University ID photos.” Directory information can be shared only with student groups and University officials without a student’s written consent.

In the most recent legislative session, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill including provisions to facilitate student voter registration. It requires that colleges and universities share student address information with county auditors prior to elections, to the extent permitted by FERPA. The statute includes deadlines for the sharing of this information based on election day.

The University of Minnesota supports the effort to facilitate voter registration. However, in order to provide the information to county auditors the requested student address information, the Student Education Records policy needs a minor edit to include limited directory information being available to county auditors for the purposes of voter registration. 

Several groups have reviewed this policy edit, including campus vice chancellors, the registrar’s offices from each campus, and student affairs offices on each campus. Campuses have committed to consulting with their student government leaders, and this consultation will be concluded prior to the October meeting.

Academic policy revisions available for review - feedback requested by October 11

As part of the academic policy comprehensive review process, proposed policy edits are posted for review by University program leadership, student governance leadership, advisors, and other faculty and staff who administer our academic policies. The University asks for your feedback by Wednesday, October 11, 2023 on the following policies:

• Makeup Work for Legitimate Absences: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester
• Mandatory Attendance at First Class Session and Consequences for Absence: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester
• Application of Credits for Students Earning Graduate Degrees

If you have any trouble accessing these policy materials or have general questions about this review process, please contact barne062@umn.edu. If you have questions about a particular policy undergoing review, please email the contact listed in the policy

U Card reminder

With the start of the term approaching, remember to bring your U Card to ensure access to campus buildings. You can find entrances with a card reader by reviewing Campus Maps and turning on the layer for Accessibility in the top right.

13-Credit exemption retired

The 13-credit exemption process has officially been retired. Here are a few things to consider to make this a smooth transition for students and staff:

• The exemption will no longer be entered into PeopleSoft. If you have relied on that data in the past (e.g., awarding scholarships), a change in policies and/or practices may be needed.
• Review your communications, websites, and printed materials to ensure that references to “13-credit policy” or “13-credit requirement” are removed or updated. References to tuition costs above the 13 credits are "flat rate tuition."
• 13 credits is not enough for most students to stay on track for timely graduation or maximize certain types of financial aid. We encourage you to promote 15 credits of enrollment where appropriate.

A full-time credit fact sheet will be included in the Advising Toolkit. For details on how APLUS has adapted to this change, please attend the Fall 2023 APLUS Training.

Policy reminders

As we near the start of the term, we wanted to share a few policy reminders. The Mandatory Attendance policy requires students to attend the first class meetings for all classes in which they are enrolled unless they have prior approval from their instructor to be absent. Please consult the policy FAQ for more details on how this policy applies to online classes or when students register after the first day of classes.

Please also consult the Makeup Work for Legitimate Absences policy and the Makeup Work FAQ. Reasonable accommodations must be made for students who have legitimate absences, including:

• Illness, especially for in-person or blended classes
• Religious holiday observance
• Pre-approved first-day absence
• Late registration

We recommend reviewing the Student Conduct Code, particularly its definition of scholastic dishonesty, which includes unauthorized use of learning support platforms. This information should be included in a course’s syllabus so students are able to understand the standards, expectations, and reference techniques appropriate to the subject area and class requirements, including internet use and group work.

FERPA Q&A

Q: A student emailed me asking for a copy of their record. Should I provide the information?

A: If a student is asking for a copy of their academic record, it is best to refer the student to the Data Request Center. The Data Access and Privacy Office will coordinate with the various offices and respond to the student. If a student is only asking for specific information from your subject area, you can fulfill that request.