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Retired and Former AACRAO Members

Connect to the world of higher education

With AACRAO membership you'll be connected to more than 11,000 members from institutions around the world. Facilitate your professional development by attending discounted meetings, gaining complimentary subscriptions to our College & University journal and more.

Why should you join? Development never ends, retired or not. Keep current on trends in the field by collaborating with our members and lending your voice to discussions about practices in the field. 

Annual Membership Price: $151

Requirements: YOU BE A RETIRED MEMBER OR A MEMBER WHO LOST EMPLOYMENT AND IS NO LONGER ELIGIBLE FOR INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP.  

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Professional Competencies

Keep up to date on skills areas like technical knowledge and professional development and contributions to the field. We have the tools for you.

Online Learning

From free webinars to self-paced on-demand learning, AACRAO's online learning covers a variety of subjects—technology, strategic enrollment management, admissions, FERPA, transfer, credential evaluation, and international education—and allow you to engage with the presenters and instructors.

Take the next step in your career

Maybe you want to reenter the workforce or change the trajectory of your career--AACRAO's Career Navigator is a wealth of job postings and resources for you. 

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Get Published

AACRAO's professional journals College & University and SEM Quarterly are always accepting articles and have a wide circulation base.

Research Opportunities

Leverage the expertise of our over 11,000 members and contribute to one of the premier sources of practice related research within the global higher education community. 

Join a committee

Do work you're passionate about, with support and mentoring from fellow members. From Caucuses to specialized topics, it's all one community. 


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AACRAO's bi-weekly professional development e-newsletter

The FERPA Professor

Mar 7, 2022, 09:23 AM
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Summary : The FERPA Professor examines the disclosure of student medical treatment records and provides guidance.
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By Michelle Mott, Associate Director of Government Relations and Communications at AACRAO.

Recent accusations leveled against a Harvard University professor alleging predatory behavior toward students stirred up discussions, once again, on the disclosure of student medical treatment records. In particular, what happens to a student’s mental health records during a sexual misconduct investigation or litigation against an institution? 

FERPA vs. HIPAA

When students seek medical treatment, including mental health care, on-campus, are those records considered education records under FERPA? It depends. 

Under FERPA, medical or treatment records at postsecondary institutions are exempt from the definition of education records so long as they are only shared with other treatment providers. See 34 CFR 99.3 (a)(4). These records are subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, once these records are shared with any party other than another treatment provider, they become education records by definition and thereby subject to FERPA. 

Thus, sharing these records with the registrar's office, risk assessment team, or in compliance with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena, for example, while permitted under FERPA, would turn the treatment records into education records. 

Recent Guidance

The U.S. Education Department, along with the Department of Health and Human Services, issued joint updated guidance in December 2019 on the interplay between FERPA and HIPAA. The agency's revised guidance, first issued in November 2008, to clarify for school administrators, health care professionals, families, and others how FERPA and HIPAA apply to education and health records maintained on students. In particular, the guidance addresses when a student’s health information can be shared without the parent or eligible student's written consent under FERPA or without written authorization under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

New clarifications and examples address: 

  • when, under FERPA, an educational agency or institution can disclose, without prior written consent, PII from a student’s education records, including health records, to the educational agency’s or institution’s law enforcement officials; 

  • when certain disclosures are allowed without the written consent of the parent or eligible student under FERPA or without authorization under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, especially those related to emergency health or safety situations; and

  • when a school that employs a health care provider and conducts covered transactions electronically is subject to the FERPA privacy standards instead of the HIPAA privacy standards, among other things.

Explore AACRAO's extensive FERPA resources, including guidance in compliance, FERPA training, publications, and more.

Categories :
  • FERPA
Tags :
  • Academic Records
  • FERPA Professor
  • privacy
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AACRAO's weekly e-newsletter delivering policy and industry news

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Questions? Contact us at membership@aacrao.org or (202) 355-1040