The University of Maryland complies with the regulations set forth in the Buckley Amendment, which is a part of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The Buckley Amendment protects students from having personal and academic information disclosed to anyone other than the student. This information includes (but is not limited to) grades, special requests, current and past course registrations, financial aid disbursements, billing history and disciplinary action. These restrictions often apply to the disclosure of this information to parents; however, there are instances in which the student's parents have access to their child's personal and academic information. Faculty members should never discuss "protected" information over the telephone with anyone except the student.

Faculty members should also be aware that posting student grades with either student names OR social security numbers, in whole or in part, is strictly PROHIBITED. Such disclosure violates the Buckley Amendment and exposes the university AND the faculty member to civil litigation. In some instances, the faculty member may be responsible for providing his/her own legal counsel. To avoid violations of the Buckley Amendment, student grades should never be publicly posted.

For more information regarding this regulation please contact the Office of Legal Affairs at 5-4945.