Notwithstanding the general policy of treating personally identifying information as “confidential”, the information listed below describes the circumstances under which certain limited types of personally identifying information may be generally considered by the University to be publicly accessible, except as otherwise noted. Other elements may only be considered public if defined as such by the appropriate Information Guardian.
Information about Current and Former Students
While the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) generally prohibits the public disclosure of information regarding current and former students that was collected during their enrollment (see Appendix B - Potentially Applicable Laws), FERPA does allow for the public disclosure of certain “Directory Information” that may be shared with the general public, provided that the given student has not expressly objected to such disclosure.
Note – The Registrar maintains official University records of students who have expressly objected to such disclosure.
The University considers the following to be “Directory Information” that may be shared with the general public:
- Local address,
- Local telephone number,
- E-mail address,
- Dates of attendance,
- Major field of study,
- Participation in officially recognized activities, organizations and athletic teams,
- Weight and height of members of athletic teams,
- Degrees and awards,
- Academic institution attended immediately prior to McNeese University.
There are additional data elements, identified within FERPA as being available for public disclosure, which the University may decide to keep confidential or internal as a matter of policy. These include:
- Date of birth,
- Place of birth.
- Home address,
- Home telephone number.
Information about Parents, Guardians and Sponsors
The following information about parents, guardians and sponsors is considered to be public:
- Address (home and local),
- Relationship to student.
Information about Faculty and Staff
The following information about current and former staff and faculty is considered to be public:
- Dates of his or her affiliation with the University,
- Office address and phone number,
- E-mail address,
- Title and/or job function.