Student Privacy and Assessment

FERPA and IRB Regulations

Of all members of our LMU community, students stand to benefit most from meaningful assessment.  Yet concern for student privacy can lead educators to raise important questions about assessment procedures. 

Federal policies that serve to protect student privacy directly address and permit the use of student records in assessment.  In short:

• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) authorizes the use of student records for internal assessment purposes.

• Institutional Review Board (IRB) regulations state that normal internal assessment procedures are not subject to IRB approval.

For more detailed information about these policies, see the following links:

• FERPA

• IRB Regulations