The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) states that information about students who attend postsecondary educational institutions is, generally speaking, private and cannot be shared with anyone other than school officials without a student’s written permission.
One exception to this rule is so-called “directory information,” which includes a person’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. This information is considered public and may be released without a student’s written permission unless the student “opts out” and decides to keep the information private.
FERPA requires schools to notify students annually of their right to opt out as well as to give them a means to do so.
How Does FERPA Apply to OLLI?
Because OLLI at the University of Minnesota is a program of the University’s College of Continuing and Professional Studies, OLLI members are considered to be students under FERPA and are entitled to choose to keep their personal directory information private.
OLLI members may exercise this choice: when they first join OLLI, when they renew their annual OLLI membership, or at any time during their OLLI membership.
OLLI members may reverse their opt-out decision at any time.
Managing Your Personal Information
What is Affected by an Opt-Out Decision?
If an OLLI member chooses to opt out, their personal information will not be included in any Member Directory that is generally available to other OLLI members. Likewise, their personal information will not be included on any course roster that is circulated in the classroom. Their personal information will, however, be available to OLLI staff for administrative purposes, and course leaders and course assistants for the purpose of taking attendance and distributing course information via e-mail or telephone.
What is the Opt-Out Process?
There are two ways for new and existing OLLI members to opt out in order to keep their personal information private.
A member may opt out online by selecting the appropriate box in the "My Profile” section of their OLLI registration account (see instructions below) or a member can call the OLLI office to make the opt-out request.
Once a member has opted out, OLLI staff will omit the member’s personal information from the OLLI Member Directory and any future circulating course rosters.
Instructions for Opting Out Online
Sign into your OLLI member account, select “My Account” near the top of the page, then select “My Profile.”
On the “My Profile” page, check the box next to “Opt Out Directory,” and “Save Changes.”
If you change your mind, follow the same instructions, and un-check the box next to “Opt Out Directory,” making sure to save your changes.
Questions?
Contact OLLI at 612-624-7847 or [email protected].