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Faculty and administrator knowledge of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act at select U.S. complimentary and alternative healthcare educational institutions

Posted on:2014-11-30Degree:Ph.DType:Dissertation
University:Capella UniversityCandidate:Werosh, Keith RFull Text:PDF
GTID:1457390008954063Subject:Law
Abstract/Summary:
The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship exists between knowledge of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to organizational position and training among faculty and administrators employed within complementary and alternative healthcare educational institutions. Within these knowledge levels, this study identified the existence of a relationship between knowledge of FERPA to employee rank within the institution, staff knowledge of FERPA to formal FERPA instruction and training and faculty knowledge of FERPA to formal FERPA instruction and training. Staff and faculty employed within the higher education sector are presented with student record information in a variety of different ways every day. The understanding of the provisions within FERPA as it relates to each employee's job role is essential for compliance and the security of private record information. Violations of FERPA occur as well-intentioned faculty and administrators perform their jobs, however, these violations are often unintentional and result from a misunderstanding of the Act, participation in a poor training program or no participation in any training program at all. Faculty and administrators totaling 1,738 from 16 complementary and alternative healthcare education institutions were invited to complete a questionnaire as participation in this study. Responses received numbered 255 which equates to a fairly evenly distributed sample within age, gender and education attained. There was limited evidence demonstrating a difference in knowledge of FERPA according to job role. Out of the 20 comparisons of the individual items, only two reached statistical significance. There was some evidence that employees with FERPA training answered more questions on the FERPA questionnaire correctly than those without training. Six of 20 comparisons were statistically significant in the total sample (p < .05). Employees who participated and completed and completed FERPA training outperformed those without training on every comparison. FERPA training is an important part of the employee training process. Faculty who work with student records may not possess the appropriate FERPA knowledge. Both faculty and administrators know more about FERPA and are more likely to adhere to the provisions of FERPA when they complete a formal training program.
Keywords/Search Tags:FERPA, Training, Faculty, Educational, Alternative healthcare
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