1. Why FERPA Compliance Matters in Surveys

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal U.S. law that protects the privacy of student education records. While often associated with transcripts and grade reports, FERPA also applies to surveys—especially when those surveys collect identifiable student information.

Whether you're conducting feedback forms, course evaluations, or well-being check-ins, educational institutions must ensure that any personally identifiable information (PII) collected through surveys is handled in compliance with FERPA.

Failing to comply not only risks legal consequences but can damage student trust.

2. Key Principles of FERPA to Consider in Survey Design

Before launching any form of data collection, institutions should evaluate:

• Is PII being collected?

  Names, student IDs, email addresses, or any information that can directly or indirectly identify a student falls under FERPA.

• Is consent required?

  In most cases, institutions must obtain written consent before disclosing PII—unless one of the FERPA exceptions applies.

• Who has access to the data?

  Only authorized personnel with legitimate educational interest may access student data.

• Can students review or opt out?

  Students (or parents of minors) must be informed of their rights to access or opt out of data collection when applicable.

3. How Walla Supports FERPA-Compliant Surveys

Walla provides a flexible and secure infrastructure that allows educational institutions to design forms and surveys with FERPA in mind.

1) Region-Locked Data Storage

Walla enables you to store student data in a specified server region (e.g., within the U.S.), ensuring compliance with data residency policies.

2) Field-Level Data Encryption & Segregation

Sensitive fields (name, ID, health information, etc.) can be encrypted and stored separately, reducing exposure risk in the event of a breach.

3) Explicit Consent Capture

Include customized checkboxes for opt-in consent, with links to your institution’s FERPA or privacy notice directly in the form UI.

4) 3.4 Data Minimization Features

Walla encourages privacy by design—only collect what’s necessary, and allow forms to be submitted anonymously when appropriate.

5) 3.5 Admin-Level Access Control

Use Walla’s role-based permissions to restrict who can view or export sensitive data, ensuring that only authorized staff have access.

4. Sample Use Case: End-of-Semester Course Evaluations

Let’s say your university wants to collect student feedback on courses. With Walla, you can:

• Create a form that allows anonymous responses by default

• Add optional fields (like name or email) with a clear privacy disclaimer

• Embed a link to your institution’s FERPA policy

• Store all responses on a U.S.-based server with audit logs

• Restrict access to authorized faculty only

Result? You get actionable feedback while respecting student privacy and staying compliant.

5. Final Thoughts

Educational surveys should not only be insightful—they must be secure and compliant. By designing with FERPA in mind and leveraging Walla’s secure form infrastructure, your institution can build trustworthy, privacy-first feedback loops with students.

FERPA compliance doesn’t have to be a legal burden. With the right tools, it becomes a seamless part of responsible data collection.

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