Lafayette is one of the only colleges in the Lehigh Valley to have a public student directory, a database identifying information such as class years, emails and mailbox numbers.
“Speaking generally, the student information included in the College Directory is considered ‘Directory Information’ by the College’s … Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act,” John O’Keefe, vice president of information technology services, wrote in an email.
“FERPA defines ‘directory information’ as information contained in the education records of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed,” according to O’Keefe.
According to the college’s policies on student information, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act “specifically identifies certain information called ‘Directory Information’ that may be disclosed by the College without the consent of the student.” Examples of this available information are names, home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
Moravian University is the only other area school to provide a public student directory. Its directory does not provide any identifying information about its students besides their names.
“This online listing replaces a paper/printed ‘phone book’ that previously was published,” Kara Howe, the registrar, wrote in an email.
Any student can request to have their records privatized, which can be done on the school’s website with the required form. This form must be completed and submitted to the registrar’s office every school year.
“Students with privacy concerns can ask to have a FERPA hold placed on their record. This will remove them from the College directory and other public-facing student lists,” O’Keefe wrote.
“Questions about the College’s FERPA policy for students should be directed to the Registrar’s Office,” he added.
Trebor Maitin ’24 contributed reporting.
