QUESTION: Army recruitment spam on SUNY email

question / pregunta: 

I am a college student, and recently my entire campus community received an email from an army recruiter. I know that colleges are required to allow recruiters on campus at the risk of losing federal funding, but i can't find anything regarding the legality giving away student information, in this case email addresses, to recruiters. Any information at all would be helpful.

It's a SUNY--a state school, if that matters.

Answers


Answer posted by:
pumpedlibrarian

FERPA, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, explains that the military is allowed access to student records via the school directory (unless the student has requested the institution not release his or her information). Each federally-funded university should have a webpage discussing FERPA; here is SUNY's, where it states:

"P. to the military, directory information as it is presently defined under the Solomon Amendment, even if the institution has not designated such information as directory information in its policy.
Directory information that must be released to the military:
1. student’s name and address;
2. telephone listing;
3. date and place of birth;
4. class level (Freshman, sophomore etc.);
5. academic major;
6. degrees received; and
7. the educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled.

Information that Institutions are not required to release to the military:
1. Directory information, but only if the student has requested that the University not release such information to anyone;
2. information the institution certifies it does not have; or
3. information not defined as directory information."