The Registrars of the Harvard Schools have developed a set of Common FERPA Directory Elements in order to provide a
consistent University-wide understanding of what data elements might ever be considered public information about students
under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Individual Harvard schools use subsets of the following list
but no school will consider any data element not on this list as public information about a student. Individual schools
may select elements from the Common List to be published in online or printed directories or otherwise disclosed publicly.
This Common List is provided to assist students who may cross register or transfer between schools in deciding if they
should consider exercising their rights under FERPA to block public display of all such directory information or to discuss
with the school other options for blocking the display of individual directory fields.
Note that because a value, e.g. Date of Birth, is listed as a Harvard directory element, it does not mean that all Schools
include that information in their local directories or internal databases. Schools decide which data elements to collect or
maintain information. No directory element pertaining to a Harvard student will be disclosed which is not included in this
University Common List.
FERPA Directory Term |
Definition |
Student's name
|
The student's full name as shown on their application for admission or current legal name. |
Address
|
The address at which the student resides while school is in session as provided by the student or by the University. |
Telephone listing
|
The telephone number provided by the student for use while school is in session. |
Electronic mail address
|
The email address the student assigned by the school or in some cases provided by the student for use while school is in session.
|
Photograph
|
Harvard ID photograph. |
Date of birth
|
The student's date of birth as provided by the student.
|
Field of study
|
The academic department, degree program or concentration in which the student is enrolled.
|
Dates of enrollment
|
The beginning and end dates that a student was enrolled at one or more Harvard schools.
|
Anticipated or actual date of graduation
|
The expected date of the student's graduation or, if the student has already graduated, the actual date of graduation. |
Enrollment status
|
The student’s full or part time enrollment at a Harvard School as defined by that School. |
Degrees
|
Degrees the student received or is expected to receive from Harvard and their dates or the fact that the student is non-degree.
|
Honors and awards received
|
List of honors or awards the student received from Harvard. |
Prior degrees; recent educational institution(s) attended
|
List of past degrees received from educational institutions other than Harvard and educational institutions the student attended before attending Harvard, and their dates as provided by the student. This includes high schools and preparatory schools.
|
Class year
|
Undergraduate class year upon graduation. |
Original class year
|
Undergraduate class year when admitted.
|
House affiliation
|
For undergraduates, which Harvard house the student is affiliated with. |
Weight and height of members of athletic teams
|
The weight and height of members of athletic teams. |
Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
|
List of officially recognized activities or sports that the student is formally involved in. |
Parents' or guardians' home address & phone numbers
|
The home address(es) and phone number(s) of a student's parents or guardians as provided by the student. |
Country of citizenship
|
Citizenship as provided by the student.
|
Place of birth |
Location and country of the student’s birth as provided by the student.
|
Permanent address & phone number and summer address |
Student's permanent address and phone number as provided by the student. |
Society |
For medical and dental students, academic society affiliation. |
