CEC Privacy Regulations & Ethical Standards 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes the 'school official' exception under FERPA that allows internal sharing of student records?
- Any employee of the institution may access all student records for any reason
- Employees with a legitimate educational interest may access records needed to perform their official duties (Correct answer)
- Records may be shared internally only with department heads and above
- The exception applies only to academic records, not financial aid information
Correct answer: Employees with a legitimate educational interest may access records needed to perform their official duties
FERPA's school official exception allows access to student records only for employees who have a legitimate educational interest directly related to their official responsibilities.
Question 2: A student submits a complaint alleging that an enrollment counselor made false promises about job placement assistance. Which federal agency is primarily responsible for investigating such complaints against institutions?
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office (Correct answer)
- Department of Justice
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Correct answer: Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office
The Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA) office oversees institutional compliance with Title IV regulations, including prohibitions on misrepresentation in student recruiting.
Question 3: An enrollment counselor learns a colleague has been providing false credentials on their professional profile. What is the most appropriate ethical response?
- Confront the colleague publicly to deter others
- Report the concern through the institution's compliance or ethics reporting process (Correct answer)
- Ignore it as it does not directly affect students
- Discuss it only with personal friends outside the institution
Correct answer: Report the concern through the institution's compliance or ethics reporting process
Professional ethics require enrollment counselors to report known violations of professional standards through appropriate institutional channels to protect students and institutional integrity.
Question 4: Under the CAN-SPAM Act, which of the following is required in commercial email communications to prospective students?
- A physical mailing address and a clear opt-out mechanism (Correct answer)
- A government-issued sender ID number
- Prior written consent for every individual on the email list
- A minimum font size of 12 points for all text
Correct answer: A physical mailing address and a clear opt-out mechanism
The CAN-SPAM Act requires commercial emails to include the sender's physical postal address and a clear, functional mechanism for recipients to opt out of future messages.
Question 5: Which principle of ethical enrollment counseling requires that counselors place the interests and needs of the prospective student above their own institutional enrollment goals?
- Institutional loyalty
- Student-centered advising (Correct answer)
- Enrollment maximization
- Competitive positioning
Correct answer: Student-centered advising
Student-centered advising is the ethical principle requiring counselors to prioritize the student's genuine educational needs and goals over institutional recruitment targets.
Question 6: A data retention policy at an enrollment office specifies that rejected applicant records must be destroyed after three years. A counselor is asked to retrieve a four-year-old rejected application. What should the counselor do?
- Search backup systems to find a copy of the record
- Inform the requester that the record has been destroyed per policy and document the response (Correct answer)
- Reconstruct the record from memory or partial notes
- Override the retention policy in this special circumstance
Correct answer: Inform the requester that the record has been destroyed per policy and document the response
When records have been destroyed per an established retention schedule, the appropriate response is to confirm the destruction and document the inquiry, not to circumvent policy.
Question 7: Which of the following actions violates the ethical obligation of confidentiality in enrollment counseling?
- Discussing a student's application with a supervisor who needs it to process admission
- Sharing a student's health condition revealed during counseling with admissions committee members uninvolved in accommodation decisions (Correct answer)
- Using aggregated, de-identified enrollment data in institutional reports
- Storing encrypted applicant records on a secured institutional server
Correct answer: Sharing a student's health condition revealed during counseling with admissions committee members uninvolved in accommodation decisions
Sharing a student's health information disclosed in confidence with individuals who have no need for it violates confidentiality and may also implicate HIPAA or ADA privacy protections.
CEC Privacy Regulations & Ethical Standards 5
Which of the following best describes the 'school official' exception under FERPA that allows internal sharing of student records?