The Appraisal of Personally Identifiable Student Records

The problems of the administration and appraisal of student records have increased due to the growth of academic institutions and the proliferation of laws and regulations pertaining to such records. This article examines three areas: how the laws of the last decade, particularly the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, have affected record-keeping practices within units at one large public institution; how archivists and records managers at selected universities manage and appraise student records; and the effect on the research community of those appraisal decisions and the limited accessibility of student records and records containing personally identifiable information in general.