Revised policy requires privacy of student addresses and phone numbers on campus directory

Student address and phone number information will no longer be automatically posted in the UCLA campus directory with a policy change taking effect Thursday.

The move is an effort to increase privacy and security, said University Registrar Frank Wada. Mailing addresses and phone numbers will be hidden from public view.

A student’s name and email address will still be listed in the directory. Students can also choose to release address and phone number information through URSA.

Campus information technology teams will be implementing the new policy Wednesday evening, Wada said. He expects it to be a one-time change.

The policy formally changed in July, said Debra Geller, chief administrative officer of Student and Campus Life. Administrators set an implementation date of Sept. 15 to allow extra time for programming.

Here is the revised text of the student records policy in question:

As a matter of practice, UCLA does not publish student addresses or phone numbers in the UCLA Campus Directory unless released by the student (UCLA Policy 220: Disclosure of Information from Student Records, Section III, E)

This has followed a broader review of campus privacy policies after the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects student records under federal law, was revised last year.

The FERPA changes spurred UCLA to update its own policies to ensure it was compliant with the changes. Administrators then sought to identify other ways to increase protection, Geller said.

When it came to the student directory, phone numbers and mailing addresses were determined to be too private.

“We wanted to give students a little more control over what about them is displayed on that website,” Geller said.

Intrusive incidents at UCLA and other universities also enforced the need for a policy review, Geller said. Students have reported unsolicited contact in the past, such as unwanted materials in the mail.