The interplay of plagiarism accusations and FERPA

Note the report in the Chicago Sun-Times, Hearing officer, UIC clear CSU official of plagiarism, in the Angela Henderson matter.

The report contains the following text


UIC is accused of violating the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act by publicly discussing Henderson’s dissertation and the accusation made by an adversary, Chicago State History Professor Robert Bionaz. The act, known as FERPA, bars schools from releasing private information on student academics without permission.



As to the plagiarism issue


Kaufman, in a letter to Henderson dated July 22 — a day after the lawsuit was filed — wrote: “The hearing officer has stated persuasively that, except for the citation problems, the dissertation meets generally accepted standards for scholarship. . . . Your degree will stand as it was issued.”