Can Student Affairs Staff Use AI with FERPA-Protected Information?

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of the higher education landscape. From drafting emails to brainstorming programming ideas to summarizing notes, AI tools can save time and reduce workload for busy student affairs and student services professionals.

Used well, AI can support your work. But here’s the reality: Not everything should be put into AI. In fact, knowing what not to use AI for is just as important as knowing how to use it.

Let’s walk through a few critical boundaries every student affairs professional should keep in mind.

1. Do Not Input Sensitive Student Information (FERPA)

This is the big one. Student records, academic standing, advising notes, ID numbers, or anything tied to an identifiable student should never be entered into public AI tools.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, institutions are responsible for protecting students' education records. Even if an AI tool says it doesn’t “store” your data, many systems still process inputs in ways that could create risk.

Simple rule: If it belongs in your student information system, it does not belong in AI.

2. Be Careful with Health and Counseling Information (HIPAA)

If your role intersects with wellness, counseling, disability services, or case management, the stakes are even higher. Information related to physical or mental health may fall under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), depending on how your institution is structured.

Even describing a situation in detail, without a name, can sometimes make a student identifiable.  [Additional Reading: Academic Advisors' Mental Health is a Critical Issue]

3. Avoid Case-Specific Decision Making

AI can be helpful for generating options, but it should not be used to make decisions about individual students.

For example, determining if a student should be placed on probation, deciding how to handle a conduct issue, or evaluating an appeal or exception request. These decisions require professional judgment, institutional policy, and human context.

AI doesn’t know your campus culture, your policies, or the nuances of a student’s situation, so don't use AI as a decision-maker.

4. Don’t Upload Internal Documents or Institutional Data

Internal reports, memos, and participation data may feel harmless, but they are often confidential. Uploading these into AI tools can unintentionally expose institutional information.

This includes internal assessment reports, early alert tracking data, or meeting summaries.

5. Be Cautious with Student Communications

AI is great at creating starting points for many emails, but student-facing communication requires care.

Avoid quickly sending AI-generated messages without review, using AI to respond to emotionally complex student situations, or over-automating communication that should feel genuine. [Related Reading: The Silent Dropout Risk That's Hard to Spot]

Students can often tell when something feels impersonal, and it can even lead to backlash and embarrassment for a college. In moments that matter most, your voice matters.

Final Thought

AI can be a powerful tool in your work, but in student affairs, your role is fundamentally human. It’s built on trust, relationships, and care.

Use AI to save time, generate ideas, and support your workflow, but keep student data, decisions, and meaningful interactions where they belong: with you.