With its universal accessibility, fax remains a critical tool for schools and education institutions from primary schools, middle and high schools to graduate schools and colleges. These organizations are dependent upon faxing very day for the sending and receiving of important and sensitive information.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA or the Buckley Amendment) is a federal law in the United States. Educational agencies and institutions that receive funding through programs administered by the US Department of Education must provide students access to their education records, provide an opportunity to request to have records amended and to protect the privacy of education records. Institutions which violate the Act can be faced with a withdrawal of Federal funding.
Use of manual and paper-based faxing exposes education institutions to unauthorized access to confidential student records and potential litigation.
Confidential documents that are often transmitted by fax include: Admission Forms, Acknowledgments, Authorizations, Change Orders, Confirmations, Contracts, Finance Forms, Grant and Loan applications, Human Resources documents, Invoices, Purchase orders, Reports – financial, Requests for quotes, Statements, Tax information and Transcripts.
