Data Release Policy

Data held by the Office of Institutional Research is governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the terms of informed consent given by research participants, and standards of ethical research practice. For this reason, the office limits the release of institutional data to researchers and students. Learn more about FERPA and access the FERPA web tutorial.

When Smith community members or others want to study the institution, we work individually with researchers to help identify or locate appropriate sources of data. However, given the sensitivity and privacy considerations of some institutional data, requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis for approval, and many requests are not approved. Researchers interested in conducting their own surveys should also contact the office to find out about the process for obtaining permission to conduct research on campus.