The federal government is undertaking the important task of conducting the 2020 Census. Beginning March 12, census mailers have started to arrive in mailboxes throughout the country. At Lafayette, we are doing our part to support this effort, and that includes counting all of our students in our census report. The College’s census report will include directory information including each student’s name, age, date of birth, and permanent home address. Students who have requested directory information to be withheld through FERPA will not be reported in the census count.
In order to produce an accurate count, please do not include yourself in your household report to the census. This is true even with many of you living at home during this transitional period. The College will report you as part of the Easton count.
For more information about campus census reporting, read the March 15 statement from the Census Bureau. Also, The Lafayette published a story on the College’s census efforts in late February.
An accurate census count is important for determining the appropriate number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives; fair congressional, state, and local district boundaries; government funding allocations; emergency response planning; government, business, and nonprofit decision making; and more. Should you have questions regarding the College’s census reporting process, contact Melissa Starace, assistant to the president for board and community relations, at staracem@lafayette.edu or 610-330-3365.
Thank you in advance for joining with Lafayette in providing accurate reporting to the Census Bureau.
Note: Reporting of student information for the 2020 Census is allowable under the release of directory information as defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA.) Although this information is public in nature, students may request that their directory information be withheld and released only upon written authorization by completing Request to Withhold Directory Information. For your information to be excluded from the census report, you must complete the Request to Withhold Directory Information form.
Sign, scan, and submit to registrar@lafayette.edu no later than Friday, March 28. Details about FERPA, including the full list of Lafayette College’s directory information, is available online.