Notification of Rights under FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
- The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access.
Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes is inaccurate.
Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate.
If the College decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of a right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including campus law enforcement personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing a task.
A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill the official's professional responsibility.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U .S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605
- Directory information includes:
- name;
- home address;
- home telephone number;
- e-mail addresses;
- field of study;
- photograph;
- date and place of birth;
- dates of attendance;
- enrollment status, i.e., full-time, part-time, undergraduate, graduate;
- degrees, certificates and other honors and awards received;
- the type of award received, i.e., academic, technical, tech-prep, or continuing education;
- participation in officially recognized activities;
- weight and height of members of athletic teams;
- student classification;
- name of the most recent previous institution attended; or,
- similar information.
Students may request that all or any part of the directory information be withheld from the public by giving written notice to the Registrar's Office during the first 12 class days of a fall or spring semester or the first four class days of a summer session. Students may protect their directory information at any time during the academic year if they are unable to provide written notice within these time frames.
