Student Rights

The College subscribes fully to the guidelines set forth in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, Section 438 of the General Education Provision Act. It provides students access to education records directly related to them and protects the private information contained within those files from unauthorized persons.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under a program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. It affords students certain rights with respect to access to, amendment, and disclosure of their education records. Specifically, 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.

A student should submit to the Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The Registrar 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 Registrar, the Registrar 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 are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.

A student who wishes to ask the College to amend a record should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s 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 provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

The College discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for 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 law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using College employees or officials (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 his or her tasks.

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the College.

Upon request, the College may also disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. In such cases, the College will make reasonable efforts to notify students of this action.