Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:

Student Education Records

• 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, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes 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 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 hearing procedures utilized by the College will vary based on the nature of the record which is the subject of the request.

• 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.

• 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 is:

Disclosures to Parents/Legal Guardians of Students

FERPA gives parents/legal guardians certain rights with respect to their student's education records. When a student reaches the age of 18 or attends a postsecondary institution, regardless of the age of the student, the FERPA rights transfer to the student.

Guidelines for the disclosure of information to parents/legal guardians are as follows:

• Parents/legal guardians may obtain directory information at the discretion of the College.
• If it is determined that a student is legally dependent on either parent/legal guardian, parents may obtain non-directory information (e.g. grades, GPA) at the discretion of the College.
• Parents/legal guardians may obtain non-directory information if the College has a signed release from the student on file. 
• Parents/legal guardians may be notified by the College if their student, under the age of 21, has been found responsible for violating the College's Substance Awareness (alcohol and drug) Policy.
• Parents/legal guardians may be notified by the College if their student's residency or student status (ability to live on-campus) may be in jeopardy or revoked.
• Parents/legal guardians may be notified when their student is involved in a health or safety emergency.

FERPA Consent Form

Students may find a link to the online FERPA Consent Form in myHill > Students> Academics> FERPA Consent Form. Hard copy forms are also available in the Registrar's Office , Duffy 112.

Directory Information

At its discretion, the College may provide Directory Information without the consent of the student in accordance with the provisions of the Act, which information includes:

Student name, current enrollment, address, e-mail address, telephone number, class standing, full-time or part-time status, schedule of classes, photograph, date and place of birth, major and minor fields of study, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, including Dean's List and graduation honors, most recent previous educational institution attended, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams.

Students may instruct the College to withhold Directory Information by notifying the Registrar in writing within two weeks after the first day of class for each semester. Request for nondisclosure will be honored by the institution for only one academic semester; therefore, authorization to withhold Directory Information must be filed each semester in the Registrar's Office. Please note that requesting non disclosure will prevent the College from releasing any directory information to anyone or any agency (including, College news releases, potential employers, and family or friends) without consent of the student.