Prepared by the Office of the Registrar
Introduction
Educational records are kept by College offices to facilitate the educational development of students. Faculty and staff members may also keep informal records relating to their functional responsibilities with individual students.
The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 identifies the rights of students and their families with respect to student educational records kept by institutions. As part of the requirements of FERPA, the College has a Policy on Confidentiality of Student Records. A copy of this policy is available in the Office of the Registrar, Bonds Administration Building.
Student and Parent Rights Relating to Educational Records
Students have a right to know about the purposes, content and location of information kept as part of their educational records. They have a right to gain access to and challenge the content
of their educational records. They have a right to expect that information in their educational records will be kept confidential, disclosed only with their permission or under provisions of the law. Students have a right to permit or prevent disclosure of certain information about them in student records. Parents do not have access to their son’s or daughter’s educational records unless financial dependency has been verified by the Office of the Registrar.
Educational Records
Student educational records are specifically defined as records, files, documents and other materials that contain information directly related to a student and maintained by the College or someone acting for the College according to policy. Excluded from student educational records are records of instructional, supervisory and administrative personnel and ancillary educational personnel in the sole possession of the maker and that are not accessible or revealed to any other person, except for a substitute. Additionally, notes of a professor or staff member intended for his/her own use are not part of the educational record, nor are records of police services, application records of students not admitted to the College, alumni records, or records of physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, or other recognized professionals. Records relating toan individual who is employed by an educational agency or institution not as a result of his/her status as a student are also excluded. However, employment records relating to College students who are employed as a result of their status as students are considered educational records.
Directory Information
Some information about students is considered “directory information.” Directory information may be publicly shared by the institution unless the student has taken formal action to restrict its release.
Directory Information includes:
Name Enrollment status, including
Telephone number Full-time, part-time status
Hometown Previous Institutions attended
Dates of attendance Past & present participation in
Class schedule officially recognized sports
Major and activities
Degrees earned Physical characteristics of athletes
A student must formally request the College Registrar to prevent disclosure of directory information. Present guidelines now allow currently enrolled students to restrict all public information items.
Restricting one’s name will keep it from being published in subsequent directories. A new disclosure statement must be filed by the student every academic year.
General Guidelines
Directory information on individual students may be made available to the public.
Information from a student’s educational record should be sent to third parties outside the College only by the appropriate educational record custodian and only on the basis of a request by the student.
Information from a student’s educational record should be shared within the College only among appropriate school officials (faculty, advisers, counselors, placement personnel, deans, department chairpersons, directors and other administrative officials responsible for some part of the academic enterprise or one of the supporting activities; administrative and faculty sponsors of officially recognized organizations; members of official college committees; and clerical personnel, student workers employed to assist the College officials) having “legitimate educational interests” in the records (interests essential to the general process of higher education, including teaching, research, public service, and directly supportive activities such as academic advising, general counseling, therapeutic counseling, discipline, job placement, financial assistance, medical services, academic assistance activities, and co-curricular activities including varsity and intramural sports, social fraternities, specific interest clubs, and student government).
Access to a student’s educational record by school officials is restricted to that portion of the record necessary for a discharge of assigned duties.
Guidelines for Faculty and Staff
Good practice by faculty and staff members requires that they maintain, report and make available information included in student educational records in compliance with the requirements of FERPA and the College’s Policy.
1. DO refer requests for information from the educational record of a student to the proper educational record custodian.
2. DO keep only those individual student records necessary for the fulfillment of your teaching and advising responsibilities. Private notes of a professor/staff member concerning a student and intended for a professor’s/staff member’s own use are not part of the student’s educational records.
3. DO keep any personal professional records relating to individual students separate from their
educational records. Private records of instructional, supervisory and administrative personnel and ancillary educational personnel are to be kept in the sole possession of the maker and are not to be accessible or revealed to any other person, except a substitute.
4. DO change factual information regarding grades and performance in an educational record when the
student is able to provide valid documentation that information is inaccurate or misleading. The substantive judgment of a faculty member about a student’s work, expressed in grades and/or evaluations, is not within the purview of student’s rights to challenge their educational records.
5. DO NOT display student scores or grades publicly in association with names, social security
number or other personal identifiers. If scores or grades are posted, use the computer generated ID or some other code known only to you and the individual student.
6. DO NOT put papers or lab reports containing student names and grades in publicly accessible places. Students are not to have access to the scores and grades of others in the class.
7. DO NOT request information from the educational record custodian without a legitimate educational interest and the appropriate authority to do so.
8. DO NOT share student educational record information, including grades or grade point averages, with other faculty or staff members of the College unless their official responsibilities identify their “legitimate educational interest” in that information for that student.
9. DO NOT share by phone or correspondence information from student educational records, including grades or grade point averages, with parents or others outside the institution, including letters of recommendation, without written permission from the student.
10. DO NOT include in a student’s educational records or make available to him/her, or to a third party, information from medical, psychiatric, or psychological reports; records from law enforcement officials on or off the campus; or notes of a professional or staff person that are intended for that individual alone.
11. DO NOT check a student’s past academic record to make judgments about issuing a grade in a current course.
The following is a list of custodians of records that the College maintains. All requests for
educational record information should be directed to the custodian in charge of the requested record.
Record Custodian
Academic Records Registrar
Admission Records Director of Admissions
Advising Records Faculty Advisor, Academic Advising, Lifelong Learning
Student Financial Records Bursar
Placement Records Director of Career Services
Student Information Records Dean of Students
Financial Aid Records Director of Financial Aid
Disciplinary Records Dean of Students
Health Records Director of Health Center
Jacket Express (Student I.D.) Director of I.D. Office
Occasional Records
Student educational records not included in the types listed above such as: minutes of faculty meetings, copies of correspondence may be found at each department location or faculty office. The College staff person who maintains the records will direct the student to their location or otherwise make them available for inspection and review.
Any questions about this policy should be addressed to the Office of the Registrar, Bonds Administration Building, 826-2126.
275 Eastland Rd.