Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
All students have the right to inspect and review their own education records as provided by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as amended, is a federal law which states that a written institutional policy must be established, and a statement of adopted procedures covering the privacy rights of students must be made available. The law provides that the institution maintain the confidentiality of student education records.
SCC accords all the rights under the law to students who are declared independent. The institution will not disclose any information from student education records without the written consent of the student. However, according to exceptions permitted under the act, student records may be disclosed to personnel within the institution, officials of other institutions where students seek enrollment, persons or organizations providing students with financial aid, accrediting agencies, persons in compliance with a judicial order, and persons protecting the health or safety of students or other persons associated with them.
Within the SCC community, only those members, individually or collectively, acting in the student’s educational interest are allowed access to student education records. These members include personnel in the offices of the Registrar, Business Manager, Financial Aid Officer, Admissions Officer, and academic personnel within the limitations of their need to know. At its discretion, the institution may provide directory information in accordance with the provisions of the Act, including student name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, current class schedule, degrees and awards received, the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student, participation in officially-recognized activities and sports, and the weight and height of members of athletic teams. Students may withhold directory information by notifying the Registrar in writing prior to the first day of class for the semester. Request for non-disclosure is honored by the institution for only one academic year; therefore, authorization to withhold directory information must be filed annually in the Admissions/Registrar’s office.
The law provides students with the right to inspect and review information contained in their education records, to challenge the contents of their education records, to have a hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory, and to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if the decisions of the hearing panels are unacceptable. The Registrar has been designated by the institution to coordinate the inspection and review procedures for student education records, which include admissions, personal, academic, and financial files, cooperative education, and placement records. Students wishing to review their education records must make written requests to the Registrar listing the item of interest. Only records covered by the Act will be made available within 45 days of the request. Students may have copies made of their records with certain exceptions (e.g., a copy of the academic record for which a financial “hold” exists, or a transcript of an original or source document which exists elsewhere). These copies would be made at the student’s expense at existing rates which are listed in the current catalog. Education records do not include records of instructional, administrative and educational personnel which are the sole possession of the maker and are accessible or revealed to any individual except a temporary substitute, records of the law enforcement unit, student health records, employment records or alumni records. Health records, however, may be reviewed by physicians of the student’s choosing. As outlined by the Act, students may not inspect and review financial information submitted by their parents; confidential letters and recommendations associated with admissions, employment, job placement, or honors to which they have waived their rights of inspection and review; or education records containing information about more than one student, in which case the institution permits access only to that part of the record which pertains to the inquiring student. The institution is not required to permit students to inspect and review confidential letters and recommendations placed in their files prior to January 1, 1975, provided those letters were collected under established policies of confidentiality and were used only for the purpose for which they were collected.
Students who believe that their education records contain information that is inaccurate, misleading, in violation of their privacy or other rights may discuss their problems with the Registrar. If the decisions are in agreement with the student’s request, the appropriate records will be amended. If not, the student will be notified within a reasonable period of time that the records will not be amended, and the student will be informed by the Registrar of the right to a formal hearing. Student requests for a formal hearing must be made in writing to the Dean of Academics who, within a reasonable period of time after receiving such requests, will inform the student of the date, place and time of the hearing. Students may present evidence relevant to the issues raised and may be assisted or represented at the hearing by one or more persons of their choice, including attorneys, at the student’s expense. The hearing panel, which adjudicates such challenges, will be the Dean of Academics, a representative of the Student Government and the Dean of Student Services.
Decisions of the hearing panel will be final, will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearings, will consist of written statements summarizing the evidence and stating the reasons for the decisions, and will be delivered to all parties concerned. The education records will be corrected or amended in accordance with the decisions of the hearing panel if the decisions are in favor of the student. If the decisions are unsatisfactory to the student, the student may place statements commenting on the information with the records in question in the education records, or statements setting forth any reasons for disagreeing with the decisions of the hearing panel. The statements will be placed in the education records, maintained as part of the student’s records, and released whenever the records in question are disclosed.
Students who believe that the adjudications of their challenges were unfair or not in keeping with the provisions of the Act may request, in writing, assistance from the President of the institution to aid them in filing complaints to:
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Office (FERPA)
Department of Education, Switzer Building Room 4074
Washington, DC20202