FERPA (Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act)
FERPA Document
RELEASE
OF STUDENT INFORMATION POLICY
In compliance with Section 438 of the "General
Education Provisions Act" (as amended) entitled "Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974" (FERPA)
the following constitutes the institution's policy on providing
appropriate access to personal records, while protecting
their confidentiality.
Barton County Community College accords all the rights under
the law to students. Those rights are: 1) the right to inspect
and review the student's
education records; 2) the right to request the amendment of
the student's education records to ensure that they are not inaccurate, misleading,
or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy or other rights; 3) 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; 4) the right to file with the U.S.
Department of Education a complaint concerning alleged failures by Barton County
Community College to comply with the requirements of FERPA; and 5) the
right to obtain a copy of Barton County Community College's student records policy.
Students will be notified of their FERPA rights by publication in the Student
Handbook.
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DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this policy, Barton County
Community College uses the following definitions:
Student - any person who attends or has attended Barton
Education records - any record (in handwriting, print,
tapes, film, or other medium) maintained by Barton County Community College or
an agent
of the College
which is directly related to the student except:
1. Files retained by individuals
which are not accessible to
any other person
except a substitute faculty/staff member.
2. An employment record of
an individual whose employment is not contingent upon on
the fact that
he/she is a student, provided the record
is used only in relation
to the individual's employment.
3. Records maintained by the Student
Health Service if the records are used only for treatment
of a student and made
available only to those
persons providing
the treatment.
4. Alumni records which contain information
about a student after he/she is no longer in attendance
at Barton County Community College
and which do not relate
to the person as a student.
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PROCEDURE
TO INSPECT EDUCATION RECORDS
Students may inspect and review their
education records upon request to the appropriate record
custodian. Students should submit to the record custodian
or an appropriate College staff person a written request
which identities as precisely as possible the record or records
he or she wishes to inspect.
The record custodian or an appropriate College staff person will make the needed
arrangements for access as promptly as possible and notify the student of the
time and place where the records may be inspected. Access must be given in 30
days or less from the receipt of the request.
When a record contains information about more than one student, the student may
inspect and review only the records which relate to him/her.
The student may request and receive interpretation of his/her record from the
person (or designee) responsible for the maintenance of the record.
The student may obtain copies of his/her educational records upon written request,
for which the College may charge the current copying charge per page. This does
not entitle a student to an official transcript, for which there is a higher
charge and which will be withheld if the person owes the College money or property.
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RIGHT
OF COLLEGE TO REFUSE ACCESS
Barton County Community College reserves
the right to refuse to permit a student to inspect the following
records:
1. The financial
statement of the student's
parents
2. Letters and statements of recommendation
for which the
student has waived his or her right of access, or which
were placed in file
before January 1, 1975. Waivers
are subject to the following conditions:
a. Waivers can be signed only for the specific
purposes of application for admission, candidacy for honor
or honorary
recognition (including financial
aid based in part on merit), and candidacy for employment.
b. Waivers cannot be required.
c. The student shall
be told, upon request, the names of those supplying references.
3. Those
records which are excluded from the FERPA definition
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DISCLOSURE
OF EDUCATION RECORDS
Barton County Community College will disclose
information from a student's education records only with
the written consent of the student, except:
1. To school officials who have a legitimate
educational interest in the records. These members include
personnel in the offices of Admissions, Registrar, Business
Office, Computing Center, Financial Aid, Career Services,
Community Education , Planning, Testing, Library, Advisement
Center, Athletic Department, College deans, and other administrative
and academic personnel within the limitation
of their need-to-know. Legitimate educational interests means a) the information
or records requested is (are) relevant and necessary to accomplishment of some
task or determination; and b) the task or determination is an employment responsibility
for the inquirer or is a properly assigned subject matter for the inquirer's
employment responsibility.
2.To certain officials of the U.S. Department of Education,
the Comptroller General, and state and local educational authorities, in connection
with certain
state or federally supported education programs.
3. In connection with a student's request for or receipt of
financial aid, as necessary to determine the eligibility, amount or conditions
of the financial
aid, or to enforce the terms and conditions of the aid.
4. If required by a state law requiring disclosure that was
adopted before November
19, 1974.
5. To organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf
of the College.
6. To accrediting organizations to carry out their functions.
7. To parents of an eligible student who claim the student as
a dependent for income tax purposes. Access to grades by parents will be allowed
if the parents:
a. complete
a written request to the Director of Enrollment Services;
b. enclose
a copy of the first page of their last tax year's federal income
tax return.
The same documents must be submitted each time a grade report is desired.
8. To
comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena.
9. To appropriate parties in a health or safety
emergency defined by the following
considerations:
a. The
seriousness of the threat to health or safety.
b. The need for access to the record in meeting
the emergency.
c. Whether the person requesting the records is
in a position to deal with the
emergency.
d. The extent to which time is of the essence in dealing with
the emergency.
10. To
an alleged victim of any crime of violence, of the results of any
institutional disciplinary proceeding against the alleged perpetrator
of that crime with respect to that crime.
11. Social security number and student status
data may be provided to other State of Kansas agencies for use
in detection of fraudulent or illegal claims against
state monies.
12. At its discretion, the College may provide Directory Information to
anyone
in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
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RECORD
OF REQUESTS FOR DISCLOSURE
Barton County Community College will maintain
a record of all requests for and/or disclosure of information
from a student's education records. The record will indicate
the name of the party making the request, any additional
party to whom it my be redisclosed, and the legitimate interest
the party had in requesting or obtaining the information.
The record is open only to the student and the person in
charge of the record.
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DIRECTORY
INFORMATION
Directory Information is limited to: name,
address(es), telephone number(s), dates of attendance, classification
(freshman, sophomore, etc.), enrollment status (full-time,
half-time, etc.), class type (day, evening, etc.), previous
institution(s) attended, major field(s) of study, awards,
honors (includes Dean's Honor Roll), degrees conferred (including
dates), past and present participation in officially recognized
sports and activities, physical factors (height, weight of
athletes).
Students may withhold free disclosure of Directory Information (on all or none
basis) to non-institutional persons or organizations. Students have the option
to protect their privacy and not have such information as address and telephone
number released. A written request to withhold this information should
be submitted to the Office of Enrollment Services. Otherwise, the College assumes
that you approve of disclosure of that information. Requests will be honored
for only one academic year; therefore, requests to withhold Directory Information must
be filed annually.
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CORRECTION
OF EDUCATION RECORDS
Students have the right to ask to have
records corrected that they believe are misleading, inaccurate,
or in violation of their privacy rights. If the student considers
the record faulty, he/she can request and receive an informal
and/or formal hearing of the case to the end that the record
will be corrected if judged faulty or in violation of privacy:
a. The
informal hearing will be in conference with the person (or designee)
responsible for the maintenance of the record, and where appropriate,
the party or parties authorizing the record segment in question.
b. The
student may request a formal hearing by submitting a written request
to the Director of Enrollment Services in which he/she must designate
the location of the record in question and a brief explanation
of the reason for faulting the record. Hearing officer shall be
selected by the Director of Enrollment Services from a pool of
persons who are officials of the College. The hearing officer selected
should be a disinterested party to the dispute who will conduct
an administrative hearing with both parties present.
The hearing shall be held within a reasonable period of time;
notice of the date, place, and time must be given reasonably
in advance.
The student shall be afforded
a full and fair opportunity to present relevant evidence and may be assisted
or represented by any person of his/her own choosing (including an attorney
at his/her own expense). When appropriate, affected College offices
will be notified
of the hearing and given a chance to respond to the student's assertions. A
written decision based upon the evidence presented or gathered shall be prepared
within
a reasonable amount of time and shall include a summary of the evidence and
the reasons for the decision. The judgment of the hearing officer shall be
final
and the record shall be changed or retained as recommended.
If the institution decided the information is accurate, it shall inform the student
of his/her right to place in the educational record a statement commenting upon
the information and/or noting any reasons for disagreeing with the decision.
Any statement of this sort shall be maintained as long as the student's educational
record or contested portion is maintained; if the student's educational record
or contested portion is disclosed to any party, the student's statement shall
also be disclosed.
Any questions? Please contact the U.S. Department of Education:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5901
(202) 260-3887- Telephone
(202) 260-9001 - Fax
FERPA@ED.Gov - Email
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