Appendix G Access to Student Records

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STUDENT RECORDS AND INFORMATION - FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)

In accordance with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), personally identifiable information contained in student education records shall not be disclosed by the College without a student’s prior written consent, except in cases in which FERPA authorizes disclosure without such prior consent.  Such cases include disclosures that are made to:

• College officials with a legitimate educational interest in the information;
• Other schools to which a student is transferring or seeks to enroll;
• Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes*;
• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
• Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
• Accrediting organizations;
• Comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies;
• State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to state law; and
• Victims of violent crimes and certain sex offenses, in accordance with the requirements of Title IX.

In addition to the foregoing, please be advised that the College may disclose information that has been designated as directory information, in its discretion and without a student’s prior consent, unless the student notifies the College in writing that she or he does not want directory information to be disclosed.   Directory information includes a student’s name, postal and e-mail address, telephone number, date and place of birth, photograph, major field or program of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance/registration periods, enrollment status (e.g. full or part-time), number of credits, and degrees, honors and awards received.  If a student does not want their directory information to be disclosed without his or her prior consent, the student must complete a “Privacy Request” form at the Registration and Advisement office at which the student is enrolled.  Please note that if a student requests that no directory information be shared, the request will include the non-disclosure Degree Verification once you graduate.  

Please be further advised that FERPA provides students with the following rights with respect to their education records:

• The right to inspect and review their education record within forty-five (45) days of the College’s receipt of the request for access;
• The right to request amendment of education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading or otherwise violate the student’s privacy rights;
• The right to a hearing if a request to amend the student’s education records is denied;
• 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 right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Family Policy Compliance Office concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.  The contact information for this office is as follows:

Students who wish to grant consent for parents, guardians or other third parties to access the student’s educational records must complete the FERPA Release form (available on the Advisement Forms webpage), specifying the types of records to be shared, sign and submit to the campus Registration and Advisement Office.  

Military requests for student information for recruiting purposes, under the Solomon Amendment, supersede FERPA regulations. See instructions on the college website for requesting student information via the Solomon Amendment.

The full text of CCAC’s policy on student records is set forth in Policy No. III.09 of the Board Policy Manual.  Information and procedures governing your right access to access and review information contained in your student records, as well as the conditions and circumstances under which such information may be disclosed to third parties, is set forth in the “Review and Release of Information in Student Records” section of the CCAC Administrative Regulations Manual.   The CCAC Policy Manual and Administrative Regulations Manual can be viewed and downloaded here.

*   Effective January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s FERPA regulations were amended to expand the circumstances under which education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records-including Social Security Number, grades, or other private information-may be accessed without a student’s prior consent.  The U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to a student’s education records and PII without the student’s consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal or state-supported education program or to researchers performing certain types of studies.  In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without consent PII from student education records, as well as track participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about students that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.