Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
WHAT IS FERPA
(Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act)?
The
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (also
sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment), is a federal law
regarding the privacy of student records and the obligations of the
institution, primarily in the areas of release of the records and
the access provided to these records. Any educational institution
that receives funds under any program administered by the U.S. Secretary
of Education is bound by FERPA requirements. Institutions that fail
to comply with FERPA may have funds administered by the Secretary
of Education withheld.
WHAT ARE EDUCATION RECORDS?
Under
FERPA, education records are defined as records that are directly
related to a student and are maintained by an education agency
or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.
Education records can exist in any medium, including: typed,
computer generated, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche
and email, among others.
Education records DO
NOT INCLUDE such things as:
- sole possession records, i.e., records/notes in sole possession
of the maker, used only as a personal memory aid and not revealed
or accessible to any other person except a temporary substitute for
the maker of the record (this might include notes an instructor makes
while providing career/professional guidance to a student);
- medical treatment records that include but are not limited to records
maintained by physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists;
- employment records when employment is not contingent on being a
student, provided the record is used only in relation to the individual's
employment;
- records created and maintained by a law enforcement unit used only
for that purpose, are revealed only to law enforcement agencies of
the same jurisdiction, and the enforcement unit does not have access
to education records;
- post-attendance records, i.e., information about a person that
was obtained when the person was no longer a student (alumni records)
and does not relate to the person as a student.
ACCESS TO
STUDENT EDUCATION RECORDS
According
to FERPA, personally identifiable information in an education record
may not be released without prior written consent from the student. Some examples
of information that MAY NOT BE RELEASED without prior written
consent of the student are:
- citizenship
- disciplinary status
- ethnicity
- gender
- grade point average (GPA)
- marital status
- SSN/student I.D.
- grades/exam scores
- test scores (e.g., SAT, GRE, etc.)
- progress reports, e.g. DegreeWorks
The college will
not release personally identifiable information from a student's
education record without the student's prior written consent. Even
parents are not permitted access to their son or daughter's education
records unless the student has provided written authorization permitting
the parents' access. Exceptions are noted in the college's policy
concerning the privacy of student education records and includes:
access by "school officials" who the institution
has determined to have a "legitimate educational interest;" access
by school officials at other schools where the student seeks to
enroll; access for the purpose of awarding financial aid and subpoenas.
At BRCC these
terms are defined below:
"School
official" is any person employed by the college in an
administrative, supervisory, academic, research or support staff
position, a person or company with whom the college has contracted
(such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent, or the National
Student Clearinghouse, an agency which acts as a clearinghouse
for student loan deferment reporting), a person elected to the
Board of Trustees, a student serving on an official college committee,
or a person employed by or under contract to the college to perform
a specific task. A "school official" has a "legitimate
educational interest"
whenever he or she is performing a task related to a student's education,
performing a task that is specified in his or her position, description,
or by a contract agreement, performing a task related to a student's
education, performing a task related to the discipline of a student,
providing a service or benefit relating to the student or student's
family (such as health care, counseling, job placement or financial
aid) or disclosure of information in response to a judicial order
or legally issued subpoena. (NOTE: At BRCC all subpoenas are
first reviewed by the Attorney General to determine an appropriate
response.)
STUDENT'S
RIGHT TO REVIEW AND CORRECT HIS/HER RECORDS
Students
and former students have rights to inspect and review their education
records within 45 days from making such a request. The right of inspection
and review includes: the right to access, with an explanation and
interpretation of the record; the right to a copy of the education
record when failure to provide a copy of the record would effectively
prevent the student from inspecting and reviewing the record. The
institution may refuse to provide a copy of a student's education
record provided such refusal does not limit access.
Limitations exist
on students' rights to inspect and review their education records.
For example, the institution is not required to permit students to
inspect and review the following:
- financial
information submitted by parents;
- education
records containing information about more than one student
(however, the institution must permit access to that part of
the records which pertains only to the inquiring student);
- confidential
letters and recommendations placed in the student's file before
01/01/75;
- confidential
letters and statements of recommendation, placed in the records
after 01/01/75, to which the student has waived his or her
right to review and that are related to the student's admission,
application for employment or job placement, or receipt of
honors. Upon a request from a student, he/she will be notified
of the names of persons making the recommendations and that
such recommendations cannot be used other than for the purposes
for which they were intended.
Students may
request that their education records be amended if they believe
such information is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of
privacy rights. Students must request in writing that the office
that maintains those records amend them. Students should identify
the part of the records they want corrected and specify why they
believe it is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of privacy
rights.
The registration
office will review the request and inform the students in a reasonable
amount of time after receiving the request. If the records custodian
refuses to amend the record, students have the right to an appeal.
The appeal meeting must be held within a resonable amount of
time after the request of the student has been received. The
student will be notified, reasonable in advance, of the date,
place, and time of the appeal meeting.
Students will
be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant
to the issue raised. One or more other persons, including an
attorney, may accompany the student. The hearing officer/board
will make its decision in writing based upon the evidence presented.
The decision will include a summary of the evidence presented
and the reasons for the decision.
If the result
of the appeal process supports the complaint, the education record
will be amended according and the student will be so informed.
If the decision is not to ammend the education record students
have the right to place in the education record a statement commenting
on the challenged information and/or stating the reasons for
disagreement with the decision. This statement will be maintained
as part of the education record as long as the contested portion
of the record is maintained, and whenever a copy of the education
record is sent to any party, the student's statement will be
included.
WHAT IS DIRECTORY OR PUBLIC INFORMATION?
FERPA has specifically
identified certain information called directory information that
may be disclosed without student consent.
BRCC has
designated the following information as directory information
and will release this information, unless the student has submitted
a request for non-disclosure:
- student
name
- date
of birth
- major field of study
- quarters of attendance
- degrees & awards received
- participation in activities
- weight & height of members of athletic teams
RESTRICTING
RELEASE OF DIRECTORY INFORMATION
According to
FERPA, a student can request that the institution not release
any directory information about him/her. Institutions must comply
with this request, once received, if the student is still enrolled.
Students who
wish to restrict directory information should realize that their
names will not appear in the commencement bulletin and other
college publications. Also, employers, loan agencies, scholarship
committees and the like will be denied any of the student's directory
information and will be informed that we have no information
available about the student's attendance at BRCC. Students who
wish to have specific directory information released may do so
by providing a written authorization to the Registrar's Office.
ANNUAL NOTIFICATION
TO STUDENTS
BRCC students
are notified of the their FERPA rights each quarter with the
information sent in the registration mailing.
FERPA is published
in our class schedule and catalog.
COMMENTS/QUESTIONS
General questions
may be directed to the Registrar's Office.
FILING
A COMPLAINT
If a parent
or eligible student feels that the institution has not fully
honored his/her privacy rights under FERPA, a written complaint
may be filed with the Family Compliance Office, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.
The Family Compliance Office investigates each timely complaint
to determine whether the educational agency or institution has
failed to comply with the provisions of FERPA. A timely complaint
is defined as an allegation that is submitted within 180 days
of the date of the alleged violation or of the date that the
complainant knew or reasonably should have known of the alleged
violation.
