Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Student Privacy Regulations - FERPA

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has issued regulations to implement the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974” (P.L. 93-380,5513). The Act is designed to protect the privacy of students and parents, and includes requirements governing access to student educational records.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act requires that the College adopt guidelines concerning the right of a student to inspect his or her educational records, and guidelines concerning the release of personally identifiable information to third parties. The Act further provides that such a student has a right to a hearing in order to provide for the correction or deletion of inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate data. The Act also provides that students be informed of the types of educational records maintained by the College that are directly related to students.

Consistent with the Act, NIC’s policy in student education records is established to ensure that information contained in such records is treated in a responsible manner with due regard to the personal nature of the information. If any questions prevail, consult your advisor, the registrar, or any administrative official of the institution for clarification.


Definitions

The following definitions shall apply in interpreting these regulations:

  1. “His” when used throughout these regulations shall accomplish reference to both male and female students.
  2. “Student” is defined as any person who is or has been officially registered at the College and with respect to whom the College maintains education records or personal identifiable information.
  3. “Educational Records” means those records, files, documents, and other material which contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by the College. The term “educational records” does not include:
    1. Records of instructional, supervisory, and administrative personnel and educational personnel ancillary thereto which are in the sole possession of the maker thereof and which are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a substitute.
    2. Records of the Campus Security Office which are kept apart from educational records as defined above and which are maintained solely for law enforcement purposes and which are not made available to persons other than law enforcement officials of the same jurisdiction.
    3. In the case of persons who are employed by an educational agency or institution, but who are not in attendance at such agency or institution, records made and maintained in the normal course of business which relate exclusively to such person in the person’s capacity as an employee and are not available for use for any other purpose.
    4. Records on a student which are created or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other recognized professional or paraprofessional capacity, or assisting in that capacity and which are created, maintained, or used only in connection with the provision of treatment to the student, and are not available to anyone other than persons providing such treatment; provided, however, that such records can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student’s choice.


Right of Inspection

  1. A student has a right to inspect and review all educational records directly related to him that are intended for school use or that are available to parties outside of school.
  2. The student may specifically release his right to review where the information consists only of confidential recommendations respecting:
    1. Admission to any educational institution.
    2. An application for employment.
    3. Receipt of an honor or honorary recognition.
  3. A student’s waiver of his or her right of access to confidential statements shall apply only if:
    1. The student is, upon request, notified of the names of all persons making confidential statements concerning him.
    2. Such confidential statements are used solely for the purpose for which they were originally intended. In no case will any record which is requested by a student for review in accordance with established procedures be removed or destroyed prior to providing the student access.


Release of Educational Records

  1. The College shall not permit access to or the release of educational records or personal-identifiable information contained therein, other than directory information without the written consent of the student, to any party other than the following:
    1. College staff, faculty, and students when officially appointed to a faculty council or administration committee, when the information is required for a legitimate educational interest within the performance of their responsibilities to the College, with the understanding that its use will be strictly limited to the performance of those responsibilities.
    2. Federal and state officials requiring access to education records in connection with the audit and evaluation of a federally or state supported education program or in connection with enforcement of the federal or state legal requirements which relate to such programs. In such cases the information required shall be protected by the federal or state official in a manner which will not permit the personal identification of students and their parents to other than those officials, and such personal-identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for such audit, evaluation, or enforcement of legal requirements.
    3. Agencies or individuals requesting information in connection with a student’s application for, or receipt of financial aid.
    4. Organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of the College for purposes of developing, validation or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs and improving instruction, if such studies are conducted in such a manner as will not permit the personal identification of students by persons other than representatives of such organizations, and such information will be destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes for which it was provided.
    5. Accrediting organizations in order to carry out their accrediting functions.
    6. Any person or entity designated by judicial order or lawfully-issued subpoena, upon condition that the student is notified of such orders or subpoenas in advance of the compliance therewith.
  2. Where the consent of a student is obtained for the release of educational records, it shall be in writing, signed and dated by the person giving such consent, and shall include:
    1. A specification of the records to be released.
    2. The reasons for such release.
    3. The names of the parties to whom such records will be released.
      1. In cases where records are made available without student release as permitted by this section (B, C, D, E, F), the College shall maintain a record kept with the education record of each student, which will indicate the parties which have requested or obtained access to a student’s records maintained by the College. Information released to parties in accordance with lA of this section need not be recorded.
      2. Personally identifiable educational records released to third parties, with or without student consent, shall be accompanied by a written statement indicating that the information cannot be subsequently released in a personally-identifiable form to any other parties without obtaining consent of the student.
      3. The term “directory information” as used in this regulation is defined as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student. The College will give public notice to students as to the content of directory information, whereupon students may request, in writing, that the College not release such information.
      4. Information from education records may be released to appropriate persons in connection with an emergency if the knowledge of such information is necessary to protect the health or safety of a student or other person(s).

Notice of Rights

In accordance with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the College will make every effort to notify all students at least annually of their rights under this Act. Notification shall be accomplished through the College newspaper and such other publications and media that the College deems appropriate.

Requests and Appeal Procedures

  1. A request by a student for review of information should be made in writing to the College individual(s) or office(s) having custody of the particular record or to the Admissions and Academic Standards Committee.
  2. An individual or office must respond to a request for education records within a reasonable period of time, but in no case more than 45 days after the request has been made. A College individual or office which is unable to comply with a student’s request within the above stated time period shall inform the student of that fact and the reasons in writing.
  3. Any person objecting to a denial of a request for any College record relating to a student, or any student who contests whether the transfer of any College record relating to him is permitted under these regulations, may petition for prompt review of such denial or written objection to transfer. Upon receipt of a proper written objection to transfer of a student record, the college Records Officer shall cause such records not to be transferred, pending outcome of hearing proceedings.
  4. A student who feels that his/her request has not been properly answered or administered should contact the appropriate Vice President or director responsible for the supervision of such procedure to seek mediation.
  5. In cases where a student remains dissatisfied after consulting with the appropriate Vice President or director, the student may then request a hearing by the Admissions and Academic Standards Committee. Following the hearing, the College Admissions and Academic Standards Committee shall render its decision within a reasonable period of time. Decisions of the committee shall be final.
  6. The College’s Admissions and Academic Standards Committee shall not be authorized to review any matter regarding the appropriateness of official academic grades.

Directory Information

North Idaho College designates the following categories of student information as public or “directory information.” Such information may be disclosed by the institution for any purpose, at its discretion:

  1. Student’s Name
  2. Student’s Address
  3. Student’s phone number
  4. E-mail address
  5. Dates of attendance
  6. Freshman/sophomore classification
  7. Previous institutions attended
  8. Major fields(s) of study
  9. Awards/honors (including Dean’s List)
  10. Degree conferred (including dates)
  11. Past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities
  12. Weight and height of members of athletic teams

Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of any category of information under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. To withhold disclosure, written notification must be received in the Office of the Registrar, prior to the fourth week of a semester. Forms requesting the withholding of directory information are available in the Registrar’s Office.

North Idaho College assumes that failure on the part of any student to specifically request the withholding of categories of Directory Information, indicates approval for disclosure.

National FERPA Administration Office:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605