Policy:

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal privacy law that gives students certain protections regarding their education records, including grades, transcripts, disciplinary records, contact and family information, accommodations, class schedules, and student health records (including immunizations). To protect the student’s privacy, the law requires schools to ask for written consent before disclosing personally identifiable information to individuals other than the student. All students participating in a clinical learning experience must sign a consent form to release health and safety records to be shared with clinical agencies.

Clarkson College hereby designates the following student information as public or “Directory Information”: name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, photograph, date of birth, place of birth, campus, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, enrollment status, participation in activities, degrees, honors and awards, and recent institution attended. The institution may disclose such information for any purpose at its discretion.

Clarkson College assumes that failure on the part of any student to request the withholding of “Directory Information specifically” indicates individual approval for disclosure.

A student has the right to inspect all official Clarkson College records, files, and data directly related to them. Clarkson College maintains the following records for each student: application and general correspondence, evaluations, tests, and grades, reports of disciplinary infractions, health and attendance, financial aid, and student information in accordance with EC-2 Records Retention.

Clarkson College may release non-directory information to other persons only if the student completes the consent to release the requested information in MyCC, states the reason for such release, and names the person to whom the records should be sent. However, Clarkson College must comply with any judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena, provided that the student is notified of all orders in advance by Clarkson College. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Clarkson College officials have a legitimate educational interest.
• Parents of financially dependent students, dependent as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, Section 152.
• Officials connected with a student’s application for or receipt of financial aid.
• Organizations conducting research for predictive tests under the conditions specified by law.
• Authorized representatives, such as lawfully designated local, state, and federal officials.
• Persons representing accreditation agencies in their official capacity as visitors.
• Third-party officials for audit or evaluation purposes, e.g., Joint Commission.
• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies.

Information about students or former students will not be released without the student’s consent, except in the cases stated in the Federal Act. FERPA affords students certain rights regarding their educational records.

• The right to inspect and review the student's education records within forty-five (45) days after the day Clarkson College receives a request for access. A student should submit to the Registrar’s Office a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect.
• The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask to amend a record they believe is incorrect or misleading. Grades are not subject to challenge.
• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibilities for Clarkson College.
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office concerning alleged failures by Clarkson College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:
  
  U.S. Department of Education
  Family Policy Compliance Office
  U.S. Department of Education
  400 Maryland Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC, 20202

Procedure:

Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of any directory information under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. To withhold disclosure, students will opt in via MyCC to specify which FERPA information is allowed to be shared. This will be completed during their first registration and advising appointment, but can be updated each semester through MyCC. General FERPA information will be emailed to all students, staff, and faculty at the beginning of each fall semester by the Registrar’s Office. Without the student’s consent, it is a violation of FERPA to disclose any non-directory information to a third party unless the information requested is needed to help resolve a health and safety emergency situation.

Any questions regarding FERPA should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.