V. J.
Student Records
This
policy is designed to provide maximum protection of each student’s rights under
The Federal Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). This
Act places certain restrictions on the College and the student that cannot be
altered, other restrictions that allow latitude on the part of the College, and
still others in which the student may authorize the College to make certain
exceptions. While every attempt is made
to cover the major provisions of the Privacy Act in this policy statement, all
provisions of the Privacy Act cannot be reproduced here. However, a complete outline of FERPA is on
file with the Registrar’s Office.
ANNUAL NOTICE
Annually,
the College informs enrolled students of their rights under FERPA through such publications as the Catalog (or sections thereof), and/or Schedules of Classes, Student Handbooks, and/or other
publications given general dissemination.
The annual notice gives the purpose of the Act, describes the procedure
for reviewing individual records, and the location of the complete College
policy.
MAJOR PROVISIONS
FERPA sets forth three (3) major rights to which the student is entitled as
well as the opportunity to request that certain information categorized as
“Directory Information” not be released.
ANNUAL
NOTIFICATION TO THE STUDENT OF RIGHTS UNDER FERPA
The College annually publishes in the Catalog, Schedule of Classes, Student
Handbook, and/or other publications disseminated to all students a general
description of FERPA with procedures
for inspection of pertinent records. A
student is also advised to contact the Office of the Registrar or Dean of
Student Affairs if he/she wishes to challenge the content of the record. All appeal alternatives are made available to
the student in writing at that time.
Such alternatives include:
1.
The right to
inspect and review information contained in education records.
2.
The right to
challenge the contents of his/her education record.
3.
The right to a
hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory.
4.
The right to
include an explanatory statement for inclusion in the education record if the
outcome of the hearing is unsatisfactory.
5.
The right to
prevent disclosure, with certain exceptions, of personally identifiable
information.
6.
The right to
secure a copy of the College policy that includes the location of all education
records.
7.
The right to
file complaints with the Department of Education concerning alleged failures to
comply with the Act.
A STUDENT’S RIGHT TO INSPECT AND REVIEW
HIS EDUCATION RECORD
Records
will be made available as soon as practicable when the student provides proper
identification. Under the law, the
College has 45 days in which to make the record available, although, normally,
a much shorter period of time would be involved. The “Location of Records” sets forth the
location of students’ records. Students
may contact the chief administrator of the appropriate offices, or the student
may contact the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs to file a request for
inspection of records. An appointment
for inspection is required, with a staff member in attendance at all
times. A copy of each document may be
obtained for $2.00 per document.
Students
requesting transcripts of academic records will, under provisions of the law,
be denied a copy of any record if a “hold” (financial, library, or other
financially-related type) exists. In no
case will copies of original documents sent from other institutions be copied
except in the case of strong evidence that copies of originals are no longer
obtainable.
No
personally identifiable information from students’ records will be disclosed
without prior written consent of the student (see Section 3).
POLICY GOVERNING THE RELEASE OF
PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE ACADEMIC RECORDS TO PERSONS OTHER THAN THE STUDENT
Definition
of Personally Identifiable: Personally identifiable records are those that
contain any one of the following items of information or data:
The name of
the student, student’s parents, or other family members.
The
student’s address.
A personal
identifier (such as social security number or student number).
A list of
personal characteristics, which would make the student’s identity easily
traceable.
PARTIES AUTHORIZED TO RECEIVE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE RECORDS WITHOUT
STUDENT CONSENT
Consistent
with FERPA regulations,
1.
Authorized
representatives of the Comptroller of the
2.
State and local
officials to whom disclosure is required by state statutes adopted prior to
3.
Personnel within
the College determined by the College to have legitimate educational interest.
4.
Officials of other colleges in which the student seeks to
enroll or is enrolled. Such transfer of
information is a standard College policy of long standing.
5.
Persons or
organizations providing to the student financial aid, or determining financial
aid decisions concerning eligibility, amount, condition, and enforcement of
terms of such aid.
6.
Organizations
conducting studies to develop, validate, and administer student aid programs,
or to improve instruction. Those organizations may not disclose personal
identifications of students, and information secured must be destroyed when no
longer needed for their projects. The College is extremely selective in
permitting such studies. Anonymity of students as well as proper
destruction of information at completion of the study is assured by the
College.
7.
Accrediting
organizations carrying out their accrediting functions.
8.
Persons in
compliance with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena. A reasonable attempt is made to inform the
student that such a release has occurred.
9.
Persons in an
emergency, if the knowledge of information, in fact, is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other
persons. The College makes every effort
to determine the legitimacy of the request and releases only the most essential
information.
10. Any person desiring an item (or items) of information
if the item (or items) is listed as Directory Information (see B below). A request for the withholding of one or more
items of Directory Information is no longer valid after enrollment is
terminated.
Public
or Directory Information is determined by the College and will be released
without written consent of the student within the provisions of the law as
described below:
FERPA DEFINITION OF
DIRECTORY INFORMATION
The
Federal Privacy Act stipulates that a college has the right to declare one or
more categories of information as public or Directory Information that may be
released to the public at the discretion of the College. FERPA
requires the College to publish to students annually the policy concerning
Directory Information and the rights accorded the student in denying the
release of some or all of the items listed as Directory Information.
The College regards most student information that is
personally identifiable as confidential and not releasable as Directory
Information. This includes student’s
name, student’s family members’ names, student’s address, student number,
and/or social security numbers, lists of personal characteristics, or other
information which would make the student’s identity easily traceable. Exceptions would include information such as
the Dean’s list, success stories, etc.
THE ONLY ITEM THAT DEKALB TECHNICAL COLLEGE CATEGORIZES AS (PERSONALLY
IDENTIFIABLE) DIRECTORY INFORMATION IS: A STUDENT’S
Another federal law, known as the Solomon Amendment,
requires
Procedures for Denying Release of Directory
Information: Any currently enrolled student who does not wish the release of
the aforementioned item of “Directory Information” should complete a Request
to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information (form available at
Registrar’s Office).
This request will be valid until the next Fall
Quarter. Students wishing to prevent disclosure of Directory Information
should complete the form any quarter and then again the next Fall Quarter. At
the end of each Summer Quarter, this file will be invalidated and it is
incumbent upon the student to complete a new request. Requests for the
next academic year will be accepted after the Summer Quarter ends but no later
than the tenth class day of the Fall Quarter if the student wishes to be
assured of non-disclosure without interruption.
Any currently enrolled student who does not wish the
release of "Recruitment Information" should complete a Request to
Prevent Disclosure of Recruitment Information in the Registrar's Office.
OTHER ASPECTS OF DEKALB TECHNICAL
COLLEGE POLICY RELATING TO THE RELEASE OF DIRECTORY INFORMATION
The
College wishes to offer maximum protection to as many students as
possible. Thus, categories of Directory
Information are hereby restricted. Such
a policy does necessitate a student signing a waiver if he or she wishes to
have certain items of information released.
Such waivers can be given to prospective employers or others who seek
information and the items described will be released at the student’s
request. In the case of campus
organizations or groups, waivers may be signed if the student wishes to benefit
from the publication of certain items.
In no case should a student feel compelled to sign a waiver and in no
case will such refusal have any effect other than the withholding from the
public announcement of certain information.
Membership or full rights and privileges of the organizations or group
cannot be denied by refusal to sign a waiver.
NOTE: Student’s wishing final grades posted by social
security/student number identification, may waive their rights quarter by
quarter for individual class sections.
Waiver forms will be available from instructors at the beginning of each
quarter. The waiving
of such rights in no way affects the broader rights under FERPA.
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS OF FERPA AND / OR
RELATED
Any
student enrolled as a student in DeKalb Technical College (including joint
enrollment and early admission students), regardless of age, has the right to
determine who will or will not view his academic records with the exception of
those persons or agencies described below.
Records
of deceased students do not come under the aegis of FERPA and the release of such records is at the discretion of the
College.
As noted in earlier sections,
students desiring to have final grades posted publicly on an occasional basis
may waive their specific FERPA rights
with the understanding that each waiver applies only to one specific class
section for one specific quarter. No
waiver may imply future or additional releases other than those, which are
detailed in the waiver form.
Agencies
or persons outside the College who request information on a student’s records
and who do not have signed waivers from the student will be required to sign a
statement certifying their receipt of the information only if FERPA permits the release of such
information to those agencies or persons.
In every case the College will require complete identification of those
to whom information is released. A
record will be maintained by the College of all such releases and a reasonable
effort will be made to advise the student that such information was released.
In
addition to this policy, a copy of A
Guide to Postsecondary Colleges for Implementation of the Family Education
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended is on file with the Registrar as
the source document for this policy statement.
This Guide was prepared by the
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers in
cooperation with the five similarly interested national organizations. The Guide
has been carefully prepared to cover all aspects of the “Privacy Act.” All titles of federal laws dealing with the
“Privacy Act” are found on page 6 of the Guide.
Records
of applicants for admission are not covered by FERPA.
All
transcripts mailed from the College are accompanied by a statement prohibiting
the release of the information on the transcript to a third party. This is in compliance with specific
provisions of FERPA.
All
educational records that are judged to be of no further use
to the College are destroyed in such a manner as to prevent their compromise to
any third party. Official academic
records (permanent records of grades, credits earned, and courses taken, etc.)
are maintained in perpetuity.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Understanding key terms is essential to the interpretation of the Act and the
final regulations for its implementation.
Some definitions that carry substantive meaning for understanding the
Act, are listed here for the convenience of the reader. The regulations, as contained in the Appendix
to this Guide, provide all definitions.
Act means the General Education Provisions Act, Title IV of Public Law
90-247, as amended.
Attendance includes but is not limited to (a) attendance - in
person or by correspondence study (program) and (b) the period during which a
person is working under a work-study (cooperative) program.
Directory Information may include the following student
information: student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of
birth, major fields of study, participation in officially recognized activities
and sports, weight and height of athletic team members, dates of attendance,
degrees and awards received, most recent educational institution attended, and
other similar information as defined by the College.
Disclosure is defined as permitting access or the release,
transfer, or other communication of education records of the student or the
personally identifiable information contained therein, orally, in writing, by
electronic means, or by any other means to any party.
Education records means those records, which are (1) directly related
to a student, and (2) maintained by the college or by a party acting for the
college. The term, “education records,”
does not include:
1.
Records of
instructional, supervisory, administrative, and certain educational personnel
which are in the sole possession of the maker thereof, and are not accessible
or revealed to any other individual except, a substitute, who performs on a
temporary basis, (as defined in the College personnel policy) the duties of the
individual who made the record.
2.
Records of a law
enforcement unit of the College, which are maintained apart from other College
records, maintained solely for law enforcement purpose, and not disclosed to
individuals other than law enforcement officers of the same jurisdiction so
long as education records maintained by the College are not disclosed to the
personnel of the law enforcement unit.
3.
Records relating
to individuals, who are employed by the College, which are made and maintained
in the normal course of business, relate exclusively to individuals in their
capacity as employees, and are not available for use for any other purpose
(records of individuals in attendance at an College who are employed as a
result of their status as students are education records - e.g., work-study).
4.
Records relating
to a student which are: created or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist,
psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional, to be used
solely in connection with the provision of treatment to the student, and not
disclosed to anyone other than individuals providing such treatment so long as
the records can be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate
professional of the student’s choice (appropriateness may be determined by the
College). Treatment in this context does
not include remedial educational activities or activities which are part of the
program of instruction at the College.
5.
Records of a
college, which contain only information relating to a person after that person
is no longer a student at the college (e.g., information gathered on the
accomplishments of a alumni).
6.
Records which
contain information on the spiritual and psychological development of
candidates for the priesthood, or rabbinate, or religious order that may be seminaries,
schools, or departments of divinity or theology which are part of colleges or
universities. Access to such non-academic records, which may involve
constitutional questions, was not treated in the final regulations and must be
considered on a case-by-case basis.
Eligible
students refers to a student who has reached the age of 18 or is
attending an College of postsecondary education. Since these guidelines are specifically for
postsecondary institutions, “student,” as used in this document, is presumed
always to refer to an eligible student. In non-postsecondary institutions,
parents of students have additional rights not covered in this Guide. In postsecondary institutions, the rights
accorded to and the consent required of the parents shall only be accorded to
and required of the eligible student.
Financial aid means a payment of funds to an individual (or a
payment in kind of tangible or intangible property to the individual), which is
conditioned on the individual’s attendance at an educational agency or
institution.
College of postsecondary education means an institution that provides education to
students beyond the secondary school level; “secondary school level” means the
educational level (not beyond grade 12) at which secondary education is
provided.
Legitimate educational interest means the demonstrated need to know by those
officials of an institution who act in the student’s educational interest,
including faculty, administration, clerical and professional employees, and
other persons who manage student record information (although the ACT does not
define “legitimate educational interest” it states that institutions must
specify the criteria for determining it.
This is a recommended definition).
Panel means the College body, which will adjudicate cases of the records
that, are challenged.
Parent includes a parent, a guardian, or an individual
acting as a student’s parent in the absence of a parent or a guardian.
Personally identifiable means data or information which includes (1) the
name of the student, the student’s parent, or other family members; (2) the
student’s address; (3) a personal identifier (such as a social security number
or student number); or (4) a list of personal characteristics, or other
information which would make the student’s identity easily traceable.
Record means any information or data recorded in any
medium, (e.g., handwriting, print, tapes, film, microfilm, microfiche).
School
officials are those members of an
College who act in the student’s education interest within the limitations of
their need to know, which may include faculty, administration, clerical, and
professional employees and other persons who manage student record information,
although the Act does not define school criteria for determining them (This is
a recommended definition).
Student includes any individual with respect to whom an
educational College maintains education records. The term does not include an individual who
has not been in attendance at the College. An individual who is or has been
enrolled in one component unit of a College, who applies for admission to a
second unit, has no right to inspect the records accumulated by the second unit
until enrolled therein.
For
Insertion in Catalog, Student Handbook, and/or published in
the Schedule of Classes:
ACCESS TO STUDENTS’ RECORDS
Annually,
College
policy explains in detail the procedures to be used by the college for
compliance with the provisions of the Act.
Copies of the Statement of Policy: Access to Student Records can be
found in the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs and the Office of the
Registrar. The Offices mentioned also
maintain a Location of Records, which lists all education records, maintained
on students by this college.
Questions
concerning the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act should be referred to
the Office of the Registrar.
RELEASE OF DIRECTORY INFORMATION
Students are advised that the aforementioned policy
(see “Access to Student’s Records” above) provides that no student’s education
records will be released to anyone (except certain organization stipulated by FERPA regulation) without the written
consent of the student. In addition,
under terms of the Act, the College classifies certain items of a student’s
records as “Directory Information”. These items of information may be released
to any third party at the discretion of the College. A definition of “Directory Information” and
procedures for having such information withheld from release are outlines in
the policy, Access to Students’ Records, maintained in the Office of the
Registrar.
FOR ISSUE TO STUDENT UPON REQUEST:
LOCATION OF STUDENT RECORDS
In compliance with the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974,
1.
Registrar:
Located at the Registrar’s Office. Files
are retained for five years. Contain
student’s application(s), high school transcript/ GED certificate, placement
scores/CPP/SAT/ACT/ASVAB/ASSET/ REM scores and transcripts from other
College(s), if transfer student.
Occasionally may contain related documents. Applicants to CEU courses may have only an
application for admission in their file.
Copies of documents in any student’s file may not be obtained to forward
to other Colleges or agencies in lieu of requesting official copies of the
documents from the original source. A
student has right of access to own admissions file with the exception of confidential
information supplied to the College by a party authorized to do so by the
student.
2.
Academic: From
1963 through summer, 1975 - Located on hard copy (permanent at the Office of
Applications and Records, DeKalb record) College, South campus. Beginning Fall Quarter, 1975 all records are
computer machine-readable, stored on magnetic media (disks). Hard copies are
generated through the Registrar’s Office.
A transcript requested by a student represents the complete academic
record held by the College.
3.
Financial Aid:
Located in the Financial Aid Office.
Student has right of access to own financial aid file with the exception
of parent’s or guardian’s financial statement.
4.
Veterans:
Located in Veterans’ Affairs Office.
Student has the right to files with the exception of any financial
statements provided by other family members.
5.
Supplemental:
Located in appropriate office of the College as noted hereafter. The existence of these files in addition to
any noted above would be contingent upon the student requesting or requiring
assistance from any of the following services: Counseling Office,
Approved 02/00
Revised 02/01; 08/07