The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records. (An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who is 18 years of age or older or who attends a postsecondary institution at any age.)
What rights do students have under FERPA?
FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records.
These rights include:
The right to inspect and review their education records. Cape Fear Community College requires written authorization from the student prior to the release of academic records. A minimum of 48 working hours will be required by the College to access the requested academic information. The student may inspect, copy, and review his/her records in the Registrar’s Office. There may be a charge for copies. The Registrar will arrange for access and will notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. A student who wishes to ask Cape Fear Community College to amend a record should write the Registrar, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. FERPA does not address issues involved with assigning grades for academic work. A student interested in appealing grades should follow the grade appeal procedure found in the College Catalog.
The right to provide written consent before Cape Fear Community College discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. The College discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is typically a person employed by Cape Fear Community College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person serving on the board of trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the College who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent or a student volunteering to assist another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official typically has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the College. Upon request, the College may also disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. See more on this below under the area titled “Disclosure without student consent.”
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Cape Fear Community College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
Written complaints should be sent to:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington DC 20202-5920
What is Directory Information at Cape Fear Community College?
The following items are designated as “Directory Information” and this information may be released at the discretion of the College without the student’s consent unless a student files a request to withhold directory information:
Name
City/county of residence
Major field of study
Full time/Part-time enrollment
The most recent college attended
Dates of enrollment
Degrees and awards received
The College assigned email address
How may a student request to withhold disclosure of Directory Information?
Students have the right to withhold disclosure of any directory information to third parties by completing the “Disclosure Request Form” with the Registrar’s Office. The request will remain active for the duration that a student is attending the College, unless the student rescinds the withholding. The College assumes that a student’s failure to file a request for non-disclosure indicates approval for disclosure.
Third-party requests for directory information:
The request for student directory information from third-party individuals or companies must be submitted through the college’s “Public Information Request Form” online. Directory information will only be disclosed at the discretion of the Registrar. Requests that could potentially violate college policies, be considered harmful to the students, or without specific purpose, may be denied. If the request is denied, the Registrar will respond in writing.
How may a student authorize for the college to release information to parent, spouse, or another person or third party?
Cape Fear Community College recognizes that some students would like to authorize someone else to have access to or to be able to discuss their grades, financial records, academic records, and other records.
When a student, regardless of age, enters an institution of higher education such as Cape Fear Community College, all rights to inspect and review the education record transfer from the parent to the student under FERPA. With a student’s written permission, we may share the student’s records (academic records, account/billing information, and/or financial aid records) with the student’s parent(s), spouse, and/or other individuals the student chooses to designate. This privacy release will remain in effect for the duration of the student’s enrollment at Cape Fear Community College, unless rescinded by the student in writing. If a student would like to grant access to release his/her student records to someone such as a parent, the student must complete the “Disclosure Release Form” with the Registrar’s Office and allow at least 48 hours for processing.
Disclosure without student consent:
FERPA permits the disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from students’ education records, without consent of the student, if the disclosure meets certain conditions found in § 99.31 of the FERPA regulations. Eligible students have a right to inspect and review the record of disclosures.
More information about disclosures that do not require student consent can be found on the U.S. Department of Education website.
Solomon Amendment & FERPA
The Solomon Amendment is a federal law that allows military recruiters to access some address, biographical, and academic program information on students age 17 and older who have not filed any full block FERPA restrictions.
The U.S. Department of Education has determined the Solomon Amendment supersedes most elements of FERPA. An institution is therefore obligated to release data included in the list of “student recruiting information,” which may or may not match our FERPA directory information list. Solomon Amendment “student recruitment information” includes:
Name
Address
Telephone (not specific if local or permanent)
Electronic mail addresses (which shall be the electronic mail addresses provided by the institution, if available)
Age and date of birth
Place of birth
Level of education
Academic major
Degrees received
Educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled
This information may be distributed once per term to each of the 12 eligible units within the five branches of the service.
Faculty and FERPA
The faculty of the College have a legitimate educational interest in a student’s academic records. Therefore, access to those records is authorized by the institution. Along with this access comes certain obligations and responsibilities.
A faculty member shall not access educational records of any student for which he/she does not have a direct advisory responsibility. Those with direct advisory responsibility include the current instructors of the student, the student’s faculty advisor, and the appropriate department head and division chair. A faculty member not professionally associated with a student shall not access educational records of the student without the written consent of the student.
A faculty member shall not disclose any information from a student’s record to a third party (i.e., other students, other faculty members, employers, etc.) without the written consent of the student. Parents of the student do not have special access rights and should not be given information without the student’s written consent.
A faculty member shall be responsible for the security of all academic information in his/her possession. These records must not be accessible to students and unauthorized personnel.
A faculty member shall refrain from disclosing academic information by phone without the expressed written consent of the student.
Administration and FERPA
Student Services and Enrollment Management and specifically the Registrar’s Office, has the responsibility of maintaining and safeguarding the academic records of all students of the College. Consistent with this responsibility, the personnel of Student Services and Enrollment Management will access student records as needed. However, these individuals bear the responsibility for ensuring that no unauthorized disclosure of student academic information occurs without the expressed written consent of that student.
The president, vice presidents and deans of the College may access student records when needed to facilitate the student’s educational pursuit. College administrators may disclose a student’s educational records to appropriate parties in connection with a health or safety emergency. Furthermore, College administrators have the right to contact parents of any student under the age of 21 who has violated a federal, state, or local law, or any rule or policy of the institution, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance.
The educational records of a student will not be accessed for employment decisions without the expressed written consent of the student. Information from student academic records may be shared in aggregate for educational research purposes.
Student Records and Rights
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the rights of the student and the responsibilities of the institution concerning the various types of student records maintained by the institution are established. Consistent with this legislation, Cape Fear Community College establishes the following policy to ensure compliance. Failure to comply with standards prescribed in the Act could jeopardize federal funding received by the institution and its students.
In compliance with the law, an individual becomes a student when he/she registers at the College. Upon reaching age 18 or attending an institution beyond the high school level, the student has the right to view his/her own school or college records. These records include the academic transcript of the College, post-secondary transcripts, high school transcripts, and other documents maintained as part of the student’s permanent file with the exception of confidential letters of recommendation. All permanent academic records are housed and maintained by the Registrar.
CFCC requires written authorization from the student prior to the release of academic records. A minimum of 48 working hours will be required by the College to access the requested academic information. The student may inspect, copy, and review his/her records in the Registrar’s Office. There may be a charge for copies.
