Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) is a federal law pertaining to the release of and access to student educational records. FERPA protects students’ rights regarding the privacy and accuracy of education records. FERPA applies to all schools that receive funds under applicable programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Institutions are responsible for ensuring that all of its school officials comply with FERPA. Failure to comply could ultimately lead to a withholding of funds administered by the Secretary of Education.
- Student records are categorized into 2 groups: Directory Information and Non-Directory Records.
Directory Information
Directory Information is general information about a student, and a student has the ability to restrict the release of directory information. Directory Information includes:
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Area of study
- Dates of attendance
- Degrees and certificates received
- Participation in officially recognized activities.
Non-Directory Information
Non-Directory information are other student records that are not considered directory information. Non-directory information has to have written consent of the student before being released. Non-directory information includes:
- Social security number
- Student ID number
- Grade point average
- Transcripts, grades
Preventing Release of Directory Information
Shawnee College submits enrollment data on students to the National Student Clearinghouse. The information includes student’s name, date of birth, number of hours enrolled at Shawnee for the current semester, the student’s program, and graduation date.
Under FERPA, students have the right to request that some or all of their directory information be withheld. If you wish to do so, please submit this form to the Registrar’s Office no later than 2 weeks after the start of the semester.
Policy
It is the policy of the Board of Trustees to recognizes and adopts as policy those regulations as set forth in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment).
At its discretion, Shawnee Community College may provide directory information in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Policy 8430
No one outside the institution shall have access to, nor will the institution disclose any information from, students’ educational records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, to persons or organizations providing students financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons.
Within the Shawnee Community College community, only those members, individually or collectively, acting in the students’ educational interest are allowed access to student education records. These members include personnel in the Admissions and Advisement Office, Financial Aid Office, and academic personnel within the limitation of their need to know.
Shawnee Community College may provide the following information: student name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and weight and height of members of athletic teams. Students may withhold directory information by notifying the Vice-President of Student Success and Services and the Registrar in writing within two weeks after the first day of class for the semester.
Policy 8340A