Title: 02.01.006-Student Confidentiality and Privacy

Policy Number: 02.01.006

Policy Title: Student Confidentiality and Privacy

Status: Active

Policy:

The institution abides by The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99). Students wishing to understand their rights under this law may wish to visit https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/. The institution defines education records according to language from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The term “education records” is defined as those records that contain information directly related to a student and which are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.

The institution will provide certain privacy protections for those education records that it does maintain. The institution will provide an eligible student with an opportunity to inspect and review his or her education records within 45 days following its receipt of a request. The institution may choose to provide an eligible student with copies of education records, or make other arrangements, if a failure to do so would effectively prevent the student from obtaining access to the records.

The institution generally prohibits the improper disclosure of personally identifiable information derived from education records. Information that an official obtained through personal knowledge or observation, or has heard orally from others, is not considered to be protected. This remains applicable even if education records exist which contain that information, unless the official had an official role in making a determination that generated a protected education record. Certain students who are officially sponsored by an employer, volunteer organization, or other entity may sign a Waiver for the Disclosure of Educational Records, providing specific parties the right to request and view any and all education records that might ordinarily be available to the student.

The institution extends to the institution Consortium Members and their representatives the same rights and responsibilities of the institution regarding student privacy and confidentiality.

Documents including the Enrollment Agreement may provide specific details of when and how a student’s records may be shared or conveyed to third parties. Enrollment agreements for students who are participating in a program/course as a part of an agreement with an institution Training Partner may include notification of provisions allowing representatives from the institution Training Partner to have access to their own student’s records.

An eligible student has the right to request that inaccurate or misleading information in his or her education records be amended. While the institution is not required to amend education records in accordance with an eligible student’s request, the institution will consider the request. If the institution decides not to amend a record in accordance with an eligible student’s request, The institution must inform the student of his or her right to a hearing on the matter. If, as a result of the hearing, the institution still decides not to amend the record, the eligible student has the right to insert a statement in the record setting forth his or her views. That statement must remain with the contested part of the eligible student’s record for as long as the record is maintained.

The institution maintains the right to disclose personally identifiable information from education records without consent when the disclosure is to the parents of a student at a postsecondary institution regarding the student’s violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or of any rule or policy of the institution, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance. The school may consensually disclose information under this exception if the school determines that the student has committed a disciplinary violation with respect to that use or possession, and the student is under 21 years of age at the time of the disclosure to the parent.

The institution maintains the right to non-consensually disclose personally identifiable information from a student’s education records when such information has been appropriately designated as directory information. “Directory information” is defined as information contained in the education records of a student that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.

Directory Information includes:

Name
Address
E-mail Address
Telephone Number
Permanent Telephone Number
Dates of Attendance
Program of Study
Classification
Previous Educational Institutions
Attended
Degrees, Honors, and Awards
Received
Participation in Officially Recognized
Activities

The institution will routinely disclose Attendance Data if directly requested without additional student consent.

Attendance Data includes:

Name
Dates of Attendance
Program of Study
Classification
All other information will only be released with express permission from the student.

Under certain conditions, the institution may non-consensually disclose personally identifiable information from education records:

(1) to authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, the U.S. Secretary of Education, and state and local educational authorities for audit or evaluation of Federal- or State-supported education programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with Federal legal requirements that relate to those programs;

(2) to organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of the school making the disclosure for the purposes of administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, or improving instruction;

(3) to comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena;

(4) to the victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense concerning the final results of a disciplinary hearing with respect to the alleged crime;

(5) and to any third party the final results of a disciplinary proceeding related to a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense if the student who is the alleged perpetrator is found to have violated the school’s rules or policies.

(6) to the institution Training Partners for students who received financial benefit due to affiliation with the training partner, who are participating under the Training Partner’s pre-defined agreement, who are participating in order to become or remain eligible to have a formal association with the training partner, or who are participating in the program/course due to their affiliation with the training partner.

The disclosure of the final results only includes: the name of the alleged perpetrator, the violation committed, and any sanction imposed against the alleged perpetrator. The disclosure must not include the name of any other student, including a victim or witness, without the written consent of that other student.