FERPA Student Records

FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT(FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and 34 CFR Part 99, is a Federal law that governs students’ access to and confidentiality of their education records maintained by Siena College.

EDUCATION RECORDS DEFINED

Education records are any records (in handwriting, print, tapes, film, computer or other medium) that are directly related to a student and maintained by the College or by a party acting for the College.

Examples of FERPA records include grades, transcripts, discipline records and class schedules.

They are not:

Records that are kept in the sole possession of the maker, such as a faculty member
Records created and maintained by the College’s Office of Public Safety for law enforcement purposes
Employment records
Records made or maintained by medical professionals
Alumni records

Under FERPA, students have certain rights with respect to their education records including the right to inspect, review, and seek amendment of their education records.

STUDENT ACCESS TO RECORDS

Records available for student inspection are those that fall under the definition of education records and generally include

Academic records
Financial aid records
Disciplinary records

REQUESTS TO INSPECT

Requests to inspect education records should be made in writing to the specific College office maintaining it. The records, files and/or data will be made available no later than 45 days from the time the written request is received.

Parent / Guardian Access to Academic Records

There are some types of information such as grades, financial aid, or class schedules that parents might like to receive but under FERPA, parents can not have access to these records unless the student gives written permission to the College. This means that even if parents are paying the bills, they can not access your student educational records.

To grant access to your student records

AMENDMENT OF EDUCATION RECORDS

A student may request in writing an amendment to his or her education record that s/he believes to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of his or her privacy rights.

DISCLOSURE OF EDUCATION RECORDS

Siena College will disclose information from a student’s education records only with the student’s prior written consent, except that the College will not obtain the student’s consent if the disclosure is:

To other “school officials” whom the College has determined to have legitimate educational interests.
To authorized officials, such as officials of other schools in which the student seeks to enroll, certain federal, state and local officials, or specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
To accrediting organizations or organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the College;
In connection with a student’s application for, or receipt of, financial aid;
In the case of an emergency if the knowledge of such information is necessary to protect the health and safety of the student or other persons;
To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena or is related to legal action involving the College and the student;
In connection with certain disciplinary actions;
To parents of a dependent student
Information the College has designated to be Directory Information.

The following is considered Directory Information, which may be disclosed to third parties without the student’s prior written consent:

Student’s name
Address (both local and permanent, to include email address)
Telephone listing
Date and place of birth
Major field of study
Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
Weight and height of members of athletic teams
Photographs
Dates of attendance
Degrees and awards received
Most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student

Directory Information will not be made available to the party requesting it unless the appropriate administrative officer of the College has considered and approved the request.

Suppress the Release of Directory Information

Students may choose to suppress the release of the above Directory Information . Students who do so will have a confidentiality hold on all of their records.

Information not appear in any College directories,
The College will also be unable to place the student’s name in the commencement program at the time of graduation
The College will also be unable verify the student’s degree, major or enrollment for possible employment, credit card applications, insurance, or mortgage qualifying purposes.

Confidentiality Hold

To suppress the release of the above Directory Information
OR
To remove a confidentiality hold you may rescind a “no release clause” at any time

The College notifies students annually of their rights under FERPA. Students have the right to file a written complaint with the Office of Family Compliance at the U.S. Department of Education if they believe the College failed to comply with FERPA.