Student Records

Policy Title	Student Records
Approval Authority:
Responsible Executive:	Vice President for Student Life
Responsible Office:	Student Life
Owner Contact:	(518) 783-2328, 302 Sarazen Student Union
Reviewed By:
Reviewed Date:
Last Revised and Effective Date of Revision:

Overview

A. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and 34 CFR Part 99, governs students’ access to and confidentiality of their education records maintained by Siena University.

The University 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 University failed to comply with FERPA.

B. 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 University or by a party acting for the University.

They are not:

records that are kept in the sole possession of the maker, such as a faculty member, who makes the record for a personal memory aid and does not share the record with anyone other than a temporary substitute for him or her;
records created and maintained by the University’s Public Safety department for law enforcement purposes;
employment records;
records made or maintained by medical professionals if the records are used only for treatment of a student and made available only to those persons for providing the treatment; or
alumni records which contain information about a student after they are no longer in attendance at the University.

C. Student Access to Records: Records available for student inspection are those that fall under the definition of education records and generally include academic, financial aid and disciplinary records.

References, ratings and/or observations completed before 1-1-75 are not available to students.
Students do not have the right to inspect any financial data and income tax forms submitted in confidence by their parents in connection with an application for, or receipt of, financial aid.
Concerning a record that contains information relating to more than one student, student access is limited to the portion of the record that pertains only to him/herself.
Requests to inspect education records should be made in writing to the specific University 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. Materials will be reproduced at a cost of $.50 per page for records and $5.00 for a transcript.

D. Amendment of Education Records: A student may request in writing an amendment to their education record that they believe to be inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of their privacy rights.

If, upon review of the student’s request and record, the University determines that the amendment is not warranted, the student will be advised accordingly and given the right to a hearing conducted by an administrative officer of the University who does not have a direct interest in the outcome.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the University will either amend the record and inform the student in writing of the amendment, or decide that the education record as written should stand.
If the University determines that the record should not be changed, the student will be given the right to place a statement in the record commenting on the contested information and/or why they disagree with the University’s decision.

E. Disclosure of Education Records: Siena University will disclose information from a student’s education records only with the student’s prior written consent. The University will not need to obtain the student’s consent if FEPRA allows the records to be released without it.
Student consent will not be required if the disclosure is:

To other school officials whom the University has determined to have legitimate educational interests.
- A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support-staff position. These people include health or medical staff; a person elected to the Board of Trustees; a person employed by or under contract with the University to perform a special task such as an attorney, auditor, or outside vendor; a person who is employed by the University’s Public Safety department; and a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing their tasks.
- A school official has a legitimate educational interest if they are performing a task that is specified in their job description or contract agreement; performing a task related to the student’s education; providing a task related to the discipline of a student; providing a service or benefit relating to a student or student’s family, such as health care, counseling, job placement or financial aid; or maintaining the safety and security of the University.
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 University
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 University and the student
In connection with certain disciplinary actions
To parents of a dependent student, as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
- The University may, but is not required to, disclose information to parents of a dependent student.
- However, the University will not do so upon evidence that there is a court order, state statute or legally binding document relating to such matters as divorce, separation or custody that specifically revokes their rights as a parent.
- The University does not have an obligation to disclose any financial information about one parent to another.

F. Conduct Related Official Transcript Notations: A notation will be added to the official Siena University transcript of students found responsible for a violation of the University’s Code of Conduct (Siena Life) that meets the definition of a crime of violence pursuant to the Federal Clery Act established in 20 U.S.C. 1092 (F) (1) (I)- (VII), and is sanctioned with suspension, dismissal or expulsion.

Where the sanction is a suspension, the following notation will be listed: “Suspended after a finding of responsibility for a code of conduct violation”
Where the sanction is a dismissal, the following notation will be listed: “Dismissed after a finding of responsibility for a code of conduct violation.”

Students with the sanction of suspension or dismissal seeking removal of a transcript notation may submit a written appeal to the Office of the Dean of Students one year after the conclusion of their sanction.

- The notation shall not be removed prior to one year after the conclusion of their sanction.
- The Dean, in consultation with other University officials, will review and accept or deny the appeal. The student will be notified in writing and, if the appeal is granted, the notation will be removed within ten business days upon receipt of the appeal.
Where the sanction is an expulsion, the following notation will be listed: “Expelled after a finding of responsibility for a code of conduct violation”.
- This notation is permanent and cannot be removed.
For a student that withdraws from the University while such cases are pending and declines to complete the conduct process, the transcript will read: “Withdrew with conduct charges pending”.
- This notation will stand until the conduct process is complete.

In all cases, an administrative hold will be placed on the student’s record. The hold will prevent future registrations, distribution of transcripts and/or diplomas and may only be removed with permission of the Office of the Dean of Students.

G. Directory Information and Request to Prevent Disclosure:

The following is considered directory information, which may be disclosed to third parties without the student’s prior written consent: the student’s name, address (both local and permanent, and 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, class level or year (e.g. freshman or junior), enrollment status (e.g. full-time or part-time) and the 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 University has considered and approved the request.
Students may suppress the release of the directory information by making a written request to the Registrar’s Office. Students who do so will have a confidentiality hold on all of their records.

If a student has a confidentiality hold on their records, not only will this information not appear in any University directories, but the University will also be unable to place the student’s name in the commencement program at the time of graduation, or verify the student’s degree, major or enrollment for possible employment, credit-card applications, or insurance or mortgage-qualifying purposes.

A student who has a confidentiality hold on their records may rescind a “no release clause” at any time in writing to the Registrar's Office.

H. Student Disciplinary Records Retention:

The Dean of Students Office maintains disciplinary records and a disciplinary tracking system, which may include, but not be limited to, the respondent’s name and related information, description of the incident, parties involved, policy violations, sanctions, and other data deemed relevant. Such information will be maintained in accordance with the provisions of FERPA. Disciplinary records will be made available to hearing boards and University officials designated in the student conduct review process as necessary.
Student disciplinary records are maintained by the University for a period of seven years from graduation or the date of the last incident (whichever is later), with the exception of those cases which resulted in suspension, dismissal or expulsion from the University (which are kept permanently) or for which an outstanding hold is still on a student account.
- I. Student Disciplinary Records – Release of Information:
  1. If a student wishes the Dean of Students Office to release information regarding their disciplinary records to a third party,
    - they must submit written authorization to the University.
    - Upon receiving the student’s written authorization, the University will release only disciplinary records where the student is found responsible and the incident resulted in a sanction of disciplinary probation, dismissal from University housing, suspension, involuntary termination/administrative withdrawal, dismissal from the University, or expulsion.
    - Please note that the Public Safety Department may release any conduct information that it maintains on a student, since law enforcement records created and maintained by a law enforcement unit for law enforcement purposes are not considered education records.
  2. The University reserves the right to release information from a student’s disciplinary record to third parties without the student’s prior written consent in accordance with FERPA regulations which allow nonconsensual disclosure under certain conditions. In connection with the condition relating to disclosure of information in disciplinary cases, the following apply:
    - a. As stated in the parental notification sections,
      - the University reserves the right, without student consent, to notify parents of students in health or safety emergencies, in cases of alcohol and/or drug policy violations if the student is under 21, and other instances permitted under FERPA.
      - The University also reserves the right to provide notification to parents of students of other types of disciplinary actions with a signed release from the student.
      - Parental notification of all types of disciplinary actions will usually be in writing after the case has been resolved in accordance with the conduct review process.
      - Finally, the University may, but is not required to, provide information from a student’s disciplinary record to parents of dependent students. The University will do so, however, only upon evidence from the parents that their child is a dependent student, as that term is defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    - b. If the student is an alleged perpetrator of the University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy or violent crimes that are violations of the University’s Code of Conduct, the University may disclose information from his or her disciplinary record to the victim and others.
      - If the disclosure is to the victim making the allegations, then such disclosure may only include the final results of the disciplinary proceeding, regardless of whether the University concluded that a violation of the Code of Conduct was committed.
      - If the disclosure is to anyone else, then the University must have concluded that the student committed a violation of the Code of Conduct before making the disclosure.
      - Also, in such an instance, the University may not disclose the name of any other student, including a victim or witnesses, without the prior written consent of the other student.