Student Records

Annual Notification to Students

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.) These rights include:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days after the day Columbia-Greene Community College (hereafter, the “college”) receives a request for access. A student should submit to the Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
    
2. 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 the 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. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
    
3. The right to provide written consent before the college discloses personally identifiable information (PII) 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 college officials with legitimate educational interests.
   
   A college official is a person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position; a person serving on the board of trustees; a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee; a person employed by SUNY System Administration; or a person who is employed by the campus’s law enforcement unit. A college official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the college who performs an institutional service of function for which the college would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the college with respect to the use  and  maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent or a student volunteering to assist another college official in performing his or her tasks.
   
   A college official 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; performs a task that is specified in his or her position description or contract agreement; performs a task related to a student’s education; performs a task related to the discipline of a student; provides a service or benefit relating to the student or student’s family, such as health care, counseling, job placement or financial aid; maintains the safety and security of the campus or participates in conducting studies, evaluations or assessments of educational programs.
    
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the college to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:
   
   Family Policy Compliance Office
   U.S. Department of Education
   400 Maryland Avenue, SW
   Washington, DC 20202

FERPA permits the disclosure of PII from students’ education records, without consent of the student, if the disclosure meets certain conditions found in §99.31 of the FERPA regulations. Except for disclosures to college officials, disclosures related to some judicial orders or lawfully issued subpoenas, disclosures of directory information, and disclosures to the student, §99.32 of FERPA regulations requires the institution to record the disclosure. Eligible students have a right to inspect and review the record of disclosures. A postsecondary institution may disclose PII from the education records without obtaining prior written consent of the student –

• To other college officials, including teachers, within the college whom the college has determined to have legitimate educational interests. This includes contractors, consultants, volunteers, or other parties to whom the college has outsourced institutional services or functions, provided that the conditions listed in §99.31(a)(1)(i)(B)(1) - (a)(1)(i)(B)(2) are met. (§99.31(a)(1))
• To officials of another college where the student seeks or intends to enroll, or where the student is already enrolled if the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer, subject to the requirements   of §99.34. (§99.31(a)(2))
• To authorized representatives of the U.S. Comptroller General, the U. S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or State and local educational authorities, such as a State postsecondary authority that is responsible for supervising the university’s State-supported education programs. Disclosures under this provision may be made, subject to the requirements of §99.35, in connection with an 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. These entities may make further disclosures of PII to outside entities that are designated by them as their authorized representatives to conduct any audit, evaluation, or enforcement or compliance activity on their behalf. (§99.31(a)(3) and §99.35)
• In connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or which the student has received, if the information is necessary to determine eligibility for the aid, determine the amount of the aid, determine the conditions of the aid, or enforce the terms and conditions of the aid. (§99.31(a)(4))
• To State and local officials or authorities to who such information is specifically required to be reported or disclosed pursuant to a state statute adopted prior to Nov. 19 1974, if the allowed reporting or disclosure concerns the juvenile justice system and the system's ability to effectively serve the student whose records are released; or information that Is allowed to be reported pursuant to a State statute adopted after November 19,1974, which concerns the juvenile justice system and the system's ability to effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student whose records are released. (§99.31(a)(5))
• To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, the college, in order to: (a) develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; (b) administer student aid programs; or (c) improve instruction. (§99.31(a)(6))
• To accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions. (§99.31(a)(7))
• To the parents of an eligible student if the parents have submitted official evidence that the student is a dependent for IRS tax purposes. (§99.31(a)(8))
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued  subpoena. (§99.31(a)(9))
• To appropriate officials in connection with a health or safety emergency, subject to §99.36. (§99.31(a)(10))
• Information the college has designated as “Directory Information” under §99.37. (§99.31(a)(11)) (see list below)
• To a victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non- forcible sex offense, subject to the requirements of §99.39. The disclosure may only include the final results of the disciplinary proceeding with respect to that alleged crime or offense, regardless of the finding. (§99.31(a)(13))
• To the general public, the final results of a disciplinary proceeding, subject to the requirements of §99.39, if the college determines the student is an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense and the student has committed a violation of the college’s rules or policies with respect to the allegation made against him or her. (§99.31(a)(14))
• To parents of a student regarding the student’s violation of any Federal, State, or local law, or of any rule or policy of the college, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if the college determines the student committed a disciplinary violation and the student is under the age of 21. (§99.31(a)(15))
• To Veterans Administration Officials pursuant to 38 USC §3690 (c).
• To the court those records that are necessary to defend the college when a student initiates legal action against the institution. (§99.31(a)(9))
• To the Military, directory information as it is presently defined under the Solomon Amendment, the student's name and address; telephone listing; date and place of birth; class level; academic major; degrees received and the educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled even if the institution has not designated such Information as directory information in its policy. Information that is not required to release  to  the  Military:  directory information, but only if the student has requested that the college not release such information to anyone, information the institution certifies It does not have, and information not defined as directory information.
• When the disclosure concerns a registered sex offender, including a student, and is information received under a community notification program under 42 USC §14071. (99.31(a)(16))

Directory Information

Directory Information or information from an eligible student’s education record, that may be disclosed without the student’s written permission, as defined in 20 USC § 1232g(a)(5)(A) and adopted by the college, includes:

• The student’s name
• Address
• Telephone Listing
• E-Mail Addresses
• Major field of study
• Dates of attendance
• Enrollment status (full time or part time)
• Degrees and awards received
• Dates of degrees, honors and awards
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Weight and height of members of athletic teams

Students have the right to withhold disclosure of such Directory Information upon submission of an Authorization to Withhold Directory Information form, which is available from the Registrar.

Note to Parents

At the post-secondary level, parents have no inherent rights to inspect a student’s education records. The right to inspect is limited solely to the student. Records may be released to parents only if one of the following conditions have been met:

1. through written consent of the student,
2. in compliance with a subpoena,
3. in connection with some health or safety issue (as determined by the college), and
4. by submission of official evidence, i.e., a Federal tax return transcript, that the parents declare the student as a dependent on their most recent Federal Income Tax return (Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 152).

Parents cannot assume that because their tax records have been submitted to the Financial Aid Office, that the determination of “dependent” status is resolved. If a parent is requesting access to a student’s records, a recent Federal tax return transcript must be submitted along with the request to the Registrar.

Student Access to Records

Columbia-Greene Community College affirms the right of students to know what records are maintained about them and the type of information such records contain. No entry or document will be placed in a student’s record without notice to the student, with the exception of published grades, announcements of honors, and documents or entries supplied by or at the request of the student. In general, students’ access to their records will be limited only by reasonable regulations as to time, place and supervision.

“Student records” include files, documents, and other material maintained by officials of the college that contains information directly related to a student. Students will not, however, be allowed to inspect the following records, except as noted below:

1. Letters of recommendation that have been obtained under a waiver of inspection rights.
2. Records made by administrators and faculty at Columbia-Greene Community College for their own use and not shown to others.
3. Financial information furnished by parents, on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students will be allowed to review such information if written authorization is provided by their parents.