Registrar

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include the following:

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records.

Students should submit to the Office of the Registrar a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. A College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place at which the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the Office of the Registrar, that office will advise the student of the correct College official to whom the request should be addressed. Access will be provided within a reasonable time, not to exceed 45 days.

The right to inspect and review education records does not apply to the following:

1. Financial records of parents.

2. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation placed in education records prior to January 1, 1975.

3. Confidential letters and statements of recommendations for admission, employment, or honorary recognition placed in education records after January 1, 1975, for which students have waived their right of access.

2. The right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure of personally identifiable information without consent, such as:

A. To school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic (including emeritus faculty), research or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, service provider, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his, her or their tasks. A school official is deemed to have a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his, her or their professional responsibilities for the College.

B. To officials of another school in which a 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.

C. To parents or legal guardians of dependent students as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code. In general, the College does not make education records available to the parents of a student. However, where the College believes it is in a dependent student’s best interest, information from the student’s education records may, at the College’s discretion, be released to the parents or legal guardians of such a dependent student. Such disclosure generally will be limited to information about a student’s official status at the College, but parents or legal guardians of a dependent student may also be notified upon the authorization of the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students or his, her or their designee in other circumstances, including but limited to the following:

· When a student has voluntarily withdrawn from the College or has been required by the College to withdraw;

· When a student has been placed on academic warning;

· When the student’s academic good standing or promotion is at issue;

· When a student engages in alcohol – or drug-related behavior that violates Union policies;

· When a student has been placed on disciplinary probation or restriction;

· In exceptional cases when a student otherwise engages in behavior calling into question the appropriateness of the student’s continued enrollment in the College.

All students are requested to sign an annual statement at the start of each academic year to confirm their dependency status. Students who are financially independent and do not wish to permit their parents or legal guardians access to their education records should advise the Office of the Registrar in writing.

D. To authorized representatives of the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or State Educational authorities in connection with an audit or evaluation.

E. 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 financial aid, or enforce the terms and conditions of the aid.

F. To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, the College, in order to develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; administer student aid programs; or improve instruction; or to accrediting organizations if the information is necessary to carry out accrediting functions.

G. To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.

H. To appropriate officials in a health or safety emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

I. To a victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense, the final results of a disciplinary proceeding concerning such offense.

J. To the general public, the final results of a disciplinary proceeding, if the College determines the student has committed a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense.

K. 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 at the time of disclosure.

L. The disclosure of information concerning sex offenders and other individuals required to register pursuant to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act provided to the College pursuant to the Act.

M. If the disclosure is limited to directory information. Union College has defined directory information to include the following: name, address (campus, home, email), telephone numbers, date and place of birth, academic fields of study, dates of attendance, enrollment status, photographs, participation in recognized activities and sports, degrees earned and awards received, weight and height of athletic team members, most previous educational agency or institution attended, or other similar information. The College may publicize or respond to requests for such information at its discretion. However, the use of these records for commercial or political purposes is prohibited unless approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Currently enrolled students may request that directory information be withheld from disclosure by making a request, in writing, to the Dean of Students Office or Office of the Registrar. Once a student has submitted such a request, the student’s directory information will not be disclosed (unless disclosure is otherwise permitted by FERPA) until the student provides written instruction to change this status.

3. The right to request amendment of a student education record.

Students have a right to challenge the content of their education records if they consider the information contained therein to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their rights of privacy. A student who wishes to ask the College to amend a record should write to the Office of the Registrar or Dean of Students, 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 by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of the 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 of a hearing. If the hearing results in a final determination not to amend the record, the student will be permitted to place a statement with the record commenting on the contested information, stating his, her or their disagreement with the decision not to amend the record, or both.

The right to challenge information in education records does not include a right to contest grades or other substantive matters accurately reflected in the records. Thus, this procedure may not be used to change a grade in a record unless the grade assigned was inaccurately recorded, in which case the record will be corrected.

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Union College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Student Privacy Policy Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20202-8520

Rev. 09/01/2018