Procedure 403.01: Student Records

Introduction

The college shall establish and enforce guidelines which are in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment) concerning the information which becomes a part of a student’s permanent educational records and governing the conditions of its disclosure. Except as otherwise indicated in  the procedural guidelines, the college will not provide information contained in student educational records in response to inquiries from either within or without the college unless the expressed consent of the student has been given.  Inquiries from relatives, other students, faculty, and staff, acting as private persons or members of extra-college groups or organizations, will be treated as coming from outside the college.  Exception will be made in the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the educational records of a student to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

Definitions

Eligible Student – A student is defined as any person who is or has been in attendance at the college and with respect to whom the college maintains education records or personally identifiable information.

Education records – any record maintained by Grays Harbor College or an agent of the college, which is directly related to the student. These records include but are not limited to grades, transcripts, class lists, student course schedules, student financial information, and student discipline files. The information may be recorded in any way, including, but not limited to, handwriting, print, computer media, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche, and e-mail.

Common Education Record Types

• Academic Records – held in registration and records and is in the care of the registrar
• Financial Aid Records – held in Financial Aid office and is in the care of the Associate Dean of Financial Aid
• Financial Records – held in Financial Services and is in the care of the Controller of Financial Services
• Student Conduct Records – held in the Office of Student Life and is in the care of the Director of Student Life

Education records do not include:

1. A personal record kept by a staff member if it is kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record and is not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.
2. An employment record of an individual, whose employment is not contingent on the fact that he or she is a student, provided the record be used only in relation to the individual’s employment.
3. Alumni records which contain information about a student after he or she is no longer in attendance at the college and which do not relate to the person as a student.
4. Records of the school’s law enforcement office.

Transcripts of a student’s scholastic records shall contain only information about his/her academic status and eligibility to continue at the college.  Disciplinary records shall be kept separate from academic records and no notation of any disciplinary action shall appear on a student’s transcript.  No records shall be kept which reflect a student’s political or ideological beliefs or associations.

School Official – a person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research or support staff position;  a person or company with whom Grays Harbor College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agency); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. Volunteers and interns serving in any of these capacities are also considered school officials. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibility.

Legitimate Educational Interest – Generally, school officials have legitimate educational interest if they need to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibilities.

Solomon Amendment: Pursuant to the Solomon Amendment, Grays Harbor College is required to provide some or all of the following information, upon request, to representatives of the Department of Defense for military recruiting purposes: student’s name, address, telephone listing, date of birth (17 years or older), level of education, and academic major (for currently enrolled students only)

Directory Information

A student’s directory information may be disclosed unless a student files a Request for Non-

Disclosure of Directory Information form with the Registration Office by the tenth day of the quarter (eighth day for summer quarter). Forms are available in Admissions and Registration Office. Requests submitted after the deadline will be honored; however, disclosure of directory information may have occurred. In addition, Grays Harbor College will honor requests for non-disclosure of directory information from former students. Students who wish to restrict directory information should realize that their names will not appear in the commencement bulletin and other college publications. In addition, employers, credit card companies, loan agencies, scholarship committees and the like will be denied any of the student’s directory information and will be informed that we have no information available about the student’s attendance at Grays Harbor College.

Grays Harbor College designates the following items as Directory Information:

1. Student’s name
2. Major field of study
3. Participation in officially recognized activities or sports
4. Dates of attendance (includes verifying current quarterly enrollment)
5. Part time or full time enrollment status
6. Degrees and certificates received or not received
7. Honors and awards received

The college may disclose any of these items without prior written consent unless notified in writing to the contrary. Written notification must be provided to the office of Admissions and Records.

Right to Inspect and Review Education Records

Students (which includes former students) have the right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days from making such a request. The right of inspection and review includes the right to access, with an explanation and interpretation of the record; the right to a copy of the education record when failure to provide a copy of the record would effectively prevent the student from inspecting and reviewing the record. The institution may refuse to provide a copy of a student’s education record provided such refusal does not limit access.

Limitations exist on students’ rights to inspect and review their education records. For example, the institution is not required to permit students to inspect and review the following:

1. Financial records and statements of his/her parents or any information contained therein.
2. Education records containing information about more than one student. (However, the institution must permit access to that part of the records which pertains only to the inquiring student.)
3. Confidential letters and confidential statements of recommendation, which were placed in the educational records of a student prior to January 1, 1975.
4. Confidential letters and confidential statements of recommendation which were placed in the educational records of the student after January 1, 1975: Provided, That the student has waived his or her right to inspect and review those letters and statements of recommendation:
   1. Respecting admission to an educational institution
   2. Respecting an application for employment
   3. Respecting the receipt of an honor or honorary recognition.

The dean of student access and success or the vice president for student services will be responsible for reviewing unusual requests for information and assisting in interpretation of the rules and regulations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as published in the Federal Register, Volume 41, #18, June 17, 1976.

Disclosure of Education Records

Grays Harbor College will disclose information from a student’s education records only with the written consent of the student, however, the institution may release information in the following instances:

1. To school officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the records.
2. To officials of another school, upon request, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
3. 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.
4. In connection with a student’s request for or receipt of financial aid (includes Veteran’s benefits), as necessary to determine the eligibility, amount or conditions of the financial aid, or to enforce the    terms and conditions of the aid.
5. To organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the college.
6. To accrediting organizations to carry out their functions.
7. To parents of an eligible student who claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
8. To comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena.
9. To appropriate professionals in a health or safety emergency of the student or other individuals.
10. To military recruiting personnel in accordance with the Solomon Amendment.
11. 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.
12. 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. 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.
13. To parents and legal guardians of students under the age of 21, regardless of their dependency status, of information regarding a student’s violation of laws or policies governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance if
    • The institution has determined that the student has committed a disciplinary violation with respect to that use or possession; and
    • The student is under the age of 21 at the time of the disclosure to the parent.

Special precautions shall be exercised to insure that information from disciplinary or counseling files is not revealed to unauthorized persons.

Refusal to Provide Copies

Grays Harbor College reserves the right to deny transcripts or copies of records not required to be made available by the FERPA in any of the following situations:

• The student has an unpaid obligation to the college.
• There is an unresolved disciplinary action against the student.

Amendment of Educational Records

Under FERPA, an eligible student has the right to request that inaccurate or misleading information in his or her education records be amended. While a school is not required to amend education records in accordance with an eligible student’s request, the school is required to consider the request.  Following are the procedures for the possible amendment of records:

1. A student must submit to the dean of student access and success a request in writing to amend a record.
2. The college shall decide whether to amend the educational records of the student in accordance with the eligible student’s request, normally within thirty days of receipt of the request.
3. If the college decides not to amend the educational records of the student in accordance with the eligible student’s request, the school must inform the eligible student of his or her right to a hearing on the matter.

Right to a Hearing

1. The method for requesting a hearing shall be by written appeal through the associate dean for student services.
2. Upon receipt of the request, the college will arrange for a hearing and notify the student, reasonably in advance of the date, time and place of the hearing.
3. The hearing shall be conducted by any individual, including an official of the institution, who does not have a direct interest in the outcome of the hearing.
4. The eligible student may have assistance from, or be represented by, any individual of his/her choice and at his/her own expense, including an attorney, in presenting his/her case.
5. The institution shall make its decision in writing within a reasonable period of time after the hearing.
6. The decision must be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing, and must include a summary of the evidence and the reasons for the decision.
7. If, as a result of the hearing, the institution decides that the information in the education record is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy rights of the student, it shall inform the eligible student of the right to place a statement in the record commenting on the contested information in the record or stating why he or she disagrees with the decision of the institution, or both.
8. If an educational agency or institution places a statement in the education records of a student under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the agency or institution shall:
   1. Maintain the statement with the contested part of the record for as long as the record is maintained; and
   2. Disclose the statement whenever it discloses the portion of the record to which the statement relates.

Annual Notification

The college will give annual notification to students of these procedures concerning their educational records.  Notification will be done by notices in the College Catalog, on the college website, through email, and published in the Student Handbook.

Right to File a Complaint

If a parent or eligible student feels that, the College has not fully honored his/her privacy rights under FERPA, a written complaint may be filed with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Grays Harbor College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. A timely complaint is defined as an allegation that is submitted within 180 days of the date of the alleged violation or of the date that the complainant knew or reasonably should have known of the alleged violation. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
600 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20202-4605