FERPA
What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that affords students certain rights with respect to their education records.
These rights are:
The right to inspect and review their education records.
The right to seek to amend their education records.
The right to have some control over the disclosure of information from their education records.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by MTC to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
Who is considered a student?
Any individual who attends or has attended MTC at any time in the past.
Any individual who has applied to MTC, but has not enrolled, is not considered a student and therefore has no rights for inspection of their records under FERPA.
What are education records?
Education records are all records that contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by an educational agency or by a party acting for the agency or institution.
They are records maintained in any way, including but not limited to:
Handwriting
Computer media
Print
Video or audio tape
Film
Microfilm and microfiche
Document imaging
They are not:
Sole possession records maintained by a single individual as a “memory jogger” and are not shared with any other individual.
Records created and maintained by a law enforcement unit for a law enforcement purpose.
Employment records (unless contingent upon attendance).
Medical records made and maintained in connection with treatment and disclosed only to individuals providing treatment.
Records that only contain information about an individual after he or she is no longer enrolled at the institution (i.e. alumni records).
What information is contained in education records?
Personally identifiable information, including, but not limited to:
Student’s name.
Name of student’s parent(s) or family members.
Address of student or student’s family.
Personal identifier (e.g. social security number, student ID number).
List of personal characteristics or other information to make a student's identity easily traceable.
Directory information is information not generally considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed.
Directory information cannot include student ID numbers or social security numbers.
MTC identifies the following information as directory information:
Name
Address (including county)
Email address
Telephone number
Field of study
Dates of attendance
Designation of full or part-time status
Degrees and awards received
Photographs
What can I do if I disagree with my records?
Students may ask to amend a record they believe is inaccurate or misleading. This is not a process for appealing grades. The steps for challenging records are:
Submit a written request to amend the record to the appropriate administrator responsible for the record(s) stating the specific information in question and the reasons for the challenge.
The administrator will review the request and notify the student of their decision.
If the record is not amended, the administrator will advise the student of their right to a hearing regarding the amendment request, along with information regarding the hearing procedures at MTC.
Who has access to student records?
Students have access to view their own records. To do so they must:
Submit a written request to the Office of Student Records (OSR) that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect.
The OSR will arrange for access and notify students of the time and location where the record(s) may be inspected. If the OSR does not maintain the record(s), the students will be notified of the correct office to which the request should be addressed.
MTC will comply with the request within 45 days.
Copies of records are not provided unless failure to do so would effectively deny access to the records, such as a former student who does not live within commuting distance. A fee is charged for copies of education records.
MTC will not destroy records if request for access is pending; however, MTC follows a retention schedule for destruction of records no longer deemed necessary.
Students may not inspect records of other students, nor may they inspect records for which they have previously waived their right to review or financial records of their parents.
MTC does not re-release records that do not originate from MTC, such as high school and college records, GED or ACT scores, etc. to third parties. Students should request the information from the original source.
Students may allow access to their records by signing and dating written consent forms, available from the OSR.
FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent in some instances. These include, but are not limited to:
School officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by MTC in an administrative, supervisory, academic, or support staff position; a person or company with whom the college has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, clearinghouse, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student who is employed by the college. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill their professional responsibility.
Compliance with a judicial order or subpoena that specifies not to notify.
For health and safety emergencies.
Directory information requests (as previously defined).
Students have the right to refuse MTC from disclosing their directory information by completing an opt-out form with the Office of Student Records. This may mean, however, that if students receive recognition for honors or achievements, the college will be unable to publish this information externally. Students are advised to consider the consequences of their decision to withhold directory information.
Each term students have an opportunity to change their directory information status with the OSR. The deadline for accepting the change is the Friday before the start of classes each term.
What should you do if you believe FERPA is not being followed?
Students should contact the OSR when they believe that FERPA is not being followed.
The OSR will review the allegation and notify the student of its findings.
Students may also file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education: U.S. Department of Education Student Privacy Policy Office 400 Maryland Avenue SW Washington, DC 20202