The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) afford students and the College certain rights with respect to education records. They are:
1. The right of the student to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of the day Columbia Basin College (hereinafter referred to as “the College”) receives a request for access. Students should make a written request to the College Registrar, identifying the records they wish to inspect. The Registrar will notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records the student wishes to inspect are not maintained by the Registrar, the Registrar will forward the request to the appropriate College official who will notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Student records will be maintained according to the retention policy set out by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The College reserves the right to refuse to permit the inspection and review of:
- Financial statements of the student’s parents
- Confidential letters and confidential statements of recommendation placed in the education record if the student has waived his or her right to inspect and review those letters and statements and the letters and statements related to the student’s admission to a program, an application for employment, or receipt of an honor or honorary recognition
- Confidential letters and statements placed in the education record except when these documents have been used for any purpose other than that for which they were originally intended
- Records that contain information about other students
- Documents excluded from the FERPA definition of education records
2. The right of the student to request the amendment of their education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights. Students may request that the College amend a record that they believe is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate. They should submit their request in writing to the appropriate College official responsible for the record, clearly identifying the part of the record they want changed and specifying why the record is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate. The College will provide a written response to student requests, either demonstrating the change in the record which has been made or the decision not to amend the record as requested. In the latter case, the College will notify the student of his/her right to a hearing regarding the request for the amendment as well as provide additional information regarding the hearing procedures.
3.The right of the College to release personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent (section 4). One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to College officials with legitimate educational interests. College officials include parties who contract with the College or are required by law to provide services to the College and have a legitimate educational interest in a student’s education records. A College official has a legitimate educational interest if the official is:
- Performing a task or service specified in the official’s position description or contract
- Performing an instructional task directly related to the student’s education
- Performing a task related to the discipline of a student
- Performing as a faculty advisor, program director, or dean
- Providing a service or benefit related to the student or student’s family, such as healthcare, counseling, job placement, financial aid, or health and safety emergency
- Providing legal services to the College
4. The right of the College to release directory information without student consent. The College considers the following to be directory information that may be disclosed without consent if it is determined the party requesting the information has a legitimate need for the information: name, address, telephone number, date of birth, email address, dates of attendance, degrees/awards received, previously attended educational institutions, participation in activities or sports, and weight and height of members of athletic teams. Additionally, the College is required to provide military recruiters with the following additional information: student’s telephone listing and number of credits earned. Columbia Basin College may disclose personally identifiable information designated as directory information from a student’s education records without prior consent. Students who do not wish to have any or all of such directory information published without their prior consent, must submit a Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information to the Registrar within 15 calendar days after the beginning of the quarter. If a student places this hold on their account, it will remain in effect until otherwise notified. This request will prevent any release of information to a third party without a signed release from the student. In addition, the electronic record will be annotated preventing the electronic release of information, with the words “privacy block” in the student records. This certification does not preclude the verification of degrees awarded for graduation purposes.
5. The right of the College to release educational records without student consent. Institutions may disclose to parents or legal guardians the educational records or components thereof without written consent by the student
if it is determined that the student violated any federal, state, or local law or any institutional policy or rule governing the use of alcohol or controlled substances (refer to Article X of the CBC Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities) and the student is under the age of 21 at the time of the disclosure to the parent. FERPA allows higher educational institutions to share information as necessary in a crisis or in situations where students are a potential harm to themselves or others.
6.The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Columbia Basin 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 20202-4605