The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") of 1974, as amended, ensures
the confidentiality of student educational records and restricts disclosure of such
records to third parties, except as authorized by law. FERPA also affords students
certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
I. The right to inspect and review the student's educational records within 45 days
of the day the College receives a request for access.
A student should submit to the Registrar, Dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
II. The right to request the amendment of the student's educational records the student believes are 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 College official responsible for the record, 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.
III. The right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s educational record, except to the extent FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.The College will disclose information from a student’s education records only with the written consent of the student, except:
A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill their professional responsibility.
The College designates the following items as “Directory Information:”
student name; hometown; MCLA mail box Unit #; campus electronic mail address; campus username/id; campus voicemail number; date of birth; major and minor fields of study; dates of attendance; current enrollment status (full or part time); certificates, degrees, honors, and awards received and date(s) received (including scholarships that are not need based); date of graduation; current class standing (FR, SO, JR, SR) whether or not currently enrolled; participation in officially recognized activities including conferences and sports sponsored by the College; weight and height of athletic team members; photograph, not including MCLA student identification photo.
The College may disclose any of these items without prior written consent, unless the student has submitted a written request to the Student Records Office not to release directory information pertaining to the student. Requests will be processed within 24 hours after receipt.
The College may disclose information from a student’s education records without the prior written consent of the student under the following circumstances:
IV. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Educations 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 20202-5901