Admissions & Records

Rose State College has adopted the following policy and established certain procedures as contained in the statement below to ensure the student’s rights to privacy will be preserved. The following general policy statement will be published each year in the official Student Handbook. It will also appear in each new edition of the Rose State College Policies and Procedures Manual. Copies of the policy statement will also be available in the Registrar’s Office, AD Room 100. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, is a Federal law which states (a) that a written institutional policy must be established and (b) that a statement of adopted procedures covering the privacy rights of students be made available. The law provides that the institution will maintain the confidentiality of student education records. Rose State College accords all the rights under the law to students who are declared independent. No one outside the institution shall have access to, nor will the institution disclose, any information from students’ education records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll or are currently enrolled, to persons or organizations providing student financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, to the provider or creator of the educational record, to state and local educational officials, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. All these exceptions are permitted under the Act. Within the Rose State College community, only those members, individually or collectively, acting in the student’s educational interest are allowed access to student education records. Additionally, all rights of parents under FERPA, including the right to inspect and review education records, to seek to have education records amended in certain circumstances, and to consent to the disclosure of education records, transfer to the student once the student has reached 18 years of age or attends a postsecondary institution and thereby becomes an “eligible student.” Even after a student has become an “eligible student” under FERPA, postsecondary institutions may allow parents to have access to their child’s education records, without the student’s consent, in the following circumstances: the student is a dependent for Federal income tax purposes (Parents of 17 years of age and under students will need to provide proof of dependency for Federal income tax purposes); the disclosure is in connection with a health or safety emergency under the conditions specified in the law (i.e. if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals); and for postsecondary students, the student has violated any Federal, State or local law, or any rule or policy of the institution, governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance, if the institution determines that the student has committed a disciplinary violation regarding that use or possession and the student is under 21 at the time of the disclosure. At its discretion, the institution may provide Directory Information in accordance with the provisions of the Act to include but not limited to: student name, address, telephone number, electronic mail address, photograph, major field of study, dates of attendance (attendance is defined as attendance in person or correspondence via video conference, satellite, internet, or other electronic information and telecommunications technologies), degrees, honors and awards received, the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the students, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and weight and height of members of athletic teams. Students may withhold Directory Information by notifying the Registrar’s Office in writing within two weeks after the first day of class for the fall term. A printed form for this purpose is available in the Office of Admissions and Records. Request for non-disclosure will be honored by the institution for only one academic year; therefore, authorization to withhold Directory Information must be filed annually in the Registrar’s Office. The law provides students with the right to inspect and review information contained in their education records, to challenge the contents of their education records, to have a hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory, and to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if the decision of the hearing panels are unacceptable. The Registrar/Director of Admissions and Records at Rose State College has been designated by the institution to coordinate the inspection and review procedures for student education records, which include admissions, personal, academic, and financial files, and academic cooperative education and placement records. Students wishing to review their education records must make written requests to the Registrar/ Director of Admissions and Records listing the item or items of interest. Forms for this purpose are available in the Office of Admissions and Records. Only records covered by the Act will be made available no later than ten working days after the request. Students who believe that their education records contain information that is inaccurate or misleading, or is otherwise in violation of their privacy or other rights may discuss their problems informally with the Registrar/ Director of Admissions and Records. If the decisions are in agreement with the students’ requests, the appropriate records may be amended. If not, a student may request a formal hearing, which must be made in writing to the chairperson of the Academic Grade Appeals Committee. Decisions of the Academic Grade Appeals Committee will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing and will consist of written statements summarizing the evidence and stating the reasons for the decisions and will be delivered to all parties concerned. The education records will be corrected or amended in accordance with the decisions of the hearing panel if the decisions are in favor of the students. If the decisions are unsatisfactory to the students, the students may place with the education records statements commenting on the information in the records or statements setting forth any reasons for disagreeing with the decisions of the hearing panel. Students who believe that the adjudications of their challenges were unfair or not in keeping with the provisions of the Act may file complaints with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Office (FERPA), Department of Education, Room 4074, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202.
Revisions and clarifications will be published as experience with the law and institution’s policy warrant.