6.3.1lp1 Review of Student Records

Adopted: December 2010
Scope: Students
Contact: Registrar
Reference: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), SBTCSG Policy 6.3.1, SBTCSG Procedure 6.3.1p1

The law provides students with the right to inspect and review information contained in 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 decisions of the hearing panels are unacceptable.

The Registrar at Lanier Technical College has been designated by the college to coordinate the inspection and review procedures for student education records, which include admissions, personal, academic, financial files, cooperative education, and placement records. Any student wishing to review his/her education record must make written request to the Registrar listing the item or items of interest. Only records covered by the Act will be made available within forty-five days of the request. Students may have copies made of their records with certain exceptions (e.g., a copy of the academic record for which a financial "hold" exists or transcript of an original or source document which exists elsewhere).

Copies will be made at the student's expense at prevailing rates. Education records do not include records of instructional, administrative, and educational personnel which are the sole possession of the college, records of the law enforcement unit, student health records, employment records or alumni records. Health records, however, may be reviewed by physicians of the student's choosing.

Exceptions

Students may not inspect nor review the following as outlined by the Act: financial information submitted by their parents, confidential letters and recommendations associated with admissions, employment or job placement, or honors to which they have waived their rights of inspection and review, or education records containing information about more than one student, in which case the college will permit access only to that part of the record which pertains to the inquiring student. The college is not required to permit students to inspect and review confidential letters and recommendations placed in their files prior to January1, 1975, provided those letters were collected under established policies of confidentiality and were used only for the purposes for which they were collected.

Records Correction Procedures

Any student who believes that his/her education record contains information that is inaccurate or misleading, or is otherwise in violation of his/her privacy or other rights may discuss his/her problems informally with the Registrar. If the decisions are in agreement with the student's request, the appropriate records will be amended. If not, the student will be notified within a reasonable period of time that the records will not be amended; and he/she will also be informed by the Registrar of his/her right to a formal hearing.

Student requests for a formal hearing must be made in writing to the Vice President for Student Affairs who, within a reasonable period of time after receiving such requests, will inform the student of the date, place, and time of the hearing. Students may present evidence relevant to the issues raised and may be assisted or represented at the student's expense. The hearing panel which will adjudicate such challenges will be the Vice President for Student Affairs, representatives from the Office of Student Affairs, and a faculty representative from the student's program of study.

Decisions of the hearing panel will be final, will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing, 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 student. If the decisions are unsatisfactory to the student, the student 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. The statements will be placed in the education records, maintained as part of the student's records, and released whenever the records in question are disclosed.

Appeal Process for Records Correction

Any student who believes that adjudication of his/her challenge was unfair or not in keeping with provisions of the Act may request, in writing, assistance from the President of the college to aid him/her in filing complaints with The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act Office (FERPA), Department of Education, Room 4074, Switzer Building, Washington D. C. 20202. Revisions and clarifications will be published as experience with the law and college's policy warrants.