The Office of the College Counsel seeks to support Siena College and its mission by providing, managing and coordinating quality legal services related to official College business. This is done by providing legal representation and advice to College officials, with an emphasis on minimizing the College’s legal risks through preventive measures.
In the course of carrying out your duties as a Siena employee, you may encounter a situation in which it is necessary for the College to enter into financial and/or contractual commitments in order to ensure its normal, efficient operation.
The College will sponsor and prepare petitions with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security
(“USCIS”) for foreign nationals to obtain H-1B status in the United States, which will allow them to work at the College for a specified period of time.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Information and guidance for College officials who have received a request for information is provided at the link below. If you are unsure whether any requested information is part of a student's "education records" and is thus protected by FERPA, please contact the Office of the College Counsel before disclosing the information.
Please follow these guidelines
It is important that all members of the Siena community are aware of the restrictions that the federal tax laws place on tax-exempt organizations like Siena College.
All court papers received by a Siena employee concerning his or her work at the College must be promptly brought to the attention of the College Counsel.