The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and 34 CFR Part 99, is a Federal law that governs students’ access to and confidentiality of their education records maintained by Siena College.
Education records are any records (in handwriting, print, tapes, film, computer or other medium) that are directly related to a student and maintained by the College or by a party acting for the College.
Examples of FERPA records include grades, transcripts, discipline records and class schedules.
Under FERPA, students have certain rights with respect to their education records including the right to inspect, review, and seek amendment of their education records.
Records available for student inspection are those that fall under the definition of education records and generally include
Requests to inspect education records should be made in writing to the specific College office maintaining it. The records, files and/or data will be made available no later than 45 days from the time the written request is received.
There are some types of information such as grades, financial aid, or class schedules that parents might like to receive but under FERPA, parents can not have access to these records unless the student gives written permission to the College. This means that even if parents are paying the bills, they can not access your student educational records.
A student may request in writing an amendment to his or her education record that s/he believes to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of his or her privacy rights.
Siena College will disclose information from a student’s education records only with the student’s prior written consent, except that the College will not obtain the student’s consent if the disclosure is:
The following is considered Directory Information, which may be disclosed to third parties without the student’s prior written consent:
Student’s name
Address (both local and permanent, to include email address)
Telephone listing
Date and place of birth
Major field of study
Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
Weight and height of members of athletic teams
Photographs
Dates of attendance
Degrees and awards received
Most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student
Directory Information will not be made available to the party requesting it unless the appropriate administrative officer of the College has considered and approved the request.
Students may choose to suppress the release of the above Directory Information . Students who do so will have a confidentiality hold on all of their records.
To suppress the release of the above Directory Information
OR
To remove a confidentiality hold you may rescind a “no release clause” at any time
The College notifies students annually of their rights under FERPA. Students have the right to file a written complaint with the Office of Family Compliance at the U.S. Department of Education if they believe the College failed to comply with FERPA.