PCCUA abides by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, and the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations implementing this act. Student records are treated as confidential information available only for the student’s personal inspection and upon the student’s personally authorized release, with very limited lawful exceptions. For example, PCCUA discloses student educational records to the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) under the “school official” exception, in that the NSC has a legitimate educational interest.
“Directory Information” such as the student’s name, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, address, telephone listing, weight and height of members of athletic teams, electronic mail address, degrees, honors, and awards received, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, grade level, the most recent educational agency or institution attended, and course credit load may be released unless a student notifies the Registrar that this information is to remain confidential. Requests for information will be evaluated by the Vice Chancellor for Student Services or designee. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
- Inspection and review of their educational records;
- Request an amendment to records that are believed to be inaccurate;
- Require the school to obtain written consent prior to disclosure of personally identifiable information, except those items noted herein;
- File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the college to comply with FERPA.
- Educational information: refers to any record maintained by an educational institution, including files, documents, and materials of any type which contain information directly related to students, and which allows a student to be identified. What is not included in Educational Information is sole possession records or private notes held by educational personnel which are not accessible or released to other personnel;
- Law enforcement or campus security records which are solely for the law enforcement purposes;
- Records related to individuals who are employed by the institution;
- Records related to treatment provided by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professionals;
- Records of an institution which contain only information about an individual obtained after that person is no longer a student at the institution (i.e., alumni records).
Students who are protected under FERPA are those students who are currently enrolled or formerly enrolled, regardless of their age. Students who have applied but have not attended an institution, and deceased students do not come under FERPA. Information about college policy, rights of students under the Act, and procedure for handling alleged violations of the Act and/or regulations may be obtained from the Vice Chancellor for Student Services at (870) 338-6474, ext. 1235.