FERPA Policy
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
- The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Enrollment Services Office written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
- The right to request the amendment of the student’s text-based education records that the student believes inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. Students should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing. Please note: separate policies apply for requests for a grade change.
- The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent, or verification agency); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. Upon request, the College may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll, and to military recruitment services pursuant to the Solomon Amendment. The College is also required to provide information to the Federal Government regarding students who may be eligible for the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credit programs. The College does not disclose education records to family members without student written consent.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures of this College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
Everett Community College is authorized under FERPA to release only directory information, which includes the student’s names, enrollment status, email address, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, quarters of attendance, degrees and awards received, date of birth, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student. This information may be released by the College at any time unless the College has received prior written notice from the student, filed in the Enrollment Services Office, requesting non-release of information. All other information may be released only upon the written consent of the student unless described in section (3), above.