FERPA

Annual Notification of Rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Notice of Publication of Campus Crime and Graduation Statistics

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records.

These rights include:

Right 1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the College receives the request for access. Students must submit to the Records Office a written request that specifies the record(s) they want to inspect. Not all student records in the possession of Northampton Community College are eligible for review per FERPA guidelines.  The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place to inspect the record. If the Records Office does not maintain the records the student requested, the Registrar will advise the student of the correct official to contact.

Right 2. The right to request an amendment of education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask the College to amend a record they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write to 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.

FERPA was not intended to provide a process to question substantive judgments which are properly recorded. The rights of challenge do not apply, for example, to a student's argument that they deserved a higher grade in a course, if the grade recorded is the grade submitted by the faculty member. Refer to NCC’s catalog for policies applying to grade appeals.

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. The College will provide the student with specific information regarding the hearing procedures at the time of notification.

Right 3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in a 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, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); persons, contractors, volunteers, or service providers with whom the College has contracted as its agent to provide a service or function instead of using College employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent, or service provider such as the National Student Clearinghouse); 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 to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

FERPA also permits institutions to establish and disclose without consent a student’s directory information.

Northampton Community College has established the following as directory information:

• Name
• Age and Date of Birth
• Address (primary, mailing, prior)
• NCC assigned email address
• Phone number (home and cell)
• Major field of study
• Degrees and awards received and when received
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports (including weight/height of athletic team members)
• Most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student
• Enrollment status (full, half-time, not enrolled, current credit load, credit hours earned, etc.)
• Class level/status (semester class or level: first-year, freshman, sophomore, etc.)
• Dates of attendance
• Expected date of completion of degree requirements and graduation

Students have the right to withhold the release of directory information. To apply the non-disclosure to your academic record, follow the instructions outlined in the “Workday Account Questions” section on NCC’s Records & Registration Frequently Asked Questions webpage. If student directory information is restricted, NCC may not disclose it without consent of the student, except in circumstances in which disclosure without consent is permitted under the terms of FERPA (including health and safety emergencies and disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interest). Please note that restricting directory information will prohibit the following actions:

• Verification of enrollment, graduation or degrees awarded will not be provided to third parties, including potential employers.
• Your name will not appear on Dean’s List.
• Your name will not appear in the commencement program.

In addition to disclosures of personally identifiable information to university and school officials with legitimate educational interests, and the release of unrestricted directory information to third parties, students should be aware that NCC may also forward a student’s education records to other agencies or institutions that have requested the records and in which the student seeks or intends to enroll, or is already enrolled, so long as the disclosure is for the purposes related to the student’s enrollment and transfer.

Other Exceptions to Prior Written Consent

As per FERPA, students have the right to consent to the disclosure of their education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. These exceptions include, but are not limited to:

1. Health and Safety Emergencies. The disclosure is to appropriate parties (including the student’s parents) in an emergency if the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals. This exception applies where a college, taking into account the totality of the circumstances, is able to articulate a significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individual and discloses information to any person whose knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.
2. Verify Authenticity of Records. NCC may return records to the provider or creator of those records to verify authenticity.
3. Designated Governmental Authorities. The disclosure is to authorized representatives of the U.S. Comptroller, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or State and local educational authorities, such as State postsecondary authority that is responsible for supervising the College’s state-supported education programs. Disclosures under this provision may be made, subject to the requirements of §99.35, in connection with an audit or evaluation of Federal- or State- supported educational programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with Federal legal requirements that relate to those programs. These entities may make further disclosures of personally identifiable information to outside entities that are designated by them as their authorized representatives to conduct any audit, evaluation, or enforcement or compliance activity on their behalf.
4. Financial Aid. The disclosure is in connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or which the student has received, if the information is necessary for purposes such as the determination of eligibility, amount or conditions, or enforcement of the terms and conditions of the aid.
5. Court Order or Subpoena. The disclosure is to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
6. Accrediting Organizations. The disclosure is to accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions.
7. Disciplinary Proceedings arising from alleged crimes of violence or nonforcible sex offenses. The final results of such proceeding may be disclosed only in these circumstances:
   • The disclosure is of the final results of a disciplinary proceeding against a student whom the College has determined violated an institutional rule or policy in connection with alleged acts that would, if proven, also constitute a crime of violence or nonforcible sex offense. Only the disciplined student’s name, the violation committed (including rules violated and essential finding of fact supporting the determination), and the sanction imposed may be disclosed. This applies only if the final results were reached after October 6, 1998. The release may not include the name of any other student, such as a victim or witness, absent that student’s consent.
   • The disclosure is of the final results of a disciplinary proceeding and made to the victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense, even if the institution concluded that no violation was committed.
8. To parents or guardians of financially dependent students. The disclosure is to a parent or legal guardian and the student is a dependent of the parent or legal guardian as defined in the Internal Revenue Code Section 152. A copy of the parent's or guardian’s latest tax return may be requested as documentation.
9. Alcohol or substance use by those under 21. The disclosure is to inform a parent or legal guardian of a student under the age of 21 at the time of the disclosure that the student has committed a disciplinary violation with respect to the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance. The determination may be made other than through a disciplinary proceeding.
10. Litigation and administrative proceedings. The disclosure is made in litigation brought by the student against NCC, or litigation by NCC against the student and the records are relevant to that litigation. Similar disclosures are permissible where the institution must defend itself against a complaint made by the student to a government entity or an accreditation or licensing organization.
11. Registered Sex Offenders. The disclosure concerns sex offenders or other individuals required to register under Section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Wetterling Act), 42 U.S.C . 14071, and the information was provided to the College under that statute and applicable federal guidelines.
12. To Military Recruiters (Solomon Amendment). In accordance with federal law, educational institutions are required to disclose student recruitment information to U.S. military recruiters. This information consists of a student’s name, addresses, telephone listings, date and place of birth, level of education, academic major, degrees received and educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled.
13. Organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, the school. The disclosure is to organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, the school, in order to: (a) develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; (b) administer student aid programs; or (c) improve instruction.

Right 4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures of the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. Contact the office that administers FERPA at:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202

Notice of Publication of Campus Crime Statistics and Graduation Rates

The College and University Security Informata ion Act (Act 73) requires that all Pennsylvania colleges and universities to furnish students and employees with statistics regarding campus crimes, along with campus security practices. You can obtain a copy of this report by contacting the Chief of Public Safety & Security at 610-861-5303 or visiting our Public Safety website.

In addition, as required by Student Right to Know legislation, graduation and transfer rates are available through the College Navigator https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=214379