POL 6.090 Student Records – Rights and Privacy

Kirtland Community College is committed to protecting student privacy in compliance with federal and state regulations. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, sets requirements to help protect the privacy of student education records, provides the right to inspect and review education records, provides the right to seek to amend education records, and limits disclosure of information from the education records.

FERPA DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this policy, Kirtland Community College employs the following definitions:

Education Records:

Records that are (1) directly related to a student and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.

Information Not Included in Education Records:

• Records that are kept in the sole possession of the maker, are used only as personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.
• Records that are created and maintained by Kirtland Community College law enforcement and security personnel for law enforcement purposes only.
• Records relating to individuals who are employed at Kirtland Community College that are made in the normal course of business, relate exclusively to the individual in their capacity as an employee, and are not available for use for any other purpose.
• Records relating to treatment by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or paraprofessional and are disclosed only to individuals providing treatment.
• Records created or received by Kirtland after an individual is no longer a student in attendance and that are not directly related to the individual’s attendance as a student.(i.e., alumni records).

Student:

Any person who attends or has attended a program of instruction sponsored by Kirtland Community College.

STUDENT RIGHTS UNDER FERPA

FERPA affords students enrolled in postsecondary institutions certain rights with respect to education records. Those rights include the following:

• Right to Inspect: A student has the right to inspect and review his/her education record(s) maintained by Kirtland Community College within 45 days of the school’s receipt of a written request for access. A student should submit to the Registrar’s Office, a written request that identifies the record (s) the student wishes 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. Limitations may apply as described in FERPA.  
• Right to Request Amendment: A student has the right to request the amendment of his/her education record(s) that are believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.  A student who wishes to ask the college to amend a record should clearly identify, in writing, the part of the record the student wants amended, and specify why it should be amended. Kirtland will respond within a reasonable amount of time. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will notify the student of the decision in writing of the decision.
• Right to a Hearing: A student has the right to request a hearing to challenge the content of his/her education record(s) that are believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. The hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the request for hearing has been received.  
• Right to Consent to Disclosure: A student has the right to provide signed and dated written consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in his/her education record, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
• Right to Complain: A student has the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Kirtland Community College to comply with FERPA requirements.

DISCLOSURE UNDER FERPA

Kirtland Community College will disclose information from a student’s education record only with the signed and dated written consent of the student, except under certain circumstances when written consent is not required:

• Disclosures to school officials who have legitimate educational interest in the records
• Disclosures upon request, to officials of other schools where a student seeks or intends to enroll or is already enrolled so long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer.
• Disclosures to authorized representatives of the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local educational authorities, such as a state postsecondary authority that is responsible for supervising the college’s state supported education programs.  Disclosures in connection with a student’s request for or receipt of financial aid, as necessary to determine the eligibility for aid, the amount or conditions of the aid, or to enforce the terms and conditions of the aid.
• Disclosures to State and local authorities or the juvenile justice system as permitted by state law.
• Disclosures to organizations conducting certain studies for, or on behalf of educational agencies or institutions for the purposes of predictive testing, student aid, and instructional improvements.
• Disclosures to accrediting organizations to carry out their function.
• Disclosures to a parent claiming the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
• Disclosures to comply with a court order or lawfully issued subpoena. (The College shall make reasonable attempts to notify the student of such disclosure prior to disclosure.)
• Disclosures to appropriate parties in connection with a health or safety emergency that threatens the health or safety of the student or other individuals. (Additionally, Kirtland Community College has the right to include information concerning disciplinary action taken against a student for conduct that poses a significant risk to the safety or well-being of the student, other students, or school community members in the student’s education record. Kirtland Community College may also disclose such information to school officials at the college and at other schools who have legitimate educational interests in the behavior of the student.)
• Disclosures of designated directory information. 
• Disclosures to the student.
• Disclosures to the alleged victim of a crime of violence or non-forcible sex offense (as defined by federal law).  The disclosure may only include the final results of the disciplinary proceeding with respect to that alleged crime or offense, regardless of the finding. 

DIRECTORY INFORMATION UNDER FERPA

Under FERPA, Kirtland Community College is authorized to disclose certain personally identifiable information contained in education records as directory information without prior written consent after providing public notice of (1) the type of personally identifiable information that Kirtland has designated as directory information, (2) the student’s right to refuse designation of any or all types of information as directory information, and (3) the period of time a student has to notify the Registrar’s Office, in writing, that the student does not want to designate any or all types of information as directory information.

The student’s request to opt-out of the disclosure of directory information becomes a permanent part of the student’s education record and continues after the student is no longer in attendance unless the student instructs the college in writing to remove the request.

Kirtland Community College designates the following personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education record as directory information: student name; address; telephone number; electronic email address; part-time/full-time status; freshman/sophomore status; program of study; weight and height of athletes; most recent educational institution attended; photographs; date of birth; participation in officially recognized activities and sports, including positions held; dates of attendance; date of graduation; and degrees/awards received.

SOLOMON AMENDMENT

The Solomon Amendment is a federal law that requires that schools, upon request, provide the military with information on currently enrolled students for military recruiting purposes only.

For such requests, the following student information may be released for those 17-years of age or older: name, address, Kirtland email address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, level of education, academic program, degrees received, and the educational institution in which the student was most recently enrolled.

Adopted August 11, 1983
Revised February 12, 1998
Revised October 16, 2008
Revised August 19, 2022

6.090 Student Records – Rights and Privacy Procedure

STUDENT NOTIFICATION In order to comply with FERPA, Kirtland Community College shall publish a notice to students explaining their rights under FERPA and designating directory information which may be disclosed without consent. A statement regarding this notice will be published in the schedule and in the college catalog. If a student has a primary language other than English, Kirtland Community College shall endeavor to notify the student of his/her rights in the student’s native language.

INSPECTION OF STUDENT RECORDS A student may inspect and review his/her own education records upon written request submitted to the registrar. This request should precisely as possible identify the education record(s) the student wishes to inspect. If the records are not maintained by the registrar’s office, the registrar shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed. The registrar or other school official will make arrangements for access as promptly as possible and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Access must be given within 45 days from receipt of the request by the appropriate school official.

When a record contains information about students other than the requesting student, the student may not inspect the portion of the record that pertains to other students. In addition, a student does not have the right to inspect or review the following education records: financial records, including any information those records contain of his/her parents, and confidential letters/statements of recommendation as long as the statements are only used for their intended purposes, the student has waived his/her right to review those materials, and the materials relate to the student’s admission to an educational institution, application for employment, or receipt of an honor or honorary recognition.

AMENDMENT OF STUDENT RECORDS If a student, upon review of his/her record, would like to request or amend a record believed to be inaccurate or misleading, a written request should be submitted to the school official responsible for the record. This request should clearly identify the part of the record that the student wants changed and specify why it is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of the student’s privacy rights. The school official may or may not comply with the request. If the record is not amended as requested by the student, Kirtland Community College shall arrange a hearing and shall provide the student with reasonable notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. The hearing will be conducted by a disinterested hearing officer; however, the hearing officer may be a school official. The student shall have the opportunity to offer evidence in support of his/her request for amendment. The student also has the right to be represented at the hearing. The hearing officer will prepare a written decision based solely upon the evidence presented at the hearing, which shall be distributed to the parties. The decision will include a summary of the evidence and a reason for the decision. If Kirtland Community College determines that the student’s education record should not be amended, the student must be notified that he/she has the right to place a written statement in his/her education record setting forth objections to the challenged information and/or disagreements with the decision not to amend this record. This statement shall be maintained with the challenged portion of the student’s education record and be disclosed with that record. If Kirtland Community College determines that the student’s education record must be amended, it shall amend the record and notify the student that the record has been amended.

RELEASE OF INFORMATION Kirtland Community College may release information from a student’s education record to a third party if the student gives prior written consent for the disclosure. All requests for release of such information shall be made in writing. The written consent must include the following information: a specification of the record(s) to be released, the reason for disclosure, the person(s) or organization(s) to whom the disclosure will be made, the student’s signature and the date of consent and, if appropriate, the date upon which consent terminates. Kirtland Community College will not disclose personally identifiable information in a student’s education record to a third party unless that party agrees to redisclose the information only with the student’s prior written consent.

RECORD OF DISCLOSURE Kirtland Community College shall maintain an accurate record of all requests for access to, and disclosures of, a student’s education record and a record of any access or disclosure permitted. The following procedures shall apply: this record will be kept with, but will not be part of, each student’s educational record. This record will only be available to the student, college officials, and federal, state or local officials. This record will include the name of the requesting party, additional parties to whom the information may be disclosed, the party’s interest in the information, the date of the request, whether the request was granted or denied, and the date of any access or disclosure permitted. This record will be maintained as long as Kirtland Community College maintains the student’s education record. This record keeping requirement does not apply to requests by or disclosure to the student, school officials, a party with written consent from the student, a party seeking directory information, or a party seeking information pursuant to a confidential court order or lawfully-issued subpoena.

DIRECTORY INFORMATION Under FERPA, Kirtland Community College is authorized to designate certain personally identifiable information contained in education records as “directory” information and may disclose such information without prior written consent unless a student objects to such disclosure.

Kirtland Community College designates the following personally identifiable information contained in a student’s education record as directory information: student name, address, telephone number, electronic email address, student ID number, part-time/full-time status, freshman/sophomore status, program of study, weight and height of athletes, most recent educational institution attended, photographs, date of birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports including positions held, dates of attendance, date of graduation, and degrees and awards received.

The following procedures apply to the notification and designation of directory information:

1. Kirtland Community College will publish in the schedule and college catalog the list of items of personally identifiable information that it designates as directory information.
2. A student may submit a Notification of Non-Disclosure form to the Registrar’s office to indicate that he/she does not want this designated directory information released.
3. School officials shall mark the student’s education record indicating that directory information may not be disclosed pursuant to the student’s objection.
4. Absent written objection by a student, Kirtland Community College may release designated directory information without prior written consent.
5. The Notification of Non-Disclosure remains in effect only for the current semester and also applies to requests for information as defined under the Solomon Amendment.

In order to comply with the Solomon Amendment, Kirtland Community College will provide the available directory information of currently enrolled students to the military, for which a request should be submitted to the registrar’s office at least two weeks prior to the end of the requested semester. A fee will be charged for this list and this fee will need to be collected prior to any information being disclosed.

Revised June 21, 2016