Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords you certain rights regarding your education records. These rights include:

• The right to inspect and review your education records within 45 days of the day the college receives your request for access.
• The right to request the amendment of your education records that your believe are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of your privacy rights under FERPA.
• The right to provide written consent before the college discloses personally identifiable information from your education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without con­sent.
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the college to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Reviewing Education Records

To review your records, submit a written request to the Registrar that identifies the record(s) you wish to inspect. We will make arrangements for access and let you know when and where you may inspect your records. If the college official to whom you sent the request does not maintain your records, that official will tell you who to whom you should send the request.

Amending Education Records

If you wish to amend your student records, you must write the college official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record you want changed, and specify why it should be changed. If we decide not to amend the record as requested, we will notify you in writing of the decision and of your right to a hearing regarding your request for amendment. We will give you additional information about the hearing procedures when you are notified of your right to a hearing.

Providing Consent to Disclose Information

SFCC may disclose education records without prior written consent to school officials with legitimate educational interests under the FERPA exception for disclosure. A school official is defined as:

• A person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position. This includes law enforcement unit personnel and health staff.
• A person or company with whom the college has contracted to provide a service instead of using college employees or officials, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent.
• A member of the SFCC Board of Trustees or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting a 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 responsibilities for the college.

Upon request, the college also discloses education records without consent to offi­cials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

Filing a FERPA Complaint

Complaints regarding your rights under FERPA should be sent to:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20202-5901

Directory Information Notification

SFCC has designated the following items as Directory Information and may disclose these items without students’ written consent:

• Name
• Address
• Date/Place of birth
• Telephone number
• Dates of attendance
• Hours completed
• Degrees and awards, including honor lists
• Previous educational agency
• Major field of study
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Photographs taken for identification or in college publications
• Email addresses
• Job placement records
• Height/weight of student athletes
• Current enrollment

You have the right to request to opt out of directory information while attending SFCC. To do this, you need to submit a Request to Opt Out of Directory Information form to our office. Your request to remove your information from the directory will remain in effect until you request otherwise.

SFCC is legally prohibited from releasing any other information contained in your education file to anyone except you. In order for other individuals to have access to your educational files, financial aid information or student account, you must complete and return a Student Consent to Release Educational Records form.

Transcript Information

SFCC uses the National Student Clearinghouse as our online transcript services provider. We do not accept transcript requests in person, by telephone, email, fax, or in writing.

Access the National Student Clearinghouse secure site and follow the step-by-step instructions on the request a transcript page