Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Policy and Procedure
Date: March 6, 2012 Revision Date: July 18, 2014
Author(s): Shelley Bennett
Authorities: Administration Office, President, Vice President, Director,
Purpose
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (commonly referred to as the "Buckley
Amendment" or "FERPA") is designed to protect the confidentiality of education records and to give
students access to their records to assure the accuracy of their contents. The Act affords students certain
rights with respect to their education records.
Central State Beauty & Wellness College has adopted the following policy and established certain
procedures as contained in the statement below to ensure the student's rights to privacy will be
preserved.
A general policy statement will be published each year in the official student handbook. It will also
appear in each new edition of the Central State Beauty & Wellness College "Policies and Procedures
Manual". Copies of the policy statement will also be available in the Student Services Office,
Admissions Office and Business Office.
Policy
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, requires each postsecondary
educational institution to publish and make available to its students statements of policy which specify
institutional intent in the following matters:
1. Inform students annually of their rights.
2. Permit students to inspect and review their education records.
3. Provide a list of types and location of education records and the addresses of the officials responsible
for those records.
4. Inform students that no personally identifiable information from education records will be disclosed
without their prior written consent except when prior written consent is not required by the FERPA.
5. Inform students what institutional officials and other specified individuals to whom certain
information may be released without obtaining prior written consent.
6. Specify which items of information will be designated as public or Directory Information.
7. Maintain records of requests for disclosure of personally identifiable information and permit students
to review those records.
8. Provide students an opportunity to seek amendment or correction of education records.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, is a Federal law which states (a)
that a written institutional policy must be established and (b) that a statement of adopted procedures
covering the privacy rights of students be made available. The law provides that the institution will
maintain the confidentiality of student education records.
Central State Beauty & Wellness College accords all the rights under the law to students who are
declared independent. No one outside the institution shall have access to nor will the institution disclose
any information from students' education records without the written consent of students except to
personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, or are
currently enrolled, to persons or organizations providing students financial aid, to accrediting agencies
carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, to the provider
or creator of the education records, to state and local educational officials, and to persons in an
emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. All these exceptions are
permitted under the Act.
Within the Central State Beauty & Wellness College community, only those members, individually or
collectively, acting in the students' educational interest are allowed access to student education records.
Additionally, all rights of parents under FERPA, including the right to inspect and review education
records, to seek to have education records amended in certain circumstances, and to consent to the
disclosure of education records, transfer to the student once the student has reached 18 years of age or
attends a postsecondary institution and thereby becomes an “eligible student.” Even after a student has
become an “eligible student” under FERPA, postsecondary institutions may allow parents to have access
to their child’s education records, without the student’s consent, in the following circumstances: the
student is a dependent for Federal income tax purposes (Parents of 17 years of age and under students
will need to provide proof of dependency for Federal income tax purposes); the disclosure is in
connection with a health or safety emergency under the conditions specified in the law (i.e. if knowledge
of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals); and for
postsecondary students, the student violated any Federal, State or local law, or any rule or policy of the
institution governing the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance, if the institution
determines that the student has committed a disciplinary violation regarding that use or possession and
the student is under 21 at the time of disclosure.
At its discretion, the institution may provide Directory Information in accordance with the provisions of
the Act to include but not limited to: student name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth,
electronic mail address, photograph, major field of study, dates of attendance, (attendance is defined as
attendance in person or correspondence via video conference, satellite, internet, or other electronic
information and telecommunications technologies), degrees, honors and awards received, the most
recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the students, participation in officially
recognized activities and sports, and weight and height of members of athletic teams. Students may
withhold Directory Information by notifying the Admissions Office or Student Services Office in
writing within two weeks after the first day of class. A printed form for this purpose is available in the
Admissions or Student Services Offices. See Appendix A
Requests for non-disclosure will be honored by the institution until the student rescinds the request in
writing.
The law provides students with the right to inspect and review information contained in their education
records, to challenge the contents of their education records, to have a hearing if the outcome of the
challenge is unsatisfactory, and to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if the
decisions of the hearing panels are unacceptable. The Business Office at Central State Beauty &
Wellness College has been designated by the institution to coordinate the inspection and review
procedures for student education records, which include admissions, personal, academic, and financial
files, and academic cooperative education and placement records. Students wishing to review their
education records must make written requests to the Business Office listing the item or items of interest.
Forms for this purpose are available in the Student Services Office. Only records covered by the Act will
be made available no later than 10 working days of the request. Students who believe that their
education records contain information that is inaccurate or misleading, or is otherwise in violation of
their privacy or other rights may discuss their problems informally with the Student Services Office or
the Business Office. If the decisions are in agreement with the students' requests, the appropriate records
may be amended. If not, a student may request a formal hearing, which must be made in writing to the
President or Vice President.
Decisions of the President or Vice President will be based solely on the evidence presented at the
hearing, and will consist of written statements summarizing the evidence and stating the reasons for the
decisions, and will be delivered to all parties concerned. The education records will be corrected or
amended in accordance with the decisions of the President or Vice President, if the decisions are in favor
of the students. If the decisions are unsatisfactory to the students, the students may place with the
education records statements commenting on the information in the records, or statements setting forth
any reasons for disagreeing with the decisions of the President or Vice President.
Students who believe that the adjudications of their challenges were unfair or not in keeping with the
provisions of the Act may file complaints with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Office
(FERPA), Department of Education, Room 4074, Switzer Building, Washington, D.C. 20202.
Revisions and clarifications will be published as experience with the law and institution's policy
warrants.
Further information and request forms are available in the Business Office or Student Services Office
PUBLIC NOTICE DESIGNATING DIRECTORY INFORMATION
Central State Beauty & Wellness College hereby designates the following categories of student
information as public or “Directory Information.” Such information may be disclosed by the institution
for any purpose, at its discretion in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974, as amended.
1. Student’s name, address, telephone number
2. Date and place of birth
3. Major field(s) of study
4. Dates of attendance (Attendance is defined as attendance in person or correspondence via video
conference, satellite, internet, or other electronic information and telecommunications technologies)
5. Degrees, honors and awards received
6. Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
7. Weight and height of athletic team members
8. The most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the students
9. Electronic mail address
10. Photograph
Access to Student Records
The College guarantees the rights of students, and guardians if student is a dependent minor, to access
their cumulative records while in the presence of a staff person.
The College requires written consent from the student or guardian to release records in response to each
third party request unless otherwise required by law. See Appendix B
Student records are the property of the school and may not be removed from school premises. Copies
may be furnished to the student or guardian only upon written request at $1.00 per page. Copies of
student records will be furnished to third parties only when the student or guardian has requested and
specified to whom records are to be sent in writing. Requests must be signed and dated. The College
reserves the right to provide and permit access to students’ and other school records as required for any
process initiated by institution or by the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts & Sciences, or
in response to a directive of the Commission, the U.S. Department of Education, or any other local, state
or federal government agency.
Cumulative academic and financial records will be maintained on each student for a minimum of 3
years.
FERPA Information for Faculty
CSBA / CSMA FERPA Guidelines
Posting grades
The public posting of grades either by the student's name, institutional student identification number or
social security number, without the student's written permission, is a violation of FERPA. Even with
names obscured, numeric student identifiers are considered personally identifiable information and
therefore posting grades by student ID number violates FERPA. Instructors can assign students unique
numbers or codes that can be used to post grades. However, the order of the posting must not be
alphabetic.
Returning assignments
Leaving personally identifiable, graded papers unattended for students to view is no different from
posting grades in the hallway or office. If these papers contain "personally identifiable" information,
leaving them unattended for anyone to see is a violation of FERPA if the instructor has not obtained the
written permission of each student to do so. The appropriate way to distribute grades and graded papers
would be to hand these items to the student personally. If this is not possible, leave the documents with
an assistant or other staff who would ask students for proper identification prior to distributing them or
to distribute them in a sealed envelope with only the student's name on it.
Sending grades to students
Instructors can notify students of their final grades via the U.S. Mail if the information is enclosed in an
envelope. Notification of grades via a postcard violates a student's privacy. Notification of grades via
email is permissible.
Access to student records
Although faculty members are considered "school officials," FERPA prevents them from having
unfettered access to all student records. Faculty members have to demonstrate "a legitimate educational
interest" in the particular academic records to which they seek access, by identifying the purpose for
which they seek access, e.g., advising students, making disability accommodations, assessing an
application for a transfer or re-admittance, etc.
Parents requesting information
Scores and grades on papers and exams, progress in a course, and deficiencies in a subject area, etc., are
all examples of personally identifiable information that make up part of the student's education record.
This information is protected under FERPA and parents may not have access to such information unless
the student has provided written consent to release this information to the parent or the parent has
demonstrated that the student is a dependent. Before talking to someone about a student or releasing
information from an education record to a third party, including a parent, a faculty member should
consult with the Student Services Office or Business Office to determine whether the student has
consented to the release of information to that person.
Crisis situations/emergencies
If non-directory information is needed to resolve a crisis or emergency situation, an education institution
may release that information if the institution determines that the information is "necessary to protect the
health or safety of the student or other individuals." When CSBA / CSMA is contacted to provide nondirectory information in such a situation, including the location of a student on campus or the course
schedule of a student, the request for information is referred to the Student Services Office and /or
Business Office who will determine an appropriate response to the request.
Letters of recommendation
Faculty members are frequently requested to provide letters of recommendation to students. Faculty
should be aware that some or all of the information that might be included in such a letter could
constitute an "education record" which cannot be released to a third party without the consent of the
student. Thus, before providing a student with a written or oral recommendation, the faculty member
should obtain written consent from the student to release information from education records (e.g.,
grades, GPA and other non-directory information). See Appendix B in the official policy for a consent
form. The faculty member should be aware that the student has the right to later review the letter of
recommendation in his or her file, unless the student has waived the right to review the record, in
writing. Thus, if the faculty member does not want the student to have access to the letter, he or she
should obtain a written waiver from the student of this right (a waiver is included on the student
reference request form) and maintain a copy of the waiver in the student's file with the letter of
recommendation. See Appendix C
FERPA Information for Staff
CSBA / CSMA FERPA Guidelines
Who can have access to student information?
An institution may disclose personally identifiable information without the student's written consent to
"school officials" whom the institution has determined to have a "legitimate educational interest."
Obligation to release directory information
An institution is not obligated to release directory information to anyone. FERPA only says that an
institution MAY release information, but there is no obligation to do so. When in doubt, do not release
information.
Deceased students
The privacy rights of an individual expire with that individual's death. Thus, records held by an
institution for a deceased person are not protected by FERPA and an institution may disclose such
records upon request. However, the policy at Central State Beauty & Wellness College / Central State
Massage College is that education records will not be released, unless the request is from the executor of
the student's estate or next of kin. In such case, the school may provide education records, if the
requester provides the school with proof of death and identification. If you receive a request for
information related to a deceased student, contact the Student Services Office or Business Office.
Financial holds
Students have the right to inspect the contents of their student folder, regardless of their financial status
with the institution. However, an institution is NOT REQUIRED to release an official transcript if the
student has a past due account.
Release of information to a student over the telephone
FERPA does not prohibit releasing non-directory information to a student over the phone. However,
staff should confirm the identity of the student prior to releasing information over the phone by verifying
the student's social security number and parent or guardian name and address.
Subpoenas
At CSBA / CSMA, all subpoenas are first reviewed by the Business Office to determine the appropriate
course of action.
Prohibition on re-disclosure
Except where not required under FERPA regulations (e.g., disclosures to parents, disclosures of
directory information, disclosures pursuant to court order or subpoenas, and under the USA PATRIOT
Act), the school must inform all third parties to whom personal information from a student's education
record is released that no further release of such information is authorized without written consent of the
student.
Documentation of disclosures
FERPA requires that if education records are provided to third parties, a record of the disclosure must be
maintained with the student's education records.
Crisis situations/emergencies
If non-directory information is needed to resolve a crisis or emergency situation, an education institution
may release that information if the institution determines that the information is "necessary to protect the
health or safety of the student or other individuals." When CSBA / CSMA is contacted to provide nondirectory information in such a situation, including the location of a student on campus or the course
schedule of a student, the request for information is referred to the Student Services Office and/or
Business Office who will determine the appropriate response to the request.
Who to contact with questions/concerns
General questions or suggestions may be directed to the Student Services Office or the Business Office.
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
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