Student Records- Policy 3.040

Policy:

1. Confidentiality of Student Records
   
   A student's health and medical records, disciplinary records, required student and family financial income records, transcript or student permanent academic records, and student placement records shall be open to inspection only by the student or the parents or guardian of a student under the age of 18 and such members of the professional staff of the College as have responsibility for working with the student. Except as required for use by the President in the discharge of her official responsibilities, the custodian of records may release information from these records only upon authorization in writing from the student or upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
   
   
2. Access to Student Records
   
   According to Public Law 83-380 entitled Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, access to student records is limited and controlled by the following rules and procedures:
   
   
   1. Classification of records
      
      
      1. General student records contain the academic history file, the admission file, transcripts from other colleges, and the general correspondence file.
         
         
      2. Financial aid records contain all matters relating to applications for, granting, and receipt of any form of financial aid.
         
         
      3. Accounts receivable records contain any information relating to monies owed to the College by the student.
         
         
   2. Persons maintaining student records
      
      
      1. General student records are in the custody of the Registrar.
         
         
      2. Financial aid records are in the custody of the Director of Student Financial Resources.
         
         
      3. Student discipline records are in the custody of the Director of Student Life.
         
         
   3. Officials of the College have access to student records for official purposes only.
      
      
   4. Right of the parents and guardians
      
      The parents of a student who has reached the age of 18 years or is enrolled in a post-secondary program no longer have any rights under the provisions of this policy, unless the student gives written consent to release the information to the student's parents, or the parents provide evidence that the student is a dependent of the parents as defined in the Internal Revenue Code.
      
      
   5. Access, review, and challenge of records
      
      
      1. A student or parents of the student will be accorded access to a student's records within a reasonable time after the submission of a written request to the custodian of that record. Suitable arrangements will be made to permit the record to be reviewed in the presence of the custodian of that record or representative.
         
         
      2. The student or parent has the right to challenge the content of any record believed to be inaccurate, misleading, in violation of the student's rights, or otherwise inappropriate, and to insert into the record any written explanation of any matter in the file.
         
         
      3. The custodian of the record challenged shall conduct a hearing upon the matter at a reasonable time. The student or parent may present any evidence in support of the challenge. The custodian of the record shall make a decision at the conclusion of the hearing. This decision may be appealed by the student or parent through established procedures.
         
         
   6. Waiver of confidentiality
      
      A student or parent may consent to the release of any student information to any person or agency provided the consent is in writing, signed and dated, specifies the information to be released, the reason for release, and the names of persons to whom the information is to be released.
      
      
   7. Copies of material in a student's record will be furnished to the student upon request in person or in writing.
      
      
   8. Directory information
      
      
      1. Directory information may be released unconditionally by the Registrar to the general public without the consent of the student unless the student has specifically asked that this prior consent be obtained.
         
         
      2. Directory information includes the student's name, address, telephone number, E-mail address, date of birth, place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, enrollment status (full or part-time), most recent previous educational institution attended, and whether or not the student is currently attending Seminole Community College.
         
         
      3. Seminole Community College does not publish a formal student directory. However, when the College publishes the items named above it designates the information as "directory information." Each student is given a reasonable period of time to ask that such information not be released without prior consent. Students will be notified through published and posted notices; such notices shall designate a deadline to be met by those students who wish to withhold consent for release of directory information.
         
         
   9. Further information relating to this act may be obtained from the Registrar.
      
      Inspection areas for information and records listed above are located in the offices of the custodians of each of the various records and information.

Did you know?

In a recent survey, 95 percent of responding graduates said they would attend SCC again and 43 percent rated their overall SCC experience as "excellent."