WAC 132X-60-050
Student records. In compliance with the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and
its implementing regulations, 45 CFR § 99, this policy has been
created to insure confidentiality of student records at the
college and govern the release of personally identifiable
information contained within.
(1) Education records. Education records are defined as
those records, files, and documents containing information
directly pertaining to a student. At South Puget Sound Community
College these are:
(a) Records pertaining to admission, advisement,
registration, grading and progress to a degree that are
maintained by enrollment services.
(b) Testing information used for advisement purposes by the
counseling center.
(c) Information concerning payment of fees as maintained by
the treasurer.
(d) Financial aid information as collected by the financial
aid office.
(e) Information regarding students participating in student
government or athletics that is maintained by the student
programs office.
(2) Access to education records. Students who are or have
attended the college have the right to examine or review their
personal records, as defined above, by submitting to the
registrar a written request indicating education records to which
access is desired.
(3) Directory information. The following information is
considered "directory information" and thus may be disclosed
without consent of the student, unless otherwise directed by the
student, at any time, to the registrar in writing: The student's
name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major
field of study, eligibility for and participation in officially
recognized activities, organizations, and sports, weight and
height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance,
academic honors, degrees and awards received, and the most recent
previous educational agency or institution attended by the
student.
(4) Disclosure from education records. In addition to
directory information the college will, at its discretion, make
disclosures from education records of students with the student's
prior written consent or to the following listed parties:
(a) College officials including college administrative and
clerical staff, faculty, and students where officially elected or
appointed to the ASB-SPSCC senate or employed by the college. Access or release of records to the above is permissible only
when the information is required for the advisement, counseling,
recordkeeping, reporting, or other legitimate educational
interest consonant with their specific duties and
responsibilities.
(b) To officials of another school in which the student
seeks or intends to enroll.
(c) To authorized federal, state, or local officials as
required by law.
(d) In connection with financial aid for which the student
has applied or received.
(e) To accrediting organizations, or organizations
conducting studies for or on behalf of the institution.
(f) To appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency.
(g) To persons in compliance with a judicial order or a
lawfully issued subpoena, provided that the college first makes a
reasonable effort to notify the student.
(h) To parents of a dependent student, as defined in section
152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, upon receipt of a
written affidavit stating that the student is a dependent for
income tax purposes. This, however, will not affect the other
rights of the student.
In cases where consent of the student is required for
release of education records, the student shall in writing,
signed and dated by the student, specify: The records to be
disclosed, the purpose or purposes of the disclosure, and the
name of the party or parties to whom the disclosure can be made.
When personally identifiable information is released without
prior consent of the student, other than directory information
and information released to college officials or the student, the
college official in charge of these records will record the names
of the parties who have requested information from educational
records and the nature of the interest in that information.
Education records released to third parties shall be
accompanied by a statement indicating that the information cannot
be subsequently released in a personally identifiable form to
other parties without obtaining the consent of the student. The
college is not precluded from permitting third party disclosures
to other parties listed in (a) through (h) of this subsection.
(5) Challenge of education records. Students who believe
that information contained in their education records is
inaccurate, misleading or violates the privacy or other rights of
the student may request in writing to the appropriate college
official that the college amend their record(s). The college
official(s) will make every effort to settle disputes through
informal meetings and discussion with the student.
In instances where disputes regarding contents of education
records cannot be resolved by the parties concerned, the college
official involved shall advise the student of the right to a
hearing by the academic standards committee through a written
request to the administrator for enrollment services. Should the
academic standards committee deem that the education records in
question are inaccurate or misleading, the committee can ask that
the records be amended by the appropriate college official. If
the education records are held to be accurate, the student shall
be granted the opportunity to place within those records a
personal statement commenting upon the information contained
within.
Each eligible student is afforded the right to file a
complaint concerning alleged failures by the college to comply
with the requirements of the act. The address of the office
designated to investigate, process, and review violations and
complaints which are filed is:
The Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act Office (FERPA)
Department of Health, Education
and Welfare
330 Independence Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Copies of the Federal Register pertaining to the Family
Education Rights and Privacy Act may be obtained from: