Nassau Community College
Notification of Rights under FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords all students attending
post-secondary institutions rights with respect to their education records. An “Education
Record” is defined as a record that is directly related to a student and is maintained
by Nassau Community College. FERPA rights include:
(1) The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days
of the day the College receives a request for access.
• A student should submit a written request to the Office of the Registrar that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. A College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the particular records are not maintained by the Office of the Registrar, the College official responding to the request shall advise the student of the correct Department and individual within the College to whom the request should be addressed.
(2) The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that
the student believes are 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 write to the
College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record
the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.
• If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will
notify the student in writing of the decision and of the student’s right to a hearing
re¬garding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing
procedures will be provided to the student when the student is notified of the right
to a hearing.
(3) The right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally
identifiable information from the student's education records, except to the extent
that FERPA authorizes disclosure without con¬sent, as described below. Nassau Community
College will not disclose information from a student’s education record without the
student’s written consent, except in the following situations:
• The College discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent to school officials with legitimate educational interests.
i. A “school official” is a person employed by the College in an administrative,
supervisory, academic, or support staff position (including Public Safety personnel
and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted as its
agent to provide a service instead of using College employees or officials (such as
an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees;
or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance
com¬mittee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.
ii. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs
to review an educa¬tion record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities
for the College.
• Upon request, the College also discloses education records without the student’s
consent to offi¬cials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll,
as long as the disclosure is for the purposes related to the student’s transfer or
enrollment in such institution.
• Disclosure to authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United
States, the Attorney General of the United States, the U.S. Department of Education,
state/local educational authorities, organizations conducting studies for or on behalf
of the College, and accrediting organizations.
• Disclosure is in connection with a student’s application for, and receipt of,
financial aid.
• Disclosure is to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
• Disclosure is to parents of dependent students, as defined by the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, Section 152. (While FERPA permits disclosure of records to parents
of dependent students without student consent, it does not require such disclosure.
The parent must provide a copy of their most recent federal income tax return establishing
the student’s dependency. Full rights under the Act shall be given to either parent,
unless the College has been provided with evidence that there is a court order, or
other legally binding document relating to such matters as divorce, separation or
custory that specifically revokes those rights.)
• Disclosure is to appropriate parties in the event of a health or safety emergency.
• Disclosure is to an alleged victim of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex
offense, when such disclosure is of the final results of any disciplinary proceedings
conducted by the College against the alleged perpetrator of such crime or offense.
• Disclosure is to the student’s parent about the student’s violation of any Federal,
State or local law, or any policy of the College which governs the use and possession
of drugs or alcohol, but only if the student is under 21 years of age.
• Disclosure concerns sex offenders and other individuals required to register
under section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
(4) 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. The name
and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Additional information about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act may be
obtained on the United States Department of Education website:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/
DIRECTORY INFORMATION
FERPA requires that the College, with the exceptions outlined above, obtain a student’s
written consent prior to disclosing to a third party any personally identifiable information
about that student. However, the College may disclose information designated as
“directory information” without prior written consent of the student. Directory information
is generally considered information that is not harmful or an invasion of privacy
if released.
Nassau Community College has designated the following items as directory information:
• a student’s name,
• mailing address,
• major field of study,
• enrollment status (full-time/part-time),
• dates of attendance,
• degrees being pursued,
• participation in College sports and/or activities,
• photographs,
• weight and height of members of athletic teams, and
• degrees, honors and awards received.
The main purpose of designating the above information as “directory” is to permit
the College to include this information in certain publications, such as: listing
your name on the graduation program, submitting your awards and accomplishments for
publication in a local newspaper, or printing your name in a playbill should you participate
in a theater production on campus. The College does not release any directory information
to commercial entities seeking to conduct solicitations or fund-raising activities.
Nassau Community College honors its duty to protect the confidentiality of student
records. However, the College may disclose a student’s “directory information” without
obtaining student’s written consent, unless the student has submitted a written “opt
out” request, to the Office of the Registrar not to release some or all of the directory
information pertaining to them. The opt-out form will be available in the Office
of the Registrar and may be filled out any time.
NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF OPTING OUT: Students who choose to restrict access to their Directory Information should be aware
that doing so may result in unintended negative consequences. For example, organizations
such as potential employers, scholarship agencies, members of the press, loan agencies,
educational organizations and others will not be given access to the student’s directory
information, and will not be able to contact the student. Opting out of directory
information classification may mean that you will miss out on valuable employment,
educational, cultural and other opportunities.
