HFCN adheres to all requirements pertaining to the protection of student information. Our FERPA Policy, with information about Student Records and confidentiality.
FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)
Concerning their education records, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights. They are:
- The right to inspect and review the student’s education records: a written request should be submitted to the Director of Student Affairs. All legitimate requests will be honored within 45 days. Arrangements for access will be made and the student will be informed of the time and place where the records may be inspected.
- The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading: students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
- The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent: one exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (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 committee, or assisting another college official in performing his or her tasks. A college official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. HFCN FERPA release form.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education: 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 20202-5920
There are limited exceptions to FERPA regulations under which HFCN is permitted to disclose education records or personally identifiable, non-directory information from education records in connection with a health or safety emergency without student consent. The situation must present imminent danger to a student, other students, or members of the school community to qualify as an exception. This action is not taken lightly and only under circumstances that present imminent danger.
The college may make the following “Directory Information” concerning current and former students available to those parties having a legitimate interest in the information:
- Name
- Attendance dates (semesters and sessions, not daily records)
- student ID number
- Enrollment status (full or part-time, undergraduate or graduate, etc.)
- Level of education (credits completed)
- Degree enrolled for and major field of study
- Participation in officially recognized activities
- Degrees, honors and awards received
- Address
- Email address
By submitting the FERPA Release Form to the Registrar’s Office, you may also direct that certain “Education Record” information be released to a designated person. If the Education Record you want to give someone else access to is not maintained by the Registrar’s Office, the form should be provided to the college official who maintains the information.