A variety of records are created and maintained by the college for students as they progress from admission through graduation. Such records are the property of LCSC and do not belong to the student.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) 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.
1. Education records: Records, in any media, that are directly related to a student and maintained by Lewis-Clark State College (LCSC) or by a party acting for the institution.
Records NOT protected by FERPA include:
2. Student: Any individual who is enrolled in a LCSC credit or non-credit course on the first day of the course.
Lewis-Clark State College considers the following Directory Information and WILL release this information WITHOUT the written consent of the student.
Lewis-Clark College considers the following Non-Directory Information and therefore will NOT release this personally identifiable information without the student’s written consent.
Student consent must be obtained before disclosing non-directory information, with some exceptions. Any information not defined explicitly as directory information is considered non-directory information. FERPA permits disclosure of non-directory information without student consent in circumstances outlined below:
As of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education's FERPA regulations expanded the circumstances under which education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records, including Social Security number, grades, or other private information, may be disclosed without student consent.
First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities ("Federal and State Authorities") may be allowed to disclose student records and PII to a third-party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal or state supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is "principally engaged in the provision of education," such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution.
Second, Federal and State Authorities may be allowed access to education records and PII to provide researchers performing certain types of studies, with information; in certain cases even when LCSC objects to or does not request such research. Federal and State Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without consent, PII from student education records, and they may track a student’s participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about a student that they obtain from other federal or state data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.
FERPA gives certain rights to parents regarding their children's educational records at the primary and secondary level. These rights transfer to the student upon reaching 18 years of age or attending any school beyond the secondary level.
Under FERPA a student does not have a right to access and review certain records including:
The Solomon Amendment requires colleges and universities to release information regarding enrolled students to the military for recruitment purposes. Students may restrict disclosure to the military by restricting all disclosure of personal information.
Students may submit a “Directory Information Restriction Request” form to the Office of the Registrar to prevent directory or non-directory information from being released. Placing a full Non-Disclosure hold on student records will cause any and all future requests for contact information from LCSC persons, on non-essential matters, and from non-institutional persons and organizations, including scholarship organizations, prospective employers, and transcript request, etc., to be denied. The restriction will remain in place even after students have stopped attending or have graduated from Lewis-Clark State College and will only be removed if rescinded in writing by the student.
FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights are:
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. Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the instructional division, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
2. The right to request an amendment of a student's education record that the student believes is inaccurate or misleading. Students should ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the College official responsible for the record; clearly identify the part of the record they want changed and specify why it 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 his or her 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.
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally-identifiable non-directory information contained in a student’s education records, except for those disclosures permitted under FERPA. FERPA permits disclosures of education records to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is defined as a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, 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); or a person assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.
4. The right to file a complaint with the Registrar & Records Office regarding any perceived FERPA violation. Upon receipt of the complaint, the Registrar will work with the V.P. for Student Affairs to investigate the complaint and take all necessary action to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
5. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning any alleged failures by Lewis-Clark State College to comply with the requirements of FERPA as set above.
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4604
The Registrar & Records Office will not release class schedules or locations for any student. In the event that a student needs to be contacted, a message will be delivered to the student. However, this will only be done in emergency situations where the health and/or safety of an individual are of concern. It is the responsibility of all students to make available their whereabouts to parents, children, spouses or anyone else they deem appropriate.
When talking to students about their records, LCSC staff must make a reasonable attempt to verify that students are who they claim to be. This applies to in-person, phone and e-mail exchanges. An exception exists for inquiries received from an LCSC e-mail account.
The Registrar & Records Office is the primary contact for all student information inquiries.
U.S. Department of Education FERPA site
U.S. Department of Education Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) site
Lewis-Clark State College contact: Registrar's Office, (208) 792-2223, registrar@lcsc.edu
