Notification Of Rights

UNDER THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA) TO REVIEW EDUCATIONAL RECORDS

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:

1. The right to inspect and review your Rockford College education records within 45 days of the day we receive a request for access.

Education records* are those that directly relate to a student and are maintained by Rockford College or by parties acting on behalf of Rockford College. They include records relating to students who are employed as a result of their status as students. Examples include those documents maintained by:

Admission

Cumulative Academic Progress

Financial Aid

Career Services

Academic Advising

International Student Services

Occasional records, such as minutes from Student Government meetings, Probation meetings, and faculty meetings

To review your records, you should submit to the registrar, Vice President for Enrollment Services, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chief Student Life Officer, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) you wish to inspect. The College official will make arrangements for access and notify you of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the person to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise you of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

2. The right to request an amendment of your Rockford College education record that you believe is inaccurate or misleading.

You may ask the College to amend a record that you believe is inaccurate or misleading. To do so, write to the registrar, Vice President for Enrollment Services, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chief Student Life Officer, or other appropriate official and clearly identify the part of the record you want change. Specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will notify you of the decision and advise you of your right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to you when notified of the right to a hearing.

3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in your Rockford College education record, 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 services 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 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. Upon request, the College discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

Other exceptions include the release of information to persons or organizations considering or providing financial aid to students; to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function; to organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of educational agencies; to persons in compliance with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena; to persons in connection with an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons; to officials of the US Department of Education, the Comptroller General, and state and local educational authorities, in connection with certain state or federally supported education programs; to parents of an eligible student who claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes; to state and local officials or authorities to whom information is required to be reported or disclosed pursuant to state statue requiring disclosure that was adopted before November 19, 1974.

4. The right to expect Rockford College to make a reasonable attempt to notify you of a records request (unless the institution states in its annual notification that it intends to forward records on request).

5. The right to file a complaint with the US Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Rockford College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

6. The right to withhold directory information from publication.

Directory Information includes name, telephone number, dates of attendance, enrollment status, major field of study, awards, honors (includes Dean's List) and degree(s) conferred (including dates). This information may be released without the enrolled student's written permission . Currently enrolled students may request that this Directory Information be withheld by completing the appropriate form through the Registrar's Office. It must be completed by the end of the first week of the semester.

* Education records do not include: records of instructional, supervisory, and administrative personnel and educational personnel ancillary to those persons that are kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record; records of the Office of Safety and Security; records of students (18 years old or older) made or maintained by Health and/or Counseling Services; and records that only contain information about an individual after that person is no longer a student.