Student Privacy and FERPA
Student Record

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly referred to as FERPA, is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of your student education record.

Who does FERPA protect?

All current and former FLC students, including students under 18. FERPA rights transfer from parents/legal guardians to the student when they turn 18 or begin attending a post-secondary institution.

What does FERPA protect?

Your "education record" maintained by FLC or another organization on behalf of FLC, like National Student Clearinghouse.

What about parents/legal guardians?

FLC officials will not disclose information from a student's education record without the student's signed consent. FLC Officials reserve the right to refuse to disclose a student's education record to a parent/legal guardian even with a signed a FERPA release form.

Access: A student has the right to inspect and review their education records within three days of the day the College receives their request for access.

• The student must submit a written request that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect to Skyhawk Station, the Registrar's Office, a dean, the head of an academic department, or other appropriate official. 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 College official to whom the request was submitted does not maintain the records, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be made.

Amendments/corrections: A student has the right to request an amendment to, or correction of, their education records if the student believes that record to be inaccurate or misleading.

• To initiate this process, the student must submit a written request to the College official responsible for the record, in which they 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 their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. When notified of the right to a hearing, additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student.

File a complaint: If a student believes that Fort Lewis College, or a representative thereof, has violated their rights under FERPA, they may file a complaint with the Department of Education.

Give consent for others to access your education record:

• • Release specific information to a person or organization (Enrollment Verification)
  • Waive your FERPA rights for a specific person (FERPA waiver)

There are exceptions under which Fort Lewis College may disclose information from a student's education record without their consent that include, but may not be limited to, the following:

• A school official with a legitimate educational interest
• Anyone in response to a request for directory information
• A parent or legal guardian who claimed the student as a dependent on their most recent federal income tax return (the parent or legal guardian requesting access must provide a copy of their previous year's federal income tax return to Fort Lewis College as evidence)
• Parents/legal guardians when their child/dependent under age 21 has violated the alcohol or drug policies of Fort Lewis College
• US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of reporting F (academic) nonimmigrant visa holder information for the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), as required by the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP).
  • Fort Lewis College is required to report certain information about students with F visas to Immigration and Customs Enforcement which is used by the Department of State and the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to monitor participating institutions and students.
• An accrediting organization acting in their accrediting capacity
• Officials at another school in which the student is seeking to enroll
• Certain federal, state, and local authorities for audits or evaluations of state-or federally-supported educational programs
• Persons or organizations granting financial aid to the student (does not include any payment made by the student's parent(s) or legal guardian(s); other restrictions apply)
• Third-party agents acting on behalf of Fort Lewis College
• Persons or organizations conducting studies on behalf of Fort Lewis College
• State or federal law enforcement in response to a court order or subpoena after a reasonable attempt to notify the student was made.
• Appropriate parties in the event of a health or safety emergency
• Recruiters from the US Military who request “Student Recruiting Information” (defined as name, address, telephone listing, age, level of education, and major)
• The Internal Revenue Service in compliance with the Taxpayer Relief Act
• The Department of Veterans Affairs regarding students receiving VA benefits
• The Attorney General of the United State (or designee) in compliance with an ex parte order under the authority of the USA Patriot Act
• The alleged victim of a crime of violence (including but not limited to sexual offenses) in accordance with the victim's right to know the outcome of the alleged perpetrator's disciplinary hearing pertaining to that crime.

• Prospective students' records, like application materials, are not protected until they officially "attend" FLC, which begins on the first day of classes of the student's first term of enrollment
• Records that are kept in the sole possession of the maker, are used only as a personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.
• Records of the law enforcement unit of an educational agency or institution, subject to the provisions of §99.8.
• Records relating to an individual who is employed by an educational agency or institution, that:
  • Are made and maintained in the normal course of business;
  • Relate exclusively to the individual in that individual's capacity as an employee; and
  • Are not available for use for any other purpose.
• Records on a student who is 18 years of age or older, or is attending an institution of post-secondary education, that are:
  • Made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in his or her professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity;
  • Made, maintained, or used only in connection with treatment of the student; and
    Disclosed only to individuals providing the treatment. For the purpose of this definition, 'treatment' does not include remedial educational activities or activities that are part of the program of instruction at the agency or institution.
• Records created or received by an educational agency or institution after an individual is no longer a student in attendance and that are not directly related to the individual's attendance as a student.
• Grades on peer-graded papers before they are collected and recorded by a teacher.

The Solomon Amendment is a federal law that allows military recruiters to access some information for military recruitment purposes of students aged 17 and older.

• If the student has submitted a Confidentiality/Student Record Privacy Request<link> to restrict the release of the student's Directory Information, then no information from the student's education record will be released as also specified in the Solomon Amendment.

The Department of Education determined the Solomon Amendment supersedes most elements of FERPA. Therefore, an institution must release data included in the "student recruiting information list:"

• Name
• Address
• Telephone
• Email address
• Age (or date of birth)
• Class standing
• Academic major

How releasing information to military recruiters works:

• The military recruiters may request student recruitment information once each term for each of the 12 eligible units within the five branches of the service:
  • Army: Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard
  • Navy: Navy, Navy Reserve
  • Marine Corps: Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve
  • Air Force: Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air Force National Guard
  • Coast Guard: Coast Guard, Coast Guard Reserve
• The request should be submitted in writing, clearly identifying the unit of service requesting the student recruitment information.
• The request should specify whether the information needed is for the current or previous semester.

Resource: The Solomon Amendment Brochure

• Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) -full text
• FERPA FAQ for students and parents
• FERPA General Guidance for Students

Fort Lewis College may, but is not required to, disclose "directory information" without a student's consent or knowledge. Students may request confidentiality of their directory information at any time.

Directory information at FLC includes:

• Student name*
• Fort Lewis College e-mail address
• Address (including local mailing, permanent, and graduation addresses)
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Photos and videos taken or maintained by the College, including SkyCard ID picture
• Hometown (city and state)
• Major and minor fields of study, concentrations, and certificates
• Dates of attendance
• Degree information (including conferral date)
• College-recognized honors and awards
• Classification level (e.g., first-year, sophomore, graduate student, post-baccalaureate)
• Enrollment status (full-time, half-time, and part-time, not credit hours)
• Participation in officially recognized College activities and sports, including the height and weight of athletes
• Most recent school attended

IMPORTANT: Although Fort Lewis College has designated the information listed above as directory information, FLC officials disclose only a limited amount of this information on a routine basis. The College retains the right to refuse disclosure of directory information if it believes such disclosure would be an infringement on student privacy rights or if disclosure would put the student in danger.

*As outlined in College policy, FLC recognizes that some faculty, staff, and students may prefer to use a first name other than their legal name. The College is committed to making every effort to use preferred first names whenever possible in the course of College business and education. This includes but is not limited to, the use of preferred first names in email addresses, directory listings, recognitions, and any printed materials. Please be aware that, when communicating with a third party about a student, it may be necessary to use their legal name rather than their preferred name.

At any time, students can:

• Restrict directory information with the Confidentiality/Student Record Privacy Request Form
• Remove restriction with the Confidentiality/Student REcord Privacy Restriction Removal Request Form

If a student requests that their record remain confidential:

• FLC officials will not acknowledge that student's connection to campus or the College in any way.
  • For example, if a third party contacts the Registrar's Office inquiring about a student who has requested confidentiality, Registrar's Office staff will refuse to disclose information of any kind about that student, including the fact that they are (or were) a student at all, degree or enrollment information, contact information, and any other information contained in the student's education record.
• FLC officials may still communicate information about the student and their record to other FLC officials when there is a legitimate educational interest.
  • The student must appear in person with a valid photo ID to conduct College business.
  • If the student cannot come to campus in person, they can still change their record, request the removal of the confidentiality request, and authorize the release of information to particular people or organizations.
  • To do any of the above, the student will have to submit either a notarized, written, and signed request on which the notary official verifies the student's identity or request a video conference with the Registrar during which they can show a valid photo ID to verify their identity.

The student’s record will remain confidential, even after they graduate or leave FLC unless that student reverses their request for confidentiality in writing. Reversal requests must be:

• Submitted by the student in person
• Signed by the student
• The student must be able to verify their identity with a valid photo ID.
  • If it is not possible for the student to appear in person, they can submit their request using the process described in the previous bullet.

EXCEPTIONS: Certain circumstances require FLC to release information about a student who has requested confidentiality. Those exceptions include:

• In response to requests from federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies
• "If the school determines that there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals and that a third party needs personally identifiable information (PII) from education records to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals" (US Department of Education).

School Official

A "school official" is defined as:

• A person employed by Fort Lewis College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position;
• A person appointed to the Board of Trustees;
• A person employed by, or under contract with, Fort Lewis College to perform a special task, such as an attorney or auditor.

Legitimate Educational Interest

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official is:

• Performing a task that is specified in their position description or contract agreement;
• Performing a task related to a student’s education;
• Performing a task related to the discipline of a student;
• Providing a service or benefit relating to a student or a student’s family, such as advising, job placement, financial aid, or housing assistance.

What is NOT a "legitimate educational interest"?

• Legitimate educational interest does not give a school official the right to any and all student information.
• Personal/private interests are NOT legitimate educational interests.
• Educational interest does not imply authority to disclose information to a third party without the student's written permission, unless that third party is acting on the institution's behalf.