Public Law 93-380, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day Moberly Area Community College receives a request for access.
Students should submit to the Registrar, Dean, head of academic department, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies 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 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. 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 information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
One exception that 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 agency); 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.
According to federal law, the College may, for a valid reason, release directory information without the student’s consent. Directory information includes information such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, enrollment status, and major field of study, college activities or sports in which the student participates, the height and weight of a student engaging in athletics, the dates the student has attended the College, degrees and honors the student receives, and the name of the school the student attended immediately before enrolling at the College. Directory information cannot include student identification number or social security number. Students who do not wish to have directory information released by MACC should make such a request in writing to the Dean of Student Affairs.
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Moberly Area Community College to comply with the requirement of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave SW Washington, DC 20202-5920
The text of the federal law as well as relevant policies and regulations is available in the Office of Student Affairs.