Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and prohibits schools from releasing student education records without the consent of eligible students.

All students enrolled in institutions of higher education, regardless of age, own their FERPA rights.

At CSC, it is our practice NOT to release any information (whether it be via phone, email, or in-person) to someone other than the student, without a signed FERPA release form from the student. Student's who wish to grant FERPA release to another person (parent, guardian, significant other, etc.) can do so by completing the  FERPA form

Parent/Guest Access to MyCSC

Students may wish to grant access to parents and/or guests to see information displayed within their MyCSC account. To set-up Parent/Guest Access, follow this Parent & Guest Access Tutorial

IMPORTANT: Granting Parent/Guest Access is not equivalent to signing a FERPA release form. If students wish for us to release information to another person, a FERPA release must be completed.

FERPA Begins and Ends...

A FERPA-related college education record begins for a student when he or she becomes 18 or enrolls in a higher education institution at any age.  CSC has defined the first day of enrollment as the beginning date when FERPA applies to the student.

FERPA rights (and the right to privacy) end at death, unless otherwise specified by state law.

Release of Student Information

All students have the right to control when their education records are released. There are several exceptions to when that permission is not required. In order to release their education record, students must provide a signed and dated written consent specifically stating what records are to be released, the purpose of the disclosure, and the party to whom the disclosure is being made.

FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions:

  • School officials with legitimate educational interests in order to perform their duties
  • Other schools to which a student is transferring
  • Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes
  • Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student
  • Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school
  • Accrediting organizations
  • To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena
  • Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies
  • State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law

Directory Information

CSC may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as:

  • student's legal name and chosen name
  • address (local, permanent, and college-assigned electronic mail)
  • telephone numbers
  • participation in officially recognized activities and sports
  • weight, height and photographs of athletic team members
  • degrees, honors, and awards received
  • major field of study
  • dates of attendance (only beginning and end dates of semesters)
  • year in school
  • enrollment status (full/part-time)
  • date of graduation
  • the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended

Students have the right to withhold the release of directory information.  To do so, they must fill out the Withhold Directory Information form

Students may also rescind this request at any time by completing the Release of Directory Information Hold.

Basic Rights of Students

  • Notification of their FERPA rights at least annually
  • Inspect and review their records
  • Amend an incorrect record
  • Consent to disclosure (with exceptions)

Annual Notification

Every institution must notify students of their basic FERPA rights at least annually.

  • The means by which that notice occurs is not specified
  • CSC’s annual notice can be found in the Student Handbook

Inspection and Review of Educational Records

Students have the right to see everything in their "education record," except:

  • Information about other students
  • Financial records of their parents/guardians
  • Confidential letters of recommendation if they have waived their right of access. (Requiring a waiver of access is not allowed.)

There is no records retention policy under FERPA. It does not state what records you must make or how long you must keep them. Those are institutional decisions but records cannot be destroyed once they are requested.

Filing Complaints

Persons wishing to file complaints regarding this policy or its implementation, may do so with the U.S. Department of Education.

Family Policy Compliance Office
            U.S. Department of Education
            400 Maryland Avenue, SW
            Washington, DC  20202