Annual FERPA Notification

MINERAL AREA COLLEGE Annual FERPA Notification

Notification of Student Rights Provided by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides certain rights to students with respect to their education records. Those rights are as follows:

The right to inspect and review the education record within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access.

Students should submit a written request to the Registrar’s Office identifying the records(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will arrange access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Mineral Area College provides web access to student records through our student portal, MyMAC, at www.mineralarea.edu, provided the student has established a password allowing access. Inspection of paper documents housed in the Registrar’s Office may be conducted in the Registrar’s Office located in the Arts & Sciences Building, First Floor, in Student Services on the Park Hills campus.

The right to request amendment of the education record if the student believes the record is inaccurate or misleading.

Students may ask the College to amend a record believed to be inaccurate or misleading. The student should submit the written request to the Registrar and clearly identify the part of the record that is believed to be inaccurate or misleading. The student should specify why the information 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/her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided in the form of notification to the student.

The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s educational record, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception that permits disclosure without consent is a disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, or support staff position (including the Mineral Area College Police Department). Additionally, a person or company with whom the College has contracted is considered a school official for this purpose; i.e. the College Attorney, an auditor, collection agent, Board of Trustees member, student serving on an official committee, student 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 educational records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

The right to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education concerning alleged failure of the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is the Family Compliance Office, United States Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington DC 20202-5920

Privacy and Release of Student Record Information/Directory Information

Release of student record information is generally not allowed by Mineral Area College without written consent from the student. FERPA allows certain exceptions to the release of student record information including designated directory information, emergency situations, subpoenas, court orders, and a legitimate educational ‘need to know’ for appropriate faculty or staff.

Directory information includes the following and may be released without the student's consent: name, address, telephone number, date of birth, photo, major or field of study, MAC email, dates of attendance, enrollment status, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, degree(s) or certificate(s) awarded (including dates), awards received, and previous educational institution(s) attended.

Students have the right to restrict the release of directory information by submitting a ‘Request to Restrict Directory Information’ form, available online or in the Registrar’s Office. The restriction will apply to all who inquire with the exceptions below:

According to FERPA, the College may release information without the student’s written consent to the following:

School officials, as identified by the College, determined by the College to have a legitimate educational interest in the student information
Officials of other institutions to which the student seeks enrollment
Persons or organizations providing financial aid to the student or determining financial aid decisions
Accrediting organizations carrying out their accrediting functions
A parent of a student who has established that the student is a dependent according to the IRS Code of 1986, Section 152
Persons in compliance with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena
Persons in an emergency situation, if the knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other persons

It should be noted that if a student asks that directory information be withheld, it will be withheld from a variety of sources, including: the student, friends, relatives, prospective employers, honor societies, and the news media. Students are advised to carefully consider the consequences if they decide to withhold directory information. Information regarding previous dates of attendance, degrees and awards, and previous educational agencies or institutions attended is always considered releasable.

If a student wishes to remove the directory information restriction, he/she must do so in writing to the Registrar’s Office. If a student does not specifically ask that directory information be withheld, the college will presume he/she approves the disclosure of directory information.

Information to Military Recruiters

The Solomon Amendment to FERPA requires the College, upon request, to provide “student recruiting information” on any currently enrolled student who is at least 17 years old to any branch of the armed services. “Student recruiting information” is defined by federal law as name, address, telephone numbers, age or date of birth, class level, degrees received, major, most recent educational institution attended. Recruiters must submit their requests in writing to the Registrar’s Office.

Questions regarding Mineral Area College’s compliance with FERPA may be directed to the Registrar’s Office at registrar@mineralarea.edu or 573-518-2119.