Confidentiality of Student Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended [commonly called FERPA or the Buckley Amendment] is designed to protect the privacy of educational records, to establish the rights of students to inspect and review their records, and to provide a means of correcting inaccurate or misleading data. “Educational records” include any records in the possession of an employee which are shared with or accessible to another individual. Certain “student records” are not included among educational records under the Buckley Amendment. Among these student records are records held by educational personnel (such as faculty) that are not accessible to or revealed to any other person. Cottey College makes every effort to comply fully with this legislation.

FERPA regulations make clear that, in the case of students who are dependents of their parents for Internal Revenue Service purposes, information from the educational records of the student may be disclosed to the parents without the student’s prior consent. Parents must provide appropriate evidence of the student’s status as a dependent for Internal Revenue Service purposes. In the absence of such supporting evidence, the College will assume that a student is a not a dependent of their parent(s).

In communications with parents concerning campus life and academic matters other than those listed in the preceding paragraph, it is normally college policy to respect the privacy of the student and not to disclose information from student records without the prior consent of the student. At the student’s request, such information will be provided to parents and guardians. A candidate becomes a student at Cottey College when they first sit in a class or participate in a Cottey College athletic practice, whichever comes first.

Certain information is considered public and is released by the College at its discretion. A student must formally request that the Registrar withhold disclosure of “directory” information, except to College officials with legitimate educational interests and certain others as specified in the regulations. Directory information includes:

• student’s full name
• expected date of completion of degree requirements and graduation
• campus address
• degrees and awards received
• permanent address
• classification
• date and place of birth
• previous educational institution attended
• assigned student email address
• participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• campus phone listing
• weight and height of members of athletic teams
• permanent phone listing
• photographic, video, or electronic images
• dates of attendance
• class roster (only released to students in the class)
• enrollment status

Transcripts of academic records and statements of academic status are released to third parties only with written authorization from the student. A student has the right of access to their academic records. Students can access their unofficial transcript on MyCottey. If a student has any issues accessing the unofficial transcript or wish to view additional educational records, the student should submit a request to the Office of Academic Records identifying what records they wish to inspect. The Registrar will arrange access within seven (7) business days of the request and notify the student of a time and place where the records can be inspected.

Parents who have been granted FERPA permissions by a student may request educational records from the Office of Academic Records by submitting a request via email to registrar@cottey.edu and stating what records they wish to inspect. Requests will be processed within seven (7) business days.

A student has the right to challenge and request the correction of any contents of educational records that are considered to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights. Such a challenge should be directed to the Office of Academic Records via email to registrar@cottey.edu. This email should clearly identify the part of the record they wish to challenge and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. The challenge request will be processed within seven (7) business days. Depending on the nature and context of the challenge, some requests may require additional time to finalize a resolution. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the student will be notified of this decision and will be advised of their right to a hearing regarding the challenge. Additional information will be provided to the student regarding the hearing procedure when notified of their right to a hearing.

Students have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education if they believe that the College has failed to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The complaint should be in writing and sent to: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202-8520.