FERPA (The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act)

Policy Number: 300-07

Olympic College adopts this policy in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, (FERPA), and its implementing regulation, 34 C.F.R. Part 99.

Section 1. Ferpa Rights

FERPA provides a student the right to:

1.1. Inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the   date the College receives a request for access.

1.2. Request amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy or other rights.

1.3. Consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

Section 2. Obtaining or Viewing Education Records

2.1. To request a copy of education records related to a specific office, a student must submit a written request to the director or manager of that office (for example, financial aid, disability support services, etc.). If particular education records are not maintained by the school official receiving the request, the official shall advise the student how the request for such records should be addressed.

2.2. To request instructional or academic records for a specific class, beyond grades listed on the transcript, a student must submit a written request to the relevant division’s dean.

2.3. To request records from several departments, or more than one class, a student must submit a written request to the Public Records Officer.

2.4. To request a copy of an official transcript or get access to an unofficial transcript, a student may use the following link: Transcript Request.

2.5. The student must sign the request, describe specific records to be reviewed and provide the name the student used to attend the College, the student’s identification number, and the student’s last date of attendance.  Proper picture identification must be presented before the documents may be reviewed.

2.6. Access will be given as soon as practicable, but no later than 45 days after receipt of the written request.

2.7. Student education records will be maintained according to the retention policy set out by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

2.8. If health reasons or extreme distance from the College prevents the student from inspecting education records in person, then copies of the specific education records requested may be mailed to the student. The student must pay all copying expenses in advance of the mailing of the records.  Official copies of the College’s transcript for the student shall be provided after payment of the fee noted on the College’s website.  All other copies shall be billed at the appropriate cost, as determined by the College procedure. The student must sign and date the request, identify the records to be released or certified, provide the student’s identification number with the request, and submit payment to cover the records’ cost.

Section 3. Limits on Rights to Review, Inspect and Obtain Copies of Education Records

The College reserves the right to refuse to permit inspection and review of:

3.1. Financial statements of the student’s parents.

3.2. Records connected with an application to attend Olympic College, if that application was denied.

3.3. Records containing information about more than one student. The requesting student may inspect and review only the records which relate to the student, or a redacted version of the records that no longer contain personally identifiable information for other students.

3.4. Exempt documents excluded from the FERPA definition of education records and not otherwise available for inspection under the Washington Public Records Act.

Section 4. Directory Information

The College designates the following items as directory information:

  • Name.
  • Major field of study.
  • Enrollment status.
  • Dates of attendance.
  • Participation in recognized sports.
  • Degree or certificate earned.
  • Term degree or certificate awarded.
  • Honors.

The College may disclose a student’s directory information without prior consent unless the student informs the Registration and Records Office in writing that directory information should not be released without the student’s written approval. This can also be accomplished by the student directly via ctcLink. This request will prevent any release of information to a third party without a signed release from the student.  In addition, the electronic student database record maintained by the College will be annotated to prevent release of the student’s directory information.

The names of students who restrict the release of directory information will not appear in the commencement bulletin or other college publications. Also, employers, credit card companies, loan agencies, scholarship committees, and other organizations seeking to confirm attendance will be informed that the College has no information available about the student's attendance at Olympic College, unless such a request is accompanied by a release signed by the student authorizing the college to disclose the student’s directory information and/or other education records to the requesting party. 

Section 5. Disclosure of Education Records

In addition to directory information, the College may, at its discretion, disclose education records of students as follows:

5.1. To College officials who have a legitimate education interest in the records, including College administrative and clerical staff, faculty and students officially elected or appointed to the associated student government of Olympic College or employed by the College, including contractors such as the National Student Loan Clearinghouse.

5.2. To officials of another school where the student seeks or intends to enroll.

5.3. To authorized federal, state, or local officials as required by law, including the Comptroller General of the United States.

4.4. In connection with the student’s financial aid request or award when the information is necessary for certain purposes set forth in the regulations, including eligibility, the amount of aid, the conditions for aid or to enforce terms or conditions of the aid.

5.5. To comply with a judicial order, lawfully issued subpoena, or IRS summons. The College must make a reasonable effort to notify the student in advance of compliance unless the court has ordered non-disclosure.

5.6. To appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency.

5.7. To organizations or individuals conducting studies for or on behalf of an educational agency or institution, if conducted in a manner that does not permit personal identification of students.

5.8. To the victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense.

5.9. To the parent of a student under the age of 21, regarding the student’s violation of any federal, state, or local law, or the College rule or policy governing the use of alcohol or a controlled substance, if the College has determined that the student committed the disciplinary violation.       

5.10. To military recruiters authorized to obtain specific information under the Solomon Amendment.

Education records released to third parties shall be accompanied by a statement indicating that the information cannot be subsequently released in a personally identifiable form to other parties without obtaining the consent of the student.  The College is not precluded from permitting third-party disclosure to parties other than those listed above, see 34 C.F.R. § 99.31. 

Section 6. Log of Requests for Disclosure to Individuals Other than the Student or College Officials

6.1. A record will be maintained of all requests for access to and disclosures of personally identifiable information from the education records of each student except as stated below.  The record will indicate the name of the party who has received personally identifiable information, the legitimate interest the party had in requesting or obtaining the information, as well as the names and interests of additional parties to which the reviewing educational agency or institution may disclose or re-disclose the information.

6.2. A record of disclosure need not be maintained if the request of disclosures was from, or the disclosure was to the student, a College official, a party with a written consent from the student, a party seeking directory information; or in circumstances involving certain grand jury subpoenas or disclosures pursuant to court order under the USA Patriot ACT.  The College will inform all third parties (anyone outside the College) to whom personal information from a student’s education record is released that no further release of such information is authorized without written consent of the student.

6.3. Third party requests generally will be directed to the Public Records Office of the College.

Section 7. Requests for Correction of Education Records

Students have the right to ask to have their own education records corrected if they believe such records are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their privacy or other rights.  The process below does not apply to grade appeals.

The procedure for correcting records is as follows:

7.1. The student may request an informal discussion with the Registrar.

7.2. If the result of the informal discussion is not satisfactory to the student, and the student still wishes to have the record corrected, the student shall submit a written request to the Registrar for a change in the education record. This written request must state why the record is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of the student.

7.3. A student whose request for correction of the student’s education record has been denied may request a hearing by submitting a written request to the Registrar within ten (10) days following the denial.  The written request must be signed by the student and shall indicate the reasons why the student believes the education record should be amended.

7.4. The Registrar shall then provide a written statement explaining why the request for the change in the education record was denied.  The Registrar or designee shall convene a hearing to include the student and the appropriate College official and shall notify the student of the hearing within thirty (30) days after receipt of a properly filed request and at least ten (10) days before the hearing.

7.5. The hearing shall be a brief adjudicate proceeding, as provided in RCW 34.05.482-494, and shall be conducted by the Registrar or a designee.

7.6 Following the hearing, the hearing officer will prepare a written decision within thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the hearing, based on the evidence presented at the hearing.  The decision will include a summary of the evidence presented and the reasons for the decision.  A copy of the decision shall be made available to the student.

7.7. If the decision is that the challenged information is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the student, the custodian of the record will amend the record and notify the student, in writing, that the record has been amended.

7.8 If the decision is that the challenged information is not inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student’s right of privacy or other rights of the student, the hearing officer will inform the student of the right to place a statement in the record commenting on the challenged information and/or a statement setting forth reasons for disagreeing with the decision. This statement will be maintained as part of the education record as long as that record is maintained, and the statement will be disclosed whenever the Registrar discloses the portion of the record to which the statement relates. 

Section 8. Waiver.

A student may waive any of the student’s rights under this policy by submitting a written, signed, and dated waiver to the Registration Office or by filling out the appropriate form available online. Such waiver must be specific as to the records and persons or institutions covered.  A waiver is in effect until the end of the academic year during which it is submitted. A waiver can be revoked sooner in writing which is signed and dated.

Section 9. Annual notification of rights.

Olympic College will notify students of their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 by publication in the College Catalog and to each student electronically via email to the student’s Olympic College email address at the beginning of each academic year.  Olympic College also maintains a web page dedicated to FERPA information.

Section 10. Remedy for students protected by FERPA.

A student may file a written complaint with the United States Department of Education regarding an alleged violation of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act online or by mailing the complaint to the following address:

Family Policy and Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202-8520

Glossary of Terms:

  • Student:  Any person who attends or has attended Olympic College and regarding whom the College maintains education records.
  • Parent:  A parent of an Olympic College student, including a natural parent, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or guardian.
  • Third Parties:  Non-College persons or entities.
  • College:  A reference to Olympic College.
  • College official: A College official is a person employed by Olympic College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including safety and security and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee or assisting another school official in performing the official’s tasks.  A College official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill a professional responsibility.
  • Education Records:  Any record (electronic, in handwriting, print, tapes, film, photograph, microfiche or other medium) maintained by Olympic College, which is directly related to a student, except:
    • A personal record kept by a staff member, if it is kept in the personal possession of the individual who made the record, and information contained in the record has not been revealed or made available to any other person except the maker’s temporary substitute.
    • An employment record of an individual whose employment is not contingent on the fact of being a student, provided the record is used only in relation to the individual’s employment and not used for any other purpose.
    • Records maintained by the College’s Counseling Services, a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other recognized profession or paraprofessional acting in a professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity, if the records are directly related to the treatment of a student and made available only to those persons providing the treatment.
    • Alumni records, which contain information about a student after the student is no longer in attendance at the College and the records do not relate to the person as a student.
    • Law enforcement or campus security records maintained solely for law enforcement purposes.
  • Most Recent Revision Recommended by Jennifer Glasier
  • Recommended by Dr. Mitchell
  • Submitted to President's Cabinet for Review
  • Approved by President X
  • Submitted to Board of Trustees August 21, 2018, January 24, 2006
  • First Approved by Board of Trustees February 28, 2006
  • Published in Washington Administrative Code
  • Grammatical and Formatting Errors corrected by Thomas Oliver June 29, 2007