FERPA: Your Legal Rights as a Student

Ogeechee Technical College will not release information about you, your whereabouts, your grades, or your progress in classes to anyone but you. Please make sure your parents, family, and friends understand that if they have questions about your records, they must ask you, not the college. What is FERPA? The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, also known as the Buckley Amendment, protects the privacy of student records. The Act provides for the right to inspect and review education records, the right to seek to amend those records, and to limit disclosure of information from the records. The Act applies to all institutions that are the recipients of federal funding. Who is protected under FERPA? Students who are currently enrolled in higher education institutions or formerly enrolled, regardless of their age or status in regard to parental dependency. Students who have applied but have not attended an institution do not have rights under FERPA. Student and Parent Rights Relating to Educational Records Students have a right to know about the purposes, content and location of information kept as part of their educational records. They have a right to gain access to and challenge the content of their educational records. They have a right to expect that information in their educational records will be kept confidential, disclosed only with their permission or under provisions of the law. Parents have the right to expect confidentiality of certain information about them in student records. Proxy Access A student can grant others permission to access certain information contained in Banner Web. This is called granting PROXY ACCESS. The PROXY is the person whom the student has given permission to. Students commonly grant parents or spouses access to their personal information. Due to the protection of students’ rights under FERPA, a student may restrict the information that a parent or guest is able to access and revoke access at any time. For FERPA updates and more information, please visit: OTC Registrar's FERPA Informational Page. NOTE: Proxies access records through e-mail, so you must know the e-mail address of the person you wish to grant access. For more information, click here. Educational Records Student educational records are specifically defined as records, files, documents and other materials that contain information directly related to a student and maintained by the college or someone acting for the college according to policy. Excluded from student educational records are records of instructional, supervisory and administrative personnel and ancillary educational personnel in the sole possession of the maker and that are not accessible or revealed to any other person, except a substitute. Additionally, notes of a professor or staff member intended for his/her own use are not part of the educational record, nor are records of police services, application records of students not admitted to the college, alumni records, or records of physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, or other recognized professionals. Records relating to an individual who is employed by an educational agency or institution not as a result of his/her status as a student are also excluded. However, employment records relating to college students who are employed as a result of their status as students are considered educational records. What is directory information? Institutions may disclose information on a student without violating FERPA through what is known as "directory information". This generally includes a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized sports and activities, weight and height of athletes, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received and other similar information. Each institution is required to annually notify students in attendance of what constitutes directory information. This notice must also provide procedures for students to restrict the institution from releasing his/her directory information. * Questions concerning FERPA should be referred to the Registrar’s Office.

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