As amended, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) protects students’ educational records from unauthorized disclosure. It gives students the right to access, review, challenge, and request exceptions to their educational records. Students may request a hearing if the outcome of a challenge is unsatisfactory and may submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their file.
Huntington Junior College accords all the rights under the law to students who are declared independent. No one outside the institution shall have access to nor will the institution disclose any information from students’ educational records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution, to officials of other institutions in which students seek to enroll, to persons or organizations providing student financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, to persons in compliance with a judicial order, and to persons in an emergency to protect the health and safety of students or other persons.
All these exceptions are permitted under the law. Huntington Junior College will disclose relevant educational information, such as attendance and academic achievement, to potential employers for students utilizing the placement services of the college only with a signed release. Only administrative staff and academic personnel can access student educational records within Huntington Junior College.
FERPA permits each institution to define a class of information as "directory information." FERPA allows public disclosure of directory information without the student's consent. Information designated by HJC as directory information includes student name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, major field of study, dates of attendance, degrees, and diplomas received, honors and awards received, and the most recent previous education institutions attended by the student. However, the student may opt to keep this information confidential.
Students may withhold directory information by notifying the Executive Director in writing. The institution will honor the request for nondisclosure of directory information or educational records to potential employers. Please get in touch with the Executive Director for a more detailed explanation of this policy. More details about FERPA stipulations and the release of information are available on the college’s Family Educational Rights Privacy Act Policy website page.
Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of any category of information under Family Educational Rights and Privacy. To withhold disclosure, written notification must be received in the Office of the Executive Director. Huntington Junior College assumes that failure on the part of any student to request the withholding of any category indicates explicitly individual approval for disclosure.