Privacy Policy

Records

 

Confidentiality of Student Records

The College collects and maintains records on each student to facilitate the instruction, guidance, and educational progress of the student. The records contain information about students and their education and may include, but are not limited to, the following types of information: identification data, attendance data, record of achievement, family background data, aptitude tests, educational and vocational plans, honors and activities, discipline data, objective advisor or teacher ratings and observations, and external agency reports.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Directory Information

According to the guidelines in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), EICC can release only directory information on a student without the written consent of the student. EICC defines directory information as the following: Name, Address, E-mail Address, Telephone Number, Date and Place of birth, Field of Study, Activities participation, Sports participation, Weight and height (for athletic teams), Dates of attendance (full- time/part-time status), Degrees and awards received, prior educational institutions attended, President's and Dean's list.

Notification of Rights Under FERPA for Postsecondary Institutions

FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their records. They are:
 

1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The college official will make arrangements for access and notify the students of the time and place for the inspection. If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
    
2. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask the College to amend a record they believe is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. They should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it 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 or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right of a hearing.
    
3.  The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position, 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, such as disciplinary or grievance committee, or 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.
    
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by EICC to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:
   
   Family Policy Compliance Office
   US Department of Education
   400 Maryland Avenue SW
   Washington DC 20202-4605

 

Disclosure of Education Record Information

(source: Guidelines for Postsecondary Institutions for Implementation for the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974 as amended)

 

1. Institutions shall obtain written consent from students before disclosing any personally identifiable information from their education records (with the exceptions as noted in sections 2,3,4 and 5 below). Such written consent must:
    
   1. specify the records to be released.
   2. state the purpose of the disclosure.
   3. identify the party or class of parties to whom the disclosure may be made.
   4. be signed and dated by the student EICC has the right to disclose information from student educational records if they choose without written authorization from the student according to the following guidelines:
       
2. Must disclose education records or components thereof without written consent to students who request information from their own records.
    
3. Institutions may disclose education records or components thereof without written consent of the students to:
    
   1. authorized representatives of the following for audit or evaluation of Federal and State-supported programs or for enforcement of or compliance with Federal legal requirements which relate to those programs (see 34 CFR 99.35 for additional conditions that must be met): the Comptroller General of the United States; the Secretary of the Department of Education; state educational authorities.
   2. state and local officials to whom disclosure is specifically required by State Statute adopted prior to November 19, 1974.
   3. Veterans Administration officials (not covered by FERPA but specified under Title 38, Section 1790 (c), United States Code).
   4. other school officials within the institution determined by the institution to have a legitimate educational interest.
   5. officials of other institutions in which a student seeks or intends to enroll on the condition that the issuing institution makes a reasonable attempt to inform the student of the disclosure unless the student initiates the transfer, or the written policy of the institution includes a notice that the institution forwards education records to other institutions that have requested the records in which the student seeks or intends to enroll (see 34 CFR 99.34 for additional conditions that must be met).
   6. organizations providing financial aid to students, or determining financial aid decisions concerning eligibility, amount, condition, and enforcement of terms of said aid.
   7. organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, education agencies or institutions to develop, validate, and administer predictive tests, to administer student aid programs or to improve instruction. Those organizations may not disclose personally identifiable information on students, and information secured must be destroyed when no longer needed for their projects. Institutions are advised to obtain such assurance in writing.
   8. accrediting organizations carrying out their accrediting functions.
   9.  parents of a student who have established that student(s) status as a dependent according to Internal Revenue Code of 1954, Section 152. (Institutions are not required to disclose information under this guideline and EICC may choose not to disclose).
   10. persons in compliance with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena, provided that the institution makes a reasonable attempt to notify the student in advance of compliance.
   11. persons in an emergency, if the knowledge of information in fact is necessary to protect the health or safety of students or other persons (according to 34 CFR 99.36, the working of this section "shall be strictly construed").
   12. an alleged victim of any crime of violence (as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C 16) of the results of any institutional disciplinary proceeding against the alleged perpetrator of that crime with respect to that crime.
        
4.  Institutions may release without written consent those items specified as public or Directory Information for students who are currently enrolled, provided the following conditions are met prior to disclosure:
    
   1. that the institution inform the students of information or categories designated as public or Directory Information.
   2. that students be given the opportunity to refuse disclosures of information for any or all categories of directory information.
   3. students be given a reasonable period of time in which to state such refusals in writing
       
5. Institutions may release without written consent those items designated as public or directory information on any student not currently enrolled unless that student, at his/her last opportunity as a student, requested otherwise.
    
6. Institutions may also disclose personally identifiable information from a student's education records to a third party if the eligible student has signed and dated a written consent from which is presented to a school official by the third party.