FERPA Regulations

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

All student records of Mt. San Jacinto College are maintained in accordance with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The two basic elements of the act are the student's right to review and challenge his/her record and the conditions under which information in the record can be released to outside parties. A copy of the complete text of this act is available in the college library.
Further information about the federal regulation may be found at: www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/

Student Records and Privacy Act Definitions

For the purposes of this policy, Mt. San Jacinto Community College District (MSJCCD) uses the following definitions of terms:

Student – any person who attends or has attended Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC)
Education records – any record (in handwriting, print, tapes, film, photograph or other medium) maintained by MSJC or any agent of the college that is directly related to a student, except:
1. 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 never been revealed or made available to any other person except the maker’s temporary substitute;
2. An employment record of an individual, whose employment is not contingent on the fact that he or she is a student, provided the record is used only in relation to the individual’s employment;
3. Records maintained by MSJC security if the record is maintained solely for law enforcement purposes, is revealed only to law enforcement agencies of the same jurisdiction and does not have access to education records maintained by the college;
4. Records maintained by health services if the records are used only for treatment of a student and made available only to those people providing the treatment; and
5. Alumni records containing information about a student after he or she is no longer in attendance at the college and the records do not relate to the person as a student.

Procedure to Inspect Records

Students may inspect and review their education records upon request to the appropriate record custodian. Students should submit to the record custodian or an appropriate college staff person a written request identifying as precisely as possible the record or records he or she wishes to inspect. The record custodian or an appropriate college staff person will make the needed arrangements for access as promptly as possible and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. Access must be within 45 days from the receipt of the request. When a record contains information about more than one student, the student may inspect and review only the records that related to him or her.

Right to Refuse Access

MSJC reserves the right to refuse student access to the following records:

The financial statement of the student’s parents;
Letters and statements of recommendation for which the student has waived his or her right of access, or which were placed in the file before January 1, 1975;
Those records which are excluded from the FERPA definition of education records.

Refusal to Provide Copies

MSJC reserves the right to deny transcripts or copies of records not required to be made available by the FERPA in any of the following situations:

The student lives within commuting distance of the college;
The student has an unpaid financial obligation to the college;
There is an unresolved disciplinary action against the student.

Directory Information

Mt. San Jacinto College designates the name, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight, height and high school graduation of athletic team members, photographs and degrees/awards/honors received, including the President’s Honor List, as directory information.

Unless the individual student files a written statement within the first two weeks of each semester requesting that the directory information not be released, the college may make directory information available to various agencies, companies and people.

Student names and addresses may be provided to a private or public school or college. No private or public school or college shall use this information for other than purposes directly related to the academic or professional goals of the institution.

Directory information and other personal information may be given to appropriate persons in connection with an emergency if the knowledge of that information is necessary to protect the health or safety of a student or other persons.

Disclosure of Education Records

MSJC will disclose information from a student’s education record only with the written consent of the student*, except to:

College officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the records;
To officials of another school or college, upon request, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll;
To certain officials of the U.S. Department of Education, the Controller General and state and local educational authorities, in connection with certain state or federally supported education programs;
In connection with a student’s request for, or receipt of financial aid, as necessary to determine the eligibility, amount or conditions of the financial aid, or to enforce the terms and conditions of the aid;
To organizations conducting certain studies for, or on behalf of the college;
To accrediting organizations to carry out their functions;
To comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena;
To appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency.

*Students must provide written consent in order to allow a parent, spouse, child, or any other designee to have access to view records or request information. A consent form is available at the Enrollment Services office and is valid for one year.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he/she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.