Student Right to Know Act

The law provides students with the right to inspect and review information contained in their education record; to a response to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the record; to challenge the contents of their education record; to have a hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory; and to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if they feel the decision of the hearing officer is unacceptable. The Vice President of Student Affairs has been assigned by the College to coordinate the inspection and review procedures for student education records, which include admissions, personal, academic, and financial files, and academic cooperative education, disclosure and placement records. Students wishing to review their education records must make written request to the official responsible for the records listing the item or items of interest.

Records covered by the Act will be made available within forty-five days of the request. Students may have copies made of their records with certain exceptions (e.g., a copy of the academic record for which a financial “hold” exists, or a transcript of an original or source document which exists elsewhere). Education records do not include records of instructional, administrative and educational personnel which are the sole possession of the maker and are not accessible or revealed to any individual except a temporary substitute, records of the law enforcement unit, student health records, employment records or alumni records. Health records, however, may be reviewed by physicians of the students’ choosing.

Students may not inspect and review the following: financial information submitted by their parents; confidential letters and recommendations associated with admissions, employment or job placement, or honors to which they have waived their rights of inspection and review; educational records containing information about more than one student, in which case the institution will permit access ONLY to that part of the record which pertains to the inquiring student; and confidential letters and recommendations placed in their files prior to January 1, 1975, providing those letters were collected under established policies of confidentiality and were used only for the purposes for which they were collected.

Procedures to Amend Records and Request Hearings
Students who believe that their education records contain information that is inaccurate or misleading, or is otherwise in violation of their privacy or other rights, may discuss their problems informally at a meeting with the author of the record and the Vice President of Student Affairs. If the decisions are in agreement with the student’s request, the appropriate records will be amended. If not, the students will be notified within a reasonable period of time that the records will not be amended, and they will be informed by the Vice President of Student Affairs of their right to a formal hearing. Students’ requests for a formal hearing must be made in writing to the Vice President of Student Affairs who, within a reasonable period of time after receiving such requests, will inform students of the date, place and time of the hearing.

Students may present evidence relevant to the issues raised and may be assisted or presented at the hearings by one or more persons of their choice, including attorneys, at the students’ expense. The hearing officers who will adjudicate such challenges will be designated by the President of the College.

Decisions of the hearing officer will be final, will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing, will consist of written statements summarizing the evidence and stating the reasons for the decisions, and will be delivered to all parties concerned. The education records will be corrected or amended in accordance with the decisions of the hearing officer, if the decisions are in favor of the students. If the decisions are unsatisfactory to the students, the students may place with the education records statements commenting on the information in the records, or statements setting forth any reason for disagreeing with the decisions of the hearing officer. The statements will be placed in the education records, maintained as part of the students’ records, and released whenever the records in question are disclosed.

Students who believe that their rights have been abridged may file complaints with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act office (FERPA), Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington D.C. 20201, concerning alleged failures of the College to comply with the Act.

Copies of the Act, the HEW regulations, Harper policies and procedures, the Harper College Student Handbook, and forms for use in implementing the Act, are available upon request in the Registrar’s Office, A213.