FERPA Information

An education record is any information that is directly related to a student and maintained by an educational institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution, if certain conditions are met. Records are treated the same no matter what medium (handwritten, email, print, digital, etc.) that are in the possession of any school official.

Some examples of education records include: 

• Personal information
• Employment records (where student status is a prerequisite of employment)
• Grades
• Class schedules
• Printed class lists
• Graded test papers with personally identifiable information related to the individual student 

Exceptions: Education Records Do NOT Include:

• Records in the "sole possession of the maker that are not accessible to other personnel”
• Law enforcement or campus security records created and maintained by the law enforcement unit and used for law enforcement purposes
• Employment records
• Medical/psychological treatment records
• Alumni records (those created after the student graduated or left the institution)

Victoria College will maintain a record of the requests for and disclosure of personally identifiable information from the educational record of the student.  

The record of requests will state the names of the parties who have requested or obtained personally identifiable information, and the legitimate interest of the party in requesting or obtaining that information. This record of requests and disclosures will be maintained by the office that maintains the educational record and may be inspected by the student under the same procedures by which the record itself may be inspected. 

Exceptions to this are: 

• Requests for and disclosure of directory information
• Disclosure of information to contractors with a signed MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), doing work for Victoria College that the college would otherwise do themselves

Requests for student directory information should be directed to Victoria College’s Public Information Officer. Please visit VictoriaCollege.edu/PublicInfoRequest for details on how to request public information and charges for public information requests (including requests for student directory information).

Victoria College employees or “Victoria College Officials” are to act in accordance with FERPA regulations whenever representing the college. A Victoria College Official is a person employed by Victoria College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including Public Safety personnel); a person or company with whom Victoria College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Regents; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. 

Employees may only access and use education records as necessary to conduct official college business. A Victoria College Official exercises “legitimate educational interest” (interests essential to the general process of higher education, including teaching, research, public service, and directly supportive activities such as academic advising, general counseling, therapeutic counseling, discipline, vocational counseling and job placement, financial assistance and advisement, medical services, academic assistance activities, and co-curricular activities including varsity and intramural sports, social fraternities, specific interest clubs, and student government), if the official needs to review an education record in order to perform his or her professional responsibilities. 

You are responsible for protecting the student information in your possession. These are guidelines to follow when acting as a Victoria College Official: 

Individual directory information may be released without written consent, except when the student has completed a Non-Disclosure Directory Release Form which is available on the Victoria College Admissions webpage.

Directory information consists of information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if publicly available. Directory Information is considered public and may be released without the student’s written permission, however directory information cannot be released if the student has restricted access by submitting a Non-Disclosure Directory Release Form to the Admissions & Records Office.

• Directory Information CANNOT include: race, gender, SSN (or part of the SSN), grades, GPA, country of citizenship, or religion. Except in very specific circumstances, a student ID number also cannot be considered directory information.
• Every student must be given the opportunity to “opt out” or have directory information suppressed from public release.
• A “no release” does NOT mean that a school official within the institution who has a demonstrated legitimate educational interest cannot access the information.

Directory Information includes:

1. Name
2. Student ID number
3. Student VC email address
4. Address 
5. Telephone number 
6. Date of Birth
7. Major
8. Dates of Attendance
9. Degrees Awarded
10. Honors and Awards
11. Full and Part-time Status
12. Enrollment and Withdrawal Verifications
13. Student Classification
14. Most Recent Previous Institution Attended
15. Participation in activities and sports
16. Weight/height of members of athletic teams

Please note the Admissions & Records Office will process requests to restrict the release of directory information. However, note some information already published/released may not be retractable with respect to a student’s change in restriction status. A request to restrict directory information will remain in effect until revoked by the student by notifying the Admissions & Record Office in writing.

Victoria College officials (Vice President of Student Services, Director of Admissions and Registrar, Executive Vice President-Chief Academic Officer) may release non-directory information to a third party in the case of an emergency when knowledge of information is necessary to protect the health or safety of students or other persons.  

Information must not be released to third parties outside of Victoria College, including parents of students, without the student’s written consent. See the section titled “Parental Rights” for more information.

Non-directory information may not be released. If information is needed to help resolve an emergency situation, please refer these cases to the Registrar’s Office.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) § 99.10, students have the right to inspect and review most education records maintained about them by Victoria College, and, in many cases, decide if a third party can obtain information from them. Twelve categories of information, however, are public, or directory, information unless a student specifically requests in writing that some or all of that information be withheld. 

This may be done by the student submitting a Withholding of Directory Information Form to the Admissions & Records Office located in the Welcome Center. The request will be effective as long as the student is enrolled at Victoria College unless the restriction is removed by the student. Former students may restrict address and telephone information.

Victoria College officials may release information without a student’s prior written consent to the following groups: 

• Victoria College faculty and staff with legitimate educational interest
• Representatives of agencies or organizations from which the student has received financial aid, including banks and other lending agencies
• Officials from other educational institutions in which a student intends to enroll
• Individuals or groups specifically exempted from the prior consent requirement
• Federal and state officials, organizations conducting studies on behalf of Victoria College and accrediting organizations 

Adopt the rule “When in Doubt Don’t Give it Out!” If you are unsure who is entitled to access certain student information, or other records questions please contact the Admissions & Records Office via email at Admissions@VictoriaCollege.edu.

The rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student, once the student turns 18 years old or enters a postsecondary institution at any age. The right to inspect is limited solely to the student. 

The institution may disclose information to parents/legal guardians of a student under the following conditions: 

• The student has submitted a FERPA authorization through their Pirate Portal stating what data can be released and to whom data is to be released.
• There is an emergency situation, and knowledge of information is necessary to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. (Refer these requests to the Dean of Student Services or the Registrar.) 

All requests for student record information for a deceased student must go through the Admissions & Records Office. 

To avoid violations of FERPA rules, DO NOT: 

• at any time use any part of the Social Security Number or Student ID in a public posting of grades or ever link the name of a student with that student's social security number in any public manner
• leave graded tests in a stack for students to pick up by sorting through the papers of all students
• circulate a printed class list with the student, social security number, student ID, or grades as an attendance roster
• discuss the progress of any student with anyone other than the student (including parents) without the consent of the student 

Statements made by a recommender which are made from the recommender's personal observation or knowledge do not require a written release from the student who is the subject of the recommendation. However, if personally identifiable information from the student's educational record is included in a letter of recommendation (grades, GPA, etc.), the writer is required to obtain a signed release from the student(s) which 1) specifies the records that may be disclosed, 2) states the purpose of the disclosure, and 3) identifies the party or class of parties to whom the disclosure can be made."  Guidelines for Postsecondary Institutions for Implementation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as Amended, Revised Edition 1998, Richard A. Rainsberger, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

An application for students to grant permission for Victoria College to disclose or discuss their student record(s) can be accessed through the student's Pirate Portal. All other requests must be provided in writing on a case by case request.  Steps to Setup FERPA Authorizations

You may not release lists of students enrolled in your class(es) to anyone without a legitimate educational need to know. 

Do not provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than university employees in finding a student on campus.

Employees can view FERPA Authorizations that students have set up through the Pirate Portal. 
How to View FERPA Authorizations

In our current educational environment where the use of technologies is wide spread, it is important that we continue to work in accordance with FERPA regulations to the fullest extent. With new technologies however, additional issues arise about secure transmission of confidential information. 

Transcripts may be ordered online via Parchment or in person at the Welcome Center. Faxed or mailed requests are not accepted.

Faculty and staff utilizing e-mail correspondence with more than one student are responsible for restricting access to a student’s e-mail address if the student has requested non-disclosure of directory information. In 2009, FERPA was modified to state that a student may not be anonymous in a class even if they have restricted their data. The sharing of this information with other members of the class is at the instructor’s discretion, provided it is deemed appropriate for the success of the class. Students participating in such classes should be notified of this. An example of this might be the need to share email addresses in order to facilitate classroom interactions/discussions. 

Passwords allowing access to non-directory student information should not be shared and must be protected from unauthorized disclosure.

Electronic student records must be protected from unauthorized access.

Disposal of electronic or paper records should be done in a secure manner. 

FERPA does not preclude an institution from disclosing nondirectory information from a student’s record to the student over the phone. Victoria College is however, responsible for implementing the necessary procedures to verify the individual’s identity before any information is released.

Below is a list of sample questions that can be asked in any combination by college officials to verify a student’s identity, prior to releasing any information to a student over the phone: 

• student/campus
• identification number
• full name including middle name
• date of birth
• place of birth
• parent name and address
• high school attended
• major or program of study
• program of study
• recent courses taken
• current enrollment adviser’s name
• year of first attendance 

You do not need to ask all of these questions to verify the student’s identity. A random selection of questions from a pool of questions makes it more difficult for an imposter.

If you have questions regarding the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act you may contact: 
Victoria College
Admissions & Records Office
2200 E. Red River Street
Victoria, Texas 77901
U.S. Department of Education
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-8520