First Stop

For the purposes of this policy, Southwestern Oregon Community College has used the following definitions of terms.

The college – Southwestern Oregon Community College

Disclosure - To permit access to or the release, transfer, or other communication of education records, or the personally identifiable information containing those records to any party, by any means.

Education Records - any record maintained by Southwestern Oregon Community College or an agent of The College which is directly related to a student, except the following.

1. Records of instructional, supervisory and administrative personnel and educational personnel that are kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.
2. Records of the law enforcement unit of the college.
3. Records relating to an individual who is employed by the college, that are made and maintained in the normal course of business, that relate exclusively to the individual in that individual's capacity as an employee and that are not available for use for any other purpose. Records relating to an individual in attendance at the college who is employed as a result of his or her status as a student are education records and are not excepted under this subsection.
4. Faculty records, relating to personal matters of faculty members such as conduct, personal and academic evaluations, and disciplinary actions.
5. Records on a student that are:
   1. Made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in his or her professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity;
   2. Made, maintained, or used only in connection with treatment of the student; and
   3. Disclosed only to individuals providing the treatment. For the purpose of this definition, "treatment" does not include remedial educational activities or activities that are part of the program of instruction at the college.
6. Records that only contain information relating to activities in which an individual engaged after he or she was no longer a student at the college.
7. Medical or nursing records which are made or maintained separately and solely by a licensed health care professional and which are not used for education purposes or planning.
8. "Personally identifiable information" includes, but is not limited to:
   1. Student's name;
   2. The name of the student's parents, children, spouse or other family members;
   3. Address of the student or the student's family;
   4. Telephone number of the student or the student's family;
   5. A personal identifier, such as the student's social security number or student number; and
   6. A list of personal characteristics that would make the student's identity easily traceable, or other information that would make the student's identity easily traceable.

Oregon Community College Unified Reporting System (OCCURS) describes an informal consortium of community colleges, the Office of Community College Services and the Oregon Community College Association, acting together to provide standard data and reporting formats necessary to improve community college programs, evaluate program effectiveness, and report to various governing bodies and agencies. OCCURS staff and committees acting in support of OCCURS are agents of the consortium members for the purposes of this policy and State law.

Student - any person who attends or has attended Southwestern Oregon Community College.

The first day of classes of the first term a student is enrolled at Southwestern Oregon Community College is when a student becomes protected under FERPA. The student will stay protected under FERPA even after the student no longer attends the college. A student is no longer protected under FERPA upon the student’s death.

Students will be notified annually of their FERPA rights and their rights under Oregon Administrative Rules 589-004-0150--0750 by publication of a summary of this policy annually in the schedule of classes. A copy of this policy shall be available on request to students.

Students will be provided any required social security number notice that relates to the extension of credit by placing such information on the relevant application form or other medium as deemed appropriate.

Procedure to Inspect and Review Education Records.

1. Except as limited under #7 below, students may inspect and review their education records.
2. Access shall be given in 45 days or less from the receipt of the request.
3. The appropriate college staff person shall respond to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretation of student records.
4. Upon request, the college shall give the student a copy of the student's education records upon payment of any necessary fees, except that no copy of test protocols, test questions and answers, and other documents described in Oregon Revised Statutes 192.501(4) will be provided unless required by federal law.
5. The college shall not destroy any education record if there is an outstanding request to inspect and review the records under this subsection.
6. The student may, at his or her expense, have those records defined above, reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student's choice upon the written consent of the student.
7. If the education records of a student contain information on more than one student, the student may inspect, review or be informed only of the specific information about the student.

College's Right to Refuse Access.
The college does not have to permit a student to inspect and review the following records:

1. The financial records of the student's parents;
2. Confidential letters and statements of recommendation if the student has waived his or her rights to inspect the letters and statements under the procedure found in 34CFR99.12(b)(2);
3. Records connected with an application to attend the college or component unit of the college if that application was denied; and
4. Those records which are excluded from the FERPA definition of education records.

Fees for Copies.

1. The college will furnish copies without charge for customary and ordinary requests. The college reserves the right to charge fees reasonably related to the college's actual costs when requests require extensive staff time to locate or process records.
2. Unless the imposition of a fee effectively prevents a student from exercising the right to inspect and review the student's education records, the college will charge a fee as set forth above.

Types, Locations and Custodians of Education Records.

The following is a list of the types of records that the college maintains, their locations, and their custodians.

The college will disclose information from a student's education records only with the written consent of the student, except in the following cases.

1. Disclosure to school officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the records.
   a. A school official is:
   i. A person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position;
   ii. A person elected to the Southwestern Oregon Community College Board of Education; or
   iii. A person employed by or under contract to the college to perform a special task such as the attorney or auditor.
   b. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official is:
   i. Performing a task that is specified in his or her position description or by a contract agreement;
   ii. Performing a task related to a student's education;
   iii. Performing a task related to the disposition of a student; or
   iv. Providing a service or benefit relating to the student or student's family, such as health care, counseling, job placement or financial aid.
2. Disclosure to officials of another school, upon request, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
3. Disclosure to certain officials of the U.S. Department of Education, the Comptroller General, and state and local educational authorities, in connection with certain state or federally supported education programs.
   a. The disclosure is for the purposes of an audit or evaluation of federal or state supported educational programs, or for the enforcement of or compliance with federal or state legal requirements which relate to those programs, and is to authorized representatives of:
   i. The Comptroller General of the United States;
   ii. The Secretary of the United States Department of Education; or
   iii. State or local educational authorities.
   b. Information that is collected under section a. above must:
   i. Be protected in a manner that does not permit personal identification of individuals by anyone except the officials referred to above; and
   ii. Be destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes listed.
   c. Section b. above does not apply if:
   i. The student has given written consent for disclosure by submitting a completed Release or Restrict form located at the Student First Stop Center.
   ii. The collection of personally identifiable information is specifically authorized by federal law.
4. The disclosure is in connection with financial aid for which a student has applied or which the student has received, if the information is necessary for such purposes as to:
   a. Determine eligibility for, amount of, or conditions for the aid; or
   b. Enforce the terms and conditions of the aid.
   c. "Financial aid" means a payment of funds provided to an individual (or a payment in kind of tangible or intangible property to the individual) that is conditioned on the individual's attendance at an education agency or institution.
5. Disclosure to organizations conducting studies.
   a. The disclosure is to organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions to:
   i. Develop, validate, or administer predictive tests;
   ii. Administer student aid programs; or
   iii. Improve instruction.
   b. The college may disclose information under this section only if:
   i. The study is conducted in a manner that does not permit personal identification of parents and students by individuals other than representatives of the organization, and
   ii. The information is destroyed when no longer needed for the purposes for which the study was conducted.
   c. For the purposes of this section, the term "organization" includes, but is not limited to, federal, state, and local agencies, and independent organizations.
6. The disclosure is to accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions.
7. The disclosure is to parents of a dependent student as defined in 26 USC Section 152 of the United States Code.
8. The disclosure is to comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena. The college may disclose information under this paragraph only if the college makes a reasonable effort to notify the student of the order or subpoena in advance of compliance.
9. The disclosure is to law enforcement, child protective services, health care professionals, and other appropriate parties in connection with a health and safety emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health and safety of the student or other individuals.
10. The disclosure is directory information and is disclosed in accordance with Directory Information, below.
11. The disclosure is made to the student.

Prior Consent to Disclose Information.

1. Student shall provide written consent before a college discloses personally identifiable information from the student's educational records except as provided under Disclosure of Education Records, above and in accordance with this policy.
2. The consent must:
   a. Specify the records that may be disclosed;
   b. State the purpose of the disclosure; and
   c. Identify the party or class of parties to whom the disclosure may be made.
3. When a disclosure is made, if the student so requests, the college shall provide him or her with a copy of the records disclosed. Records disclosed may consist of a list of the data elements listed in OCCURS records.
4. A record of consent shall be maintained for as long as the individual's records are maintained.

The college shall maintain a record of each request for access to, and each disclosure of, personally identifiable information from the education records of each student.

1. The college shall maintain the record with the education records of the student as long as the records are maintained.
2. For each request or disclosure the record must include:
   a. The parties who have requested or received personally identifiable information from the education records;
   b. The legitimate interests the parties had in requesting or obtaining the information;
   c. Colleges which maintain electronic records may flag those records to refer to disclosure information which applies to all students; and
   d. For purpose of ongoing submission of records to OCCURS, policy on data elements collected and transmitted shall constitute appropriate record-keeping.

If the college discloses personally identifiable information from an education record with the understanding authorized above, the record of disclosure required under this subsection must include:

1. The names of the additional parties to which the receiving party may disclose the information on behalf of the college; and
2. The legitimate interests under Disclosure of Education Records, above, which the additional party has in requesting or obtaining the information.

The college is not required to keep records of disclosures when the disclosure is to:

1. The student who is the subject of the record;
2. A college official with a legitimate educational reason; or
3. A party seeking directory information.

The student may inspect and review records created under this section.

The college designates the following items as directory information:

1. Student’s full name;
2. the fact that the student is or has been enrolled in the college;
3. local and permanent addresses and telephone number(s);
4. email address;
5. date of activities and sports;
6. weight and height of members of athletic teams;
7. dates of attendance;
8. class level;
9. major field of study;
10. number of credit hours (not grade or GPA);
11. degrees and awards received;
12. Photographs;
13. the most recent educational institution attended by the student;
14. job title(s) and dates of employment for student employees who have been or are paid from college-administered funds.

The college may disclose directory information without the student's prior written consent.

Students have the right to ask to have records corrected that they believe are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their privacy rights. Following are the procedures for the correction of records.

1. A student must ask the appropriate custodian of records to amend a record (see Types, Locations, and Custodians of Education Records Table, above). In so doing, the student should identify the part of the record they want changed and specify why they believe it is inaccurate, misleading or in violation of their privacy or other rights.
2. The college may comply with the request or it may decide not to comply. If it decides not to comply, the college will notify the student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing to challenge the information believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's rights.
3. Upon request, the college will arrange for a hearing, and notify the student, reasonably in advance, of the date, place, and time of the hearing.
4. The hearing will be conducted by a hearing officer who is a disinterested party; however, the hearing officer may be an official of the college. The student shall be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the issues raised in the original request to amend the student's education records. The student may be assisted by one or more individuals, including an attorney.
5. The college will prepare a written decision based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing. The decision will include a summary of the evidence presented and the reasons for the decision.
6. If the college decides that the challenged information is not inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's right of privacy, it will notify the student that they have a right to place in the record a statement commenting on the challenged information and/or a statement setting forth reasons for disagreeing with the decision.
7. The statement will be maintained as part of the student's education records as long as the contested portion is maintained. If Southwestern Oregon Community College discloses the contested portion of the record, it must also disclose the statement. Electronic student records shall be flagged to indicate a contested case hearing exists.
8. If the college decides that the information is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's right of privacy, it will amend the record and notify the student, in writing, that the record has been amended.

As used in this section "permanent records" include the following:

1. Name of the college;
2. Full name of student;
3. Student's date of birth;
4. Date of entry into college;
5. Name of school or college previously attended
6. Subjects taken
7. Assignments of student work in those subjects;
8. Credits earned;
9. Date of withdrawal from college;
10. Social security number (subject to Use of Social Security Number, below); and
11. Southwestern’s student identification number.

The college provides for the retention of permanent records in a manner secured from accidental destruction or intentional tampering.

The college will request a social security number of a student and will include the number on permanent records only if the student agrees to the request under the conditions described in this section.

The college is required by state law to request that students release their social security numbers for the purposes of record-keeping and research.

The request made to the student shall notify the student of the following.

1. Release of the social security number is voluntary.
2. Request for release is made under the authority of Chapter 806, Session Laws 1993.
3. Specific uses will be made of the social security number. Those specific uses must be described in the notification.

The request to a student to release their social security number shall conform to forms and/or procedures developed and published by the State Board of Education. Any alteration by the college in the wording or procedure must be approved by the Commissioner for Community College Services or designee under the authority of the State Board of Education. The approved release language shall be published in the college's schedule of classes.

If the college determines that it needs to use the social security number for a purpose other than those described on the disclosure form, the college may add that use to its disclosure form. The additional wording must be approved by the commissioner or designee before it is added to the disclosure statement.

Under no circumstances may the college require a student to release their social security number unless release is specifically mandated by federal law (as in federal financial aid law and payroll requirements). The college may not deny any student any right, benefit or privilege provided by law because of the student's refusal to disclose their social security number. However, this provision does not apply with respect to any disclosure which is mandated by federal law.

All students will be assigned a student identification number for user identification. This student identification number is "personally identifiable information" as defined above and is governed by disclosure requirements as set forth under Prior Consent to Disclose Information, above.

When the college extends credit in the form of student loans or deferred tuition payments, the college may request that the student voluntarily provide their social security number through a disclosure form separate from the form described above. Any such form may be revised by the director of Financial Aid or designee, subject to approval by the Commissioner for Community College Services or designee, prior to implementation.

A social security number is a primary identifier used in the credit and reporting industry, and collections can be seriously impacted if the college extends credit to individuals who do not voluntarily disclose their social security number for credit purposes.