Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
- 鈥淓ligible student鈥� is defined as a student 18 years of age or older, or a student who enters a postsecondary institution at any age.
- 鈥淓ducation record鈥� is defined as those records that contain information directly related to the student and that are maintained by the educational institution.
The law provides eligible students with specific rights under FERPA:
- The right to inspect and review information contained in their education records within 45 days after the institution receives the request
- The right to challenge the contents of their education records, which are believed to be inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student鈥檚 privacy rights under FERPA
- The right to have a hearing if the outcome of the challenge is unsatisfactory
- The right to submit explanatory statements for inclusion in their files if they feel that the decisions of the hearing panel are unacceptable
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education (Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington DC 20202) concerning alleged failures by the institution to comply with FERPA requirements
- The right to provide written consent prior to the institution disclosing personally identifiable information from the student鈥檚 education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent
- Education records of other students, even if they are contained within the same record of the student requesting the review
- Financial information, including parental records
- Confidential letters and recommendations associated with admission, employment, or academic honors
FERPA permits the release of some general student information, known as 鈥渄irectory information,鈥� without the written approval of students.
起点传媒 considers the following directory information:
- The student鈥檚 name
- City and county of residence
- Photograph
- Major field of study
- Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
- Dates of attendance
- Grade level
- Degrees, honors, and awards received
- The most recent educational agency or institution attended by the student
- Student email address
Students who do not want any or all of this information released to the general public must sign a request form in the Office of Records and Registration no later than two (2) weeks after the first day of class each semester.
Registrar鈥檚 Office
(910) 246-5373
sccregistrarsoffice@sandhills.edu
The College does not provide access to or disclose a student鈥檚 education records to third parties without the student鈥檚 written consent except in cases of:
- Authorized personnel within the institution, including administrators, faculty, and staff members with legitimate educational interest seeking to fulfill their job responsibilities
- Authorized officials of other institutions in which student seeks to enroll
- Persons or organizations providing the student financial aid
- Accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function
- Persons involved in an emergency situation in order to protect the health or safety of students or of other persons
- Persons in compliance with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena
- Federal, state and local authorities involved in the audit or evaluation of compliance with educational programs,
- Organizations conducting studies for or on behalf of the institution
- Parents of a dependent student as defined by the IRS for tax purposes
- Directory information being released
- An alleged victim of a violent crime or non-forcible sex offense, to whom the results of a disciplinary hearing may be disclosed
- Parents of a student related to the student鈥檚 violation of any Federal, State, local or institutional law or policy regarding the use or possession of alcohol or controlled substance if the student perpetrated a disciplinary violation, as determined by the institution, and the student is under the age of 21 years of age
Sandhills is limited in the information we can share with anyone outside of the student based on federal law that protects the privacy and release of student education records (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)). This law applies to all colleges and educational institutions that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education such as Federal Student Aid.
There may be instances where a student wants a parent, spouse, or other third-party to have access to portions of their record (grades, billing, financial aid, etc.). This access cannot be provided without student permission. Once permission has been granted, access will remain in effect, unless revoked by the student, for the duration of the student's enrollment at Sandhills.
Instructions for Students to Grant Access to a Third-Party
- Login to
- Click your User ID Name located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and select Student Records Release.
- Click Add Person/Relationship and enter the requested information.
- Create a 4-digit PIN that you will share with the person granting access.
- Start date and end date are optional unless you want access for the person to be temporary.
- Choose the access you are allowing:
- Allow Complete Access鈥� Access to everything listed below OR
- Allow Select Access - Choose from the following:
- Student Account Information - Billing activity, charges, credits, payments, and balances
- Financial Aid/VA Benefits 鈥� Awards/Benefits/Loans, application data, disbursements, eligibility
- Academic Information - Final grades, GPA, enrollment status, registration information
- Check the box for authorization and click submit.
Once you have submitted the release, provide the person(s) you granted access with the 4-digit PIN you created. The person must have the 4 -digit PIN to request information from your student record.
You can revoke access from all persons by logging into Self-Service 鈥揝tudent Records Release and clicking the Deny Access To All button. If you only want to revoke access from one person, add an end date to their release.