Privacy of Your Records - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Under FERPA, the college may disclose any items of directory information on any student, currently enrolled or not.

Directory information is designated student information that is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released. Directory information concerning a student may be released publicly.

Directory information allows Hawkeye to include this type of information about a student in certain school publications including, but not limited to school directory, yearbook, honor roll or other recognition lists, and graduation programs.

Hawkeye designates the following information as directory information:

• student’s name
• date of birth
• enrollment status (full-time, part-time, not enrolled)
• major field of study
• terms of attendance
• degrees, awards, and honors received
• participation in officially recognized sports
• photograph

Students have the right to prevent directory information from being disclosed by completing a Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information form [pdf] with the Registrar's Office.

Hawkeye will require a court-ordered subpoena to release any other information concerning a student’s record that falls outside of the designated directory information without the student's prior consent.

Hawkeye will make a reasonable effort to notify the eligible student of the court order or subpoena in advance of compliance so the student may seek protective action. Additionally, Hawkeye will comply with FERPA's recordkeeping requirements under 34 CFR 99 32 when disclosing information pursuant to a standard court order or subpoena.

In case of an emergency, the College may disclose personally identifiable information to the appropriate parties if knowledge of the information is deemed by the College to be necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals based on the following considerations:

• Nature of the emergency and need for information
• Relative assistance the parties can offer
• Amount of time available

The Dean of Students will be the responsible officer in emergency cases, and if unavailable, another appropriate administrator.

A school official with a legitimate educational interest may have access to student education records protected by FERPA.

A school official is:

• a person employed by Hawkeye in administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff)
• a person or company with whom Hawkeye has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent)
• a person serving on the Board of Trustees
• 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

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

Hawkeye may forward educational record information to requesting institutions in which the student seeks or intends to enroll if the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

Hawkeye Community College, according to FERPA-34 CFR 99.34, may also disclose educational records to officials of another school, school system or institution of post-secondary education where the student seeks or intends to enroll, or where the student is already enrolled so long as the disclosure is for purpose of student’s enrollment or transfer.

Solomon Amendment—Effective October 23, 1998, all colleges and Universities are required to comply with the final regulations of the Solomon Amendment. Information released is limited to military recruiting purposes only. Information released is limited to the current semester or the previous semester.

At the postsecondary level, FERPA rights have transferred to the student and therefore parents have no rights to inspect their student’s education records without prior consent from the student, unless governed by law to disclose the information.

The right to inspect educational records resides solely with the student.

Financial Aid Dependent Exception

Financial aid is able to be disclosed to the parents of a dependent student as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code, which is quite different from that of a dependent student for financial aid purposes.

Generally, if either parent has claimed the student as a dependent on the parent's most recent year's income tax statement, the school may non-consensually disclose the eligible student's education records to both parents, regardless of which parent claims the student as a dependent, under this limited exception.

The parent must provide physical proof of claiming the student for IRS purpose before the student's financial aid information will be released.

If a student doesn't want the Financial Aid Office to make the exception for parents, the student needs to provide a written statement.

Students can grant permission for Hawkeye to release information from their educational record to a designated individual by completing a Student Records Release in their Self-Service account > User Options (found in the hamburger menu) > Student Records Release.

The student must specify what information is to be released when completing a Student Records Release.

Educational record information you can choose to be released to a designated individual:

• Enrollment
• Grades
• Account balance/payment
• Financial aid

The designated individual(s) must provide identification and the student's chosen PIN number prior to receiving any information.

Students can designate an individual, as a proxy, to access their educational record online.

The purpose of the proxy is to allow the student to grant limited online access to a designated individual(s) to have view-only access to information such as:

• student grades
• financial aid
• account activity
• making a payment on the student's account

Students can designate a Proxy in their Self-Service account > User Options (found in the hamburger menu) > View/Add Proxy Access.

The proxy will receive a personalized user ID and password via email to access the information the student has granted online access to in Self-Service.

Students have the right to inspect and review their education records within 45 days of the day Hawkeye Community College receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar's Office or to an academic dean, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. A Hawkeye official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the Hawkeye official to whom the request was submitted, that official will advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

Students have the right to request the amendment of their education records that the student believes is inaccurate. Students may ask Hawkeye to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write the Hawkeye official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If Hawkeye decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, Hawkeye will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.

Students have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Hawkeye to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202