Disclosure of Information
North Central University complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). This Act was designed to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through formal and informal hearings.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Notice
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, provides certain rights to students regarding their educational records. All students are protected under this act from the time they begin attending classes at North Central University, regardless of age or minor status. Each year North Central University is required to give notice of the various rights accorded to students pursuant to FERPA. In accordance with FERPA, you are notified of the following:
- Right to inspect and review educational records. You have the right to review and inspect substantially all of your education records maintained by or at North Central University within 45 days of the day the University receives a request for access. A student who wishes to inspect education records should submit a written request to the Registrar identifying the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The Registrar or appropriate designee will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the requested records are not maintained by the Registrar’s office, the Registrar shall advise the student of the correct University official to whom the request should be addressed.
- Right to request amendment of education records. You have the right to seek to have corrected any parts of an education record that you believe to be inaccurate, misleading or otherwise in violation of your right to privacy. A student who wishes to ask the University to amend a record should submit a written request to the Registrar which clearly identifies the part of the record the student wants changed, and specifies why it should be changed. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested, the University will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s 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. If, after a hearing, the University decides not to amend the record as requested, the student has the right to submit a personal statement in which they contest the accuracy of the record, which will become a part of the student’s academic file alongside the disputed record.
- Right to give permission for disclosure of personally identifiable information. You have the right to provide written consent before the University discloses personally identifiable information from your records, except to the extent that FERPA and the regulations regarding FERPA authorize disclosure without your permission.
- Right to withhold disclosure of “directory information”. FERPA uses the term “directory information” to refer to those categories of personally identifiable information that may be released for any purpose at the discretion of North Central University without notification of the request or disclosure to the student.
Under FERPA, you have the right to withhold the disclosure of the directory information listed below. Please consider very carefully the consequences of any decision to withhold directory information. Should you decide to inform North Central University not to release directory information, any further request for such information from persons or organizations outside of North Central University will be refused.
“Directory information” includes the following:
- The student’s name
- The student’s address
- The student’s telephone number
- The student’s institution-issued e-mail address
- The student’s class standing
- The student’s course of study
- The student’s participation in officially recognized activities and sports
- The student’s degrees, honors, and awards received
- The height and weight of members of athletic teams
- The student’s dates of attendance
- The most recent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student
- The student’s photograph
North Central University will honor your request to withhold all Directory Information, but cannot assume responsibility to contact you for subsequent permission to release it. North Central University assumes no liability for honoring your instructions that such information be withheld. Forms for withholding disclosure of directory information are available from the Mail Center. If the completed form is not received by the Mail Center prior to Sept. 15, it will be assumed that all directory information may be disclosed for the remainder of the current academic year. A new form for withholding disclosure must be completed each academic year.
North Central University discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. School officials at NCU include the following: any person employed by NCU in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position, a volunteer serving in one of these positions, companies with whom NCU has contracted (e.g. attorney, auditor, collection agency), the Board of Regents, or students serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. Information will only be disclosed to school officials if they have a legitimate educational interest to access the information. 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 responsibilities for the University.
Upon request, the University also discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
Release of Educational Information
No additional educational information will be released, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent, without the explicit written consent of the student. Requests for the University to release student educational information must be in writing and must explicitly indicate what information is to be released and to whom.
Right to complain to FERPA Office
- You have the right to file a complaint with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Office, Department of Education, 600 Independence Ave S.W. Washington D.C., 20202, if you believe that North Central University has violated the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
- You have the right to obtain a copy of the written North Central University policy regarding FERPA. A copy may be obtained in person from the Registrar’s Office.
Notice of Possible Federal and State Government Data Collection and Use
As of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records—including your Social Security Number, grades, or other private information—may be accessed without your consent. First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is “principally engaged in the provision of education,” such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.