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You
Can't Always Get What You Want
(Unless
You Know These Rules)
Would you
like ltasca Community College to be able to provide you with
information on a student's academic progress or even tuition
balance? You may be surprised to learn that in most cases,
ICC will need written consent from the student.
Why Does
Itasca Need to Protect the Privacy of Student Records?
It's not
just a school policy; it's the law.
Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities are subject to federal law - The Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) - and state law - the
Minnesota Government Date Practices Act (MGDPA) - which contain
detailed rules about student record privacy. One key
provision of these laws is that college and university students have
the right to control disclosure of private education records about
themselves to third parties - including parents, spouses or other
family members. These rights apply to all college or
university students - even if they are minors.
(Records of a PSEO student are routinely shared with
the high school where the student is also in
attendance. Parents are presumed to have access to
a student's records at the high school unless the student is age 18 or
older.)
What Is
an "Education Record?"
"Education
records" that are subject to these privacy laws encompass a wide scope
of information. Examples of education records include the
following:
Schools may release private education
records to third parties - including family members - only if the law
permits or if the student has a signed a valid authorization.
Of course, students themselves may release
their own information as they wish.
When May School Officials Release Private Education Records to Family Members?
It depends on a number of factors; some
situations do not require the student's consent. For example,
where the health or safety of the student or others is in danger,
school officials may release information in order to deal with that
emergency. Those are rare situations.
In most circumstances, family members will
need to show a signed, dated authorization for release of
information. An Information Release Form can be printed from the "Forms" page or picked up in
the ICC Admissions/Records Office, Room 108 Backes Student
Center.
However, any document that includes the
following can also be used:
-
Who is authorized to release the
information
-
To whom the information may be
released
-
What information may be released
-
The purpose for which the information
will be used
-
The student's signature and date
A simple email from the student is not a
sufficient authorization.
Send the completed form to:
Admissions/Records Office, Itasca Community College, 1851 E Hwy 169,
Grand Rapids, MN 55744-3397.
An original release form is not
required. School officials may honor a copy of a valid
release, including a fax (218-322-2330). An authorization
could permit disclosure of information by phone or email so long as an
otherwise valid release is on file. A form could also
authorize ongoing disclosures, such as grades each semester.
We encourage you to discuss with your
student signing a release before issues of access arise. Releases may be as broad or as limited as desired. You may
want to remind your student of the potential negative consequences of
not permitting you to have access to information like tuition balances.
Doesn't the Fact that I Pay My Child's Tuition Give Me Automatic Access to Information?
No. Schools are permitted to
have a policy whereby the parents of a financially dependent child may
have access to private education records without the child's consent.
Itasca Community College does not have
such a policy, and so you will generally need the student's written
consent for private information, even if you financially support the
student in whole or in part.
Can't a College Require Students to Sign
a Release to Parents?
No. Any release of privacy
rights requested by the school must be voluntary.
Is There Any Information that is Public
about Students at a College or University?
Each college defines certain information
about its students as "directory." At Itasca, this
information includes:
-
Name of Student
-
Date of attendance
-
Graduation or certification
-
Statistical information that does not
specially identify the student
-
Field of study
-
Student public performance records
(such as athletic statistics)
-
Student employment records
This information was selected because
Itasca Community College officials determined that disclosing this
information would not generally be considered to be an invasion of
privacy.
Directory information is available to
anyone, and no student consent is required to release it. However, students have the right to suppress this directory data so
that it treated as "private." For those students, school
officials may not release their directory information without written
consent or other legal authority.
No directory or other list of students
will be released to commercial agencies.
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