Access to Student Records (FERPA)

Pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, any person who is or has been in attendance at HFC shall have the right to inspect and review any and all educational records directly related to that person after a request for access to such records has been made in accordance with the approved College procedure for such access. Requests to review general college educational records are to be made at the Admissions, Registration, and Records Office. Requests for information regarding records maintained by a department should be made to the departmental director. Educational records are those records that are directly related to a student and maintained by an education agency or by a party acting for the agency or institution. The term does not include records of instructional, supervisory, and administrative personnel and educational personnel ancillary to those persons 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. The term also does not include law enforcement records, records relating to individuals employed by the College, records related to treatment provided by a health professional, records that contain information about an individual after that person is no longer a student, i.e., alumni records.

Specifically, the student has the right to:

  1. Inspect all of his or her education records maintained by HFC;

  2. Prevent the disclosure of personally identifiable information to third parties unless exempted by the Act. With respect to College officials; information from your records will be made available only if the College official has a legitimate educational interest consistent with their official functions for the College. Persons outside the College—including your parents and/or spouse—will be given information from your records only (1) when you authorize it in writing, or (2) in connection with your application for or receipt of financial aid, or (3) in connection with studies conducted for the purpose of accreditation, development and validation of predictive tests, administration of student aid programs, or improve of instruction, or (4) when disclosure is required in a health or safety emergency or by federal or state law or by subpoena. If information from your record is subpoenaed, a reasonable attempt to notify you will be made as quickly as possible. In addition, the results of a disciplinary hearing conducted by the institution against the alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence will be made available to the alleged victim of that crime;

  3. Request an amendment to any educational record if the student believes it is inaccurate or misleading;

  4. Request a hearing, to present evidence that a record should be amended, if the student believes they have been improperly denied access to their records, student records contain information that is inaccurate or misleading, or information from the student record has been improperly released to third parties;

  5. The right to file a complaint to federal officials if the student believes that there has been a violation of the rights afforded to the student under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The complaint must be submitted in writing within 180 days of the alleged violation to:

U.S. Department of Education
The Family Policy Compliance Office
600 Independent Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605
Phone: 202-260-3887
Obtain from the Admissions, Registration, and Records Office a copy of the HFC policy regarding FERPA.

Notice Of Directory Information Opt Out

In accordance with the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, a student’s education records are maintained as confidential and, except for a limited number of special circumstances listed in that law, will not be released to a third party without the parent/student’s prior written consent. The law, however, does allow schools to release student “directory information” without obtaining the prior consent of the parent/student. If you do not want the release of directory information, you may choose to “opt-out” of this FERPA exception by signing the below. Directory information of a student who has opted-out from the release of directory information, in accordance with this policy/procedure for opting out, will remain flagged until the student requests that the flag be removed by completing and submitting a revocation of the opt out to the Registrar’s Office. The following information is what HFC considers directory information:

a. Name

b. Photograph

c. Dates of Attendance

d. Enrollment Status (e.g., full-time, part-time)

e. Class Standing (e.g. sophomore)

f. Participation in officially recognized activities and sports

g. Awards and honors received

h. Degrees conferred

i. Enrollment dates

j. Major

k. Anticipated date of graduation

You may choose to opt out of this exception by signing the FERPA Directory Information Opt-Out Form.