The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students at Mississippi College certain rights with respect to their education records. These rights include:
1. The right to inspect and review a student's education records within 45 days of the day the Office of the Registrar receives a request for access.
The student should submit to the Registrar a written request that identifies the record/s the student wishes to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the Registrar does not maintain the records, the student shall be advised of the correct official at the University to whom the request should be addressed.
2. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate.
The student may ask the University to amend a record that he/she believes is inaccurate. The student should write the Registrar, clearly identify the part of the record he/she wants changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If the University decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the Registrar, or other appropriate official if the record is maintained by another office, 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.
3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education record, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A "school official" is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted (such as a attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or 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.
Upon written request, the University will disclose to the alleged victim of a crime of violence or a nonforcible sex offense the final results of any institutional disciplinary proceeding dealing with that crime or offense.
Students may grant Mississippi College consent to release non-directory information to individuals. The Authorization to Release Information form is available in the Office of the Registrar or on the Registrar’s Office Web site under Applications & Forms.
4. The right of a currently enrolled student to request that his/her "directory information" not be released by Mississippi College.
Under FERPA, Mississippi College may release, but is not limited to, the following information defined as “Directory Information”: name, current and permanent addresses, telephone number, campus email address, parents’ name, date and place of birth, classification (freshman, sophomore, etc.), dates of attendance, degrees and honors awarded including date of award, full-time or part-time enrollment status, major and minor field of study, most recent educational institution previously attended, and athletic activities and statistics including height and weight. Mississippi College will use its own discretion in the release of any or all of these Directory Information items while keeping in mind the best interests of students attending this institution. No indiscriminate use of this information will be allowed nor will it be released for any commercial solicitation of any kind.
If a student wishes to withhold the disclosure of items of directory information, the Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information form must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar. This form is available in the Office of the Registrar or on the Registrar’s Office Web site under Applications & Forms.
Once the Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information is received, directory information will be withheld until such time that the student notifies the Office of the Registrar to remove the hold on their record. This means that, if a student has a hold on their directory information, the University will be unable to comply with all external requests for information pertaining to him or her - including degree or enrollment verifications from schools and/or employers.
5. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Mississippi College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.
The name and address of the office that administers FERPA are: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.
Students with questions regarding their rights under FERPA should contact the Office of the Registrar at 601.925.3210 or registrar@mc.edu.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended may be found at www.ed.gov/policy.
