The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives students certain rights with respect to their education records.
These rights include:
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The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. California law requires that records be provided within 15 working days.
A student should submit to the Dean of Enrollment Services or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The College 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 College official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
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The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
A student who wishes to ask the College to amend a record should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College 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.
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The right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
The College discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using College employees or officials (such as an 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 responsibilities for College.
Upon request, the College also discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
FERPA requires that the College, with certain exceptions, obtain a student’s written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the student’s education records. However, the College may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent, unless the student has advised the College to the contrary in accordance with College procedures. The primary purpose of directory information is to allow the College to include this type of information from a student’s education records in certain school publications. SMC has designated the following items as ‘Directory Information’:
- Student name;
- Dates of attendance;
- Degrees, certificates, and academic awards received (e.g., Dean’s List). This does not include scholarships.
Students may block release of directory information to non-SMC third parties by placing a “Directory Information” hold on their Corsair Connect account (“View/Edit Profile” tab).
Students who do not want Santa Monica College to disclose any directory information from their education records without their prior written consent should file a written request with the Admissions Office.
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The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College 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 20202-5901
For a full explanation of FERPA and its implications for college students, please contact the Admissions Office