Blackburn Employee Handbook

In order to promote the health and welfare of all persons in the Blackburn College community and to protect College assets, the administration is committed to a policy of promoting safe working conditions on the campus. Everyone in the College community should share this commitment; it is expected that everyone will continue to work toward providing a safe working environment and promoting safe working practices in all departments.

FERPA

Reference: Confidentiality Policy at the beginning of Section 1 of 3

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA]

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
FERPA deals specifically with the educational records of students who reach the age of 18 or who attend a postsecondary institution, granting them certain rights with respect to these records. The student has a right to:

inspect and review their educational records;
seek to amend their educational records if appropriate; and
have some control over the disclosure of information from those records.

Applicable Educational Institutions
FERPA applies to all educational agencies and institutions that receive funds under any program administered by the Secretary of Education.

Student
A student is any person who attends or has attended Blackburn College.

Educational Records
Records containing a student’s name, social security number, student number, or other personally identifiable information are covered by FERPA unless identified in the Act’s excluded categories. An education record is any record in whatever form (handwritten, taped, print, film, or other medium), which is maintained by the College and is directly related to a student. Exceptions include:

Personal records kept by a College employee if the records is not revealed to others and is kept in the sole possession of the employee;
Student employment records that relate exclusively to the student in the capacity of a College staff employee (does not apply to Work Program records);
Records maintained separately from educational records solely for law enforcement agencies of the same jurisdiction;
Counseling records maintained by the College Chaplain or the College Counselor.
Medical records maintained by the College solely for treatment and made available only to those persons providing treatment; and
Alumni Office records

Disclosure of Student Educational Record Information
The College will disclose “non-directory” information contained in a student’s educational record only with written consent of the student, with the following exceptions:

To school officials, including instructors, who have a legitimate educational interest in the records;
To officials of another school in which the student seeks or intends to enroll;
To federal, state and local agencies as provided under law;
To the parents of an eligible student if the student is claimed as a dependent for income tax purposes;
Accrediting organizations;
To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena; and
Emergencies affecting the health or safety of the student or other persons.

Directory Information
Disclosure of directory information may not be made without the student’s consent. Directory information includes the student’s name, school and full time address, school and full-time home telephone number, school mail box address, dates of attendance, degrees(s) received and dates of attendance, degrees(s) received and date of conferral, weight and height of athletes.

The “Faces Book” is considered to be Blackburn College’s public directory. A housing roster is distributed to College offices, and is for internal use only.

Release of Directory Information
A student who wishes to have directory information withheld must complete a Registration Information Card each semester. The student will have the option of withholding or releasing directory information and Dean’s List information. Students who do not want the College to release directory information will be flagged in the CAMS system.

Disclosure
Upon request, faculty and staff may disclose only Directory Information providing they have evidence that the student has not restricted the release of information. Faculty and staff must check the CAMS system prior to releasing any directory information.

Release of Non-Directory Information
Other information may be released with the student’s written consent. Such written consent must (a) specify the records to be released, (b) state the purpose of the disclosure, (c) identify the party or class of parties to whom disclosure may be made, and (d) be signed and dated by the student or by proper legal authority.

Penalties for Non-Compliance
Non-compliance may terminate the institution’s eligibility to receive Federal funding

FERPA Information Availability
The text of the Blackburn College FERPA Policy may be found in the Student Handbook, or The Registrar’s Office or the Dean of Students' Office.