Access to Records

F.E.R.P.A. accords all the rights under the act to all students at the college. No one outside the institution shall have access to nor will the institution disclose any information from students' educational records without the written consent of students except to personnel within the institution with legitimate educational interest, to persons or organizations providing students financial aid, to accrediting agencies carrying out their accrediting function, and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. Albion College will also release information to be in compliance with a judicial order; this release will occur
only after an attempt has been made to contact the student at the last known permanent address.

Under certain circumstances information will be released to parent(s)/guardian(s). Parents of freshmen and parents of students on academic probation are advised of mid-semester and semester final grade reports. A student may request that grades not be released to the parent(s)/guardian(s) by submitting written notification to the Registrar's Office. A representative of the College may communicate with parent(s)/guardian(s) relative to the following circumstances: discontinuance of enrollment, medical (including psychiatric) examinations required for the maintenance of enrollment as determined by the Dean of Students, alleged violation of a College regulation that will likely result in suspension or expulsion from the College if the student is found responsible; absence from the campus when there is reason to be concerned for the student's well-being because the student's whereabouts are unknown; academic or disciplinary probation; needed medical attention, the nature of which might jeopardize a student's ability to maintain the status of enrolled. Parent(s)/guardian(s) in these cases will be defined as the individual the student has recorded as the parent(s)/guardian(s) on the admissions application. A student may change this designation at any time at the Registrar's Office.

Within the Albion College community, only those members, individually or collectively, acting in a student's educational interest are allowed access to the student education records. Legitimate educational interest means (1) the information or records requested is relevant and necessary to accomplishment of some task or determination; and (2) the task or determination is an employment responsibility for the inquirer or is a properly assigned subject matter for the inquirer's employment responsibility. These members include Faculty, personnel in the Registrar's Office, Student Affairs Division, Chief Academic Officer's Office, President's Office, Enrollment Office, Personnel Office, Financial Aid Office, Accounting Office, Counseling Center, Career and Internship Center, Public Relations Office, Institutional Advancement, Campus Safety Office, program committees, scholarship committees and academic personnel. A listing of the types, locations and custodians of education records is attached.

The rights of this policy are extended to all students enrolling in Albion College after January 1, 1975.