Challenge Procedures

A student who believes that the education records contain information that is inaccurate or misleading or otherwise in violation of his/her privacy or other rights may discuss the problem informally with the Registrar or Dean of Students. If the decisions are in agreement with the student's requests, the appropriate records will be amended. If not, the student will be notified within a reasonable period of time that the records will not be amended, and the student will be informed by the Registrar or Dean of Students of the right to a formal hearing.  A request for a formal hearing must be made in writing to the Chief Academic Officer,  who, within a reasonable period of time after receiving such request, will inform the student of the date, place, and time of the hearing. The student may present evidence relevant to the issues raised and may be assisted
or represented at the hearings by a person of the student's choice. The hearing panel that will adjudicate such challenges will be the Chief Academic Officer, the Registrar if the challenge concerns a document maintained by the Dean of Students, the Dean of Students if the challenge concerns a document maintained by the Registrar, two faculty members selected by the Faculty Steering Committee and two student members selected by Student Senate. No member of the
hearing panel may have a direct interest in the outcome of the hearing.

Decisions of the hearing panel will be final, will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing, and will consist of written statements summarizing the evidence and stating the reasons for the decisions, and will be delivered to all parties concerned. The education records will be corrected or amended in accordance with the decisions of the hearing panel if the decisions are in favor of the student.  If the decision is unsatisfactory to the student, the student may place with the education record statements commenting on the information in the records or statements setting forth any reasons for disagreeing with the decisions of the hearing panels. The statements will be placed in the education record, maintained as part of the student record, and released whenever the record in question is disclosed.

A student has the right to submit a written complaint to the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4605, if the student believes the College has violated the student's right under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.

Revisions, clarifications and changes may be made in this policy at any time and without prior notice.