Student Records
Pursuant to the passage of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 20 U.S.C. 1232g (the “Buckley Amendment”) and subsequent amendments and clarifications by the U.S. Senate Joint Resolution No. 40, the Board of Trustees of the University System of New Hampshire adopted a policy which assures a student access to education records which pertain to matriculation within Keene State College.
Please note that as of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records – including your Social Security Number, grades, or other private information – may be accessed without your consent. First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is “principally engaged in the provision of education,” such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.
In general, the law provides that:
a. Student records are confidential, with the exception of predetermined public directory information.
Privacy Hold Policy. Directory information, either published or in dealing with routine inquiries, is defined by Keene State College as the following:
- Name
- Mailing address
- Mailing telephone
- Local/campus address
- Local/campus telephone
- E-mail address (KSC)
- Date/Place of birth
- Major(s)
- Dates of attendance
- Degree(s) and awards received
All other information contained in official student education records is available only to those persons within the College who have a legitimate need for it, and to all others, only with the expressed consent (i.e., signature) of the student.
The following options are available to students:
Choice 1: All address and telephone information will be held from printed or electronic directories. The student’s presence at Keene State College will be acknowledged in response to routine inquiries, and name, date of birth, major, degrees, and awards received will be published such as Dean’s List, Commencement program, and announcements. Students will be eligible to receive a College e-mail account.
Choice 2: All directory information will be held in confidence, which means the student’s presence at Keene State College will not be acknowledged in response to routine inquiries. No directory information will be listed in print or electronic media, and the student’s name will not be published in Dean’s List announcements, honors, recognitions, Commencement program, or newspaper listings. In addition, federal law prohibits our response to inquiries by employers or prospective employers. The student will not be able to receive a College e-mail account.
Students are advised to seek advice and counseling from the Registrar before choosing this option, as it is very restrictive.
Once a student places a privacy hold of either type upon his/her record, it shall remain in place until the Registrar’s Office is notified in writing, signed by the student, to change or remove the hold. This applies even if the student separates him/herself from the institution.
b. Students shall have access to their official education records with the exception of financial aid records submitted by parents, confidential references submitted prior to January 1, 1975, and medical, psychiatric, and counseling records used only in connection with providing treatment to the student. A student may have a doctor or other professional examine and explain medical, psychiatric, and counseling records, and may, at the discretion of the Coordinator of Health Service, obtain at his/her own expense, copies of his/her medical (exclusive of psychiatric and counseling) records.
c. Students shall have the right to know information contained in their education record and to have a hearing to determine the appropriateness of such information remaining in the record. The following offices maintain educational records on all students enrolled at the College:
Student Accounts Office – Elliot Center
Registrar’s Office – Elliot Center
Dean of Students’ Office – Elliot Center
The following offices maintain education records for some of the students enrolled at the College:
Academic and Career Advising – Elliot Center
Office of Intercollegiate Athletics – Spaulding Gymnasium
Arts and Humanities – Parker Hall
Professional and Graduate Studies – Rhodes Hall
Sciences and Social Sciences – Science Center
Center for Health and Wellness – Elliot Center
Residential Life Office – 29 Butler Court
Student Financial Services Office – Elliot Center
Student Loans Office – Elliot Center
Teacher Education and Graduate Studies Office – Rhodes Hall
For more information concerning the Buckley Amendment or for assistance in locating individuals or offices maintaining a student’s educational record, contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Lloyd P. Young Student Center.
(Revised June, 2012)
About this Policy
