Indexed Adobe PDF (Spring 2011-Full Version) - SUNY Orange

Student Records / Student Rights and Responsibilitiesperson or company with whom the College hascontracted (such as an attorney, auditor orcollection agent); a person serving on the Boardof Trustees; or a student serving on an officialcommittee, such as a disciplinary or grievancecommittee, or assisting another school official inperforming his or her tasks. A school official hasa legitimate educational interest if the officialneeds to review an education record in order tofulfill his or her professional responsibility. Uponrequest, the College will disclose educationrecords without consent to officials of anotherschool which a student seeks or intends to enroll(barring any indebtedness to this College).• The right to file a complaint with the U.S.Department of Education concerning allegedfailures by the College to comply with FERPArequirements: Family Policy Compliance Office,U.S. Department of Education, 600Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC20202-4605.Consent Forms for Release of Non-DirectoryInformationA student’s signed written consent must specify therecords to release/inspect, state the purpose of thedisclosure and identify the person(s) to whom thedisclosure should be made. A new consent form wouldbe required each academic year or when access toadditional educational records not covered in theprevious consent form on file are being requested.If the consent form does not specify the actualeducational records to be inspected or simply statessomething equivalent to “all educational records”, theonly records that will be disclosed are those thatappear on the most current academic transcript.According to FERPA regulations, an institution hasup to 45 days after receipt of a valid consent form toarrange for the inspection/disclosure of the specifiededucational records. Personal inspections of therequested educational records in the majority of caseswill be made with the registrar, who also acts as theFERPA officer for the institution, and not necessarilywith individual faculty members.In the case of a so-ordered subpoena, issued by ajudge, consent from the student is not required fordisclosure of non-directory information. However,unless the subpoena specifically states that contactwith the student is forbidden, the institution will notrespond to said subpoena for 72 business hours and inthat timeframe will attempt to contact the student toinform them that a subpoena was received, who issuedthe subpoena, and what records will be disclosed.Parents’ RightsMessage to Parents: SUNY Orange is guided by theprinciple that students’ active involvement in theireducation enhances their learning and development.In keeping with this principle, SUNY Orangeconsiders its primary relationship to be with itsstudents.When the student is a tax dependent ofparents/guardians, it is important that both partiesdiscuss how they will communicate. Academicprogress is reported to students with the expectationthat this information will be part of on-goingdiscussions with parents/guardians.If said discussions are not taking place with thestudent, the Family Educational Rights and PrivacyAct has provided two ways in which parents/guardiansof dependent students may inspect the educationalrecords of the student.The first is to obtain a signed written consent fromthe student and submit consent to the registrar in theRecords and Registration Office.If the student is unwilling to provide a signedwritten consent, the final alternative is for theparents/guardians to provide the registrar with a copyof the preceding year’s tax returns to demonstrate thestudent is a tax dependent. The copy provided musthave either been completed by a third party(accountant, tax preparer, etc.) or be an official fullcomplete copy (not the shortened version) from theInternal Revenue Service. Information on how toobtain this version can be found by contacting theIRS Office at (800) 829-1040. When thedocumentation is submitted, the parents/guardiansmust also specify the records to be inspected. If therequest simply states something equivalent to “alleducational records,” the only educational recordsthat will be disclosed are those that appear on themost current academic transcript.Student Rights and ResponsibilitiesConduct Expected of StudentsSee the Code of Student Conduct published in theStudent Handbook. The College reserves the right todismiss any student who conducts himself in a mannerincompatible with the purposes of the College.Academic Separation, Probation and AppealsPlease see Grades and Grading.Student Grievance ProcedureSUNY Orange has implemented the followingprocedures for any student who feels that his or herrights or freedoms have been violated. Students shouldremember that if they do have a grievance, there arepeople on campus who they can approach to discusstheir problem and who can provide guidance and advicewith respect to the grievance procedures. These peopleinclude their advisors and college counselors. The44 www.sunyorange.edu Spring 2011