11824_JFKU_Catalog Front Cover.indd - John F. Kennedy University

General Informationgranting of that exception. Ignorance of University policy andprocedures does not constitute valid criteria for granting anexception to University policy. requests for exceptions must besubmitted to the registrar’s office no later than ninety (90) calendardays from the end of the academic term in which the circumstancegiving rise to the exception request occurred. requests that arereceived beyond the ninety (90) calendar day limit will not bereviewed.An exception to a University policy may be requested using as abasis one of the following reasons/criteria:• Illness of self or family members;• Death in the family;• Military service;• Job-related issues (e.g., re-location, required to work); and• An error created by the University or its representative.All exception requests must be accompanied by an exception toUniversity Policy form, available from the registrar’s office. Studentsmust provide documentation of illness, death, military service, orjob-relation changes, or documentation of an error or errors madeby the University person or persons acting in his/her/their officialcapacity. requests are ordinarily initiated and signed by the studentrequesting the exception. All exceptions must be reviewed by theDean of the College, with a recommendation to approve or notapprove. In some cases, exceptions may be initiated by theUniversity on behalf of a student in those extraordinarycircumstances in which a student is not able to initiate the process,or to otherwise correct an injustice.e registration office investigates all exception requests which arethen forwarded to the Academic vice President and registrar forreview and decision. once the decision has been made, theregistration office notifies the student and all impacted partiesregarding the outcome. Questions regarding this policy may bedirected to the registrar.Family Educational Rights and Privacy Acte Family educational rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FerPA)affords students certain rights with respect to their educationalrecords. ese rights include:• e right to inspect and review the student’s education recordswithin 45 days of the day the University receives a request foraccess. (A list of the records that may not be reviewed by astudent is available in the JFK University Policy and the Familyeducational rights and Privacy Act of 1974, expanded version, acopy of which may be obtained in the registrar’s office, Pleasanthill; the College of Law, Pleasant hill; and at the student servicesoffice, San Jose.)• Students shall submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academicdepartment, or other appropriate official, a written request thatidentifies the record(s) they wish to inspect.• If the records are not maintained by the University official towhom the request is made, that official shall advise the studentof the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.• e University official responsible for the records will makearrangements for access and notify the student of the time andplace where the records may be inspected.• e right to request the amendment of the student’s educationrecords that the student believes is inaccurate.• Students may ask the University to amend a record that theybelieve is inaccurate. ey should write the University officialresponsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the recordthey want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate.• If the University decides not to amend the record, the Universitywill notify the student of the decision in writing and advise thestudent of his or her right to a hearing.• After the hearing, if the University still decides not to amend therecord, the student has the right to place a statement with therecords setting forth his or her view about the contestedinformation.e right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of educationconcerning alleged failures by JFK University to comply with therequirements of FerPA. e name and address of the office thatadministers FerPA are:Family Policy Compliance officeU.S. Department of education400 Maryland Avenue SWWashington DC 20202-5920e University may disclose, without consent, directoryinformation. At JFK University, directory information includes thefollowing:• name;• Major field of study;• Period of enrollment;• Awards and degrees received from JFK University; and• Current enrollment status—full-time/half-time, inactive.the University must have written permission from the student inorder to release any information, other than directory information,from a student’s education record. however, FerPA allows collegesto disclose student records without consent to the following partiesor under the following conditions:to personnel within the University who maintain educationalrecords and those with a legitimate educational interest includingfaculty or staff who deal with the student and carry out educationduties and employees designated by them to assist in these tasks.JFK University defines “legitimate educational interest” as “needsthe record(s) to carry out employment responsibilities.” therefore,any University employee (or person acting on behalf of theuniversity) may have access to student records without the student’swritten consent if that person needs the access to carry out his orher employment responsibilities.• other colleges to which a student is transferring;• Specified University officials or contracted agents for audit orevaluation purposes;• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;• organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of theUniversity;• Accrediting organizations;• Appropriate parties in compliance with a judicial order orlawfully issued subpoena; and• Appropriate officials in cases of a health and safety emergency.It is JFK University’s policy to release official transcripts only uponthe written and signed consent of the student and upon payment ofthe fee for each. to protect each student, a record is kept for oneJohn F. KenneDy UnIverSIty General Information 33