Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Pacific College of Technology complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 which is designed to protect the students’ rights with regard to educational records maintained by the institution. Under FERPA, a student has the following rights:

  • The right to inspect and review the student’s educational record within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. A student should submit to the Registrar or other appropriate academic official, a written request that identifies the record(s) he or she wishes to view. The school official will make arrangements for access to the record and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be viewed. After further review, the student has the right to request an amendment of his or her record if he or she believes there are any inaccuracies. The student will need to make a formal written request to the Registrar’s Office and specify the revisions that need to be made.
  • If, upon review, the school chooses not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing to appeal the decision regarding the request for amendment.
  • All student educational records are kept confidential and cannot be released without the student’s consent with the exception of directory information. A student may, however, request that his or her directory information also be kept confidential. To do so the student must submit a written request to the Registrar’s Office. Directory information at the College is considered the following:
    • Student’s name
    • Major field of study
    • Dates of attendance
    • Honors and awards received
    • Participation in officially recognized activities
  • The right to consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, and support staff position. Persons or organizations providing students financial aid, accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function, persons in compliance with a judicial order, and persons who, in emergency, seek to protect the health or safety of students or other persons may also have access.
  • A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfil his or her professional responsibility.
  • Upon request, the College discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. (FERPA) requires an institution to make a reasonable attempt to notify the student of the record request unless the institution states in its annual notification that it intends to forward records on request.
  • Confidential information can be released directly to the student; however, it cannot be released directly to the student’s family members (e.g., parents, spouses, etc.) without the written consent of the student. However, when a student is a dependent of the parent as defined by the Internal Revenue Service, such information may be released to the parent without the written consent by of the student.
  • The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Pacific Institute of Technology to comply with the requirements of FERPA.The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605