Student Rights
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Privacy rights of Western Wyoming Community College students comply with amended Section 438 of the General Education Provision Act, the Buckley Amendment. FERPA applies to all educational agencies and institutions that receive funder under most programs administered by the Secretary of Education (34 D.F.F 99.1).
Students who are attending or have attended Western Wyoming Community College and with respect to whom Western Wyoming Community College maintains education records or personally identifiable information are the exclusive claimants to the rights listed below. Under FERPA, Western is not permitted to disclose protected information contained in the education records without the student’s written consent, except under conditions specified in the Act. For purposes of definition, education records are records that are directly related to a student and maintained by an institution or party acting for the institution. FERPA rights begin when a student is enrolled at the institution. FERPA rights belong to the student at a post-secondary institution regardless of age; this includes continuing education students, students auditing a class, distance education students, and former students. There are some instances when student records may be released without the student’s consent. For additional information, the full Act can be found on the Department of Education website at studentprivacy.ed.gov/ferpa.
Western Wyoming Community College respects and actively seeks to protect the privacy rights of its students and their parents in regard to education records and personally identifiable information formulated or maintained by the College. These rights are generally defined as:
- Right to inspect and review educational records within 45 days of the day the request is received. Submit your request in writing to Mustang Central. Please be sure to identify all records you wish to review. Only records originating at Western Wyoming Community College will be copied for the student. We will not copy transcripts from other schools or other information originating elsewhere.
- Right to seek to amend educational records. If you think that something in your file is inaccurate, you may make a written request to have that record changed. Supporting documentation must be provided. We will notify the student in writing when the decision is made whether the record will be amended.
- Right to have some control over the disclosure of information from educational records except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. Western officials with legitimate educational interests may view a student’s records. This includes students or the board of trustees and members of disciplinary or grievance committees.
- Right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Western Wyoming Community College to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20202-5920
Directory Information
Directory Information is information contained in a student’s education record that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Following guidelines provided by the FERPA Compliance Office, Western Wyoming Community College has identified the following information as directory information and, in response to public inquiry, may be disclosed in conformance with state law, at the college’s discretion, without prior consent of the student:
Student’s full name
Telephone number
Local and permanent address
Email address
Major field of study
Dates of attendance
Current enrollment status (Class standing & Full-time or part-time status)
Participation in officially recognized sports and activities
Height and weight of student-athletes
Photos and videos used in campus publications
Degree(s) conferred (including dates of conferral)
Awards and honors
Class lists used within online courses
Students may restrict access and request a Privacy Flag regarding their directory information by providing Mustang Central with written and signed notification via the “Student Records Directory Information Change” form during the first 14 calendar days of the Fall or Spring semester or within the first 4 calendar days of Summer term. All releases are based on the privacy code attached to the student. Under no circumstances are social security numbers or other identifying student numbers released without consent. Students may remove their Privacy Flag at any time by submitting a signed request to Mustang Central.
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