Privacy Statement

It is the policy of Columbia State Community College to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which is designed to protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable educational records of students.

The student has the following rights:

the right to inspect and review his/her educational records within forty-five (45) days of the day the College receives a request for access; the right to request an amendment of his/her educational records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading; the right to consent to disclosures of personal identifiable information contained in his/her educational records except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent; and the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Columbia State Community College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Under the provisions of FERPA, the College may disclose directory information to any person requesting it without the consent of the student. Directory information may include the student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, enrollment status (full-time or part-time) major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and most recent previous educational institution attended. Examples of such disclosures include, but are not limited to, play-production programs, honors recognition lists, graduation programs, and athletic activity sheets and programs.

Students may request that “Directory Information” be withheld from anyone except Columbia State school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position; a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Columbia State Foundation; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his/her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill his/her professional responsibility.

Students wishing to refuse disclosure must submit a request for Non-Release of Directory Information to the Records office (Jones Student Center 101), after registering for classes. This request will remain in effect until the student signs a form to cancel the request.

To read more about the college's privacy policy, click  03-06-00 Confidentiality of Student Records  and Request For Restricting The Release Of Information and Cancellation Request For Restricting The Release Of Information
For more information visit the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) website.