The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records.
The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days after the day Virginia Peninsula Community College (the College) receives a request for access.
A student should submit a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect to the Enrollment Services Office (Room 208, Kecoughtan Hall, Hampton Campus). Enrollment Services will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by Enrollment Services, the student will be advised of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA.
A student who wishes to ask the College to amend a record should write the Virginia Peninsula Community College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.
If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student's right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
The right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
The College discloses education records without a student's prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person serving on the board of trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the College who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the school with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent or a student volunteering to assist another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the College.
If a student desires to grant a parent or significant other access to their educational record, a FERPA release form must be completed via SIS eForm. To complete the form, students will go to MyVPCC > SIS > Student Record eForms > FERPA eForm. The student will choose a passcode for each person to whom they wish to grant access and can select the type of access they wish to grant. The passcode must be provided in order to gain access to the student's record.
If the parent desires access to the student's educational record without the student having completed the above process, a copy of the current tax year Internal Revenue Service return must be presented in the Enrollment Services Office, Kecoughtan Hall, Room 208 on the Hampton campus or the Office of Student Services, Room 117 on the Historic Triangle campus. The student must be listed as a dependent. Information can only be requested in person.
The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College 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
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Upon request, Virginia Peninsula Community College may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.
Notice Regarding Directory Information
FERPA designates certain information as "directory information", which may be released upon request without the student's express written consent. It is the policy of the College not to publish a student directory; however; name, major/field of study, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and names of previous institutions attended can be released upon request unless a student notifies the Office of Enrollment Services by the end of the first week of classes that such directory information should remain confidential.