Guilford College is committed to maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of students’ information, and to compliance with the regulations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (known as FERPA). The purpose of this policy is to outline the College’s policies and procedures regarding the privacy of and access to student information. 

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. It provides students (or parents of dependent students) the following rights:

• The right to inspect and review the student’s education records maintained by the school.
• The right to request that a school correct records the student or parent believes to be incorrect. If the school does not elect to revise the student record, the parent or student may request a formal hearing.
• The right to prevent the school from disclosing information from a student’s education record, with specific exceptions. These exceptions allow school officials access to students’ education records if such access is due to legitimate educational interest, such as in teaching, advising, educational support, financial aid, or institutional research.

FERPA allows schools to disclose certain limited information about students without prior consent – this information is called “directory” information, and includes the following: name, address, email address, telephone number, major, minor, enrollment status, date and place of birth, degrees, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. For student-athletes, this information also includes height and weight.

Grades and Academic Progress Information

Guilford College may release grades and academic progress information to parents and/or legal guardians if a student provides written consent to the Registrar’s Office or if either parent has claimed the student as a dependent on the parent’s most recent year's income tax statement. Students may provide written consent by submitting a FERPA Disclosure & Consent Form,  found on the Guilford College Intranet, to the Registrar's Office.

Financial Aid and Student Accounts Information

Guilford College may release financial aid and student accounts information to parents and/or legal guardians if a student provides written consent to the Registrar's Office, has designated parents and/or legal guardians as Authorized Users on TouchNet , or if either parent has claimed the student as a dependent on the parent’s most recent year's income tax statement. Students may provide written consent by submitting a FERPA Disclosure & Consent Form, found on the Guilford College Intranet, to the Registrar's Office.

Directory Information

On the Guilford College website, the external directory allows for the general public to search by a student’s name to obtain the student’s campus email address. Also on the Guilford College website, the internal directory within GuilfordNet allows only Guilford College students, faculty, and staff to search by a student’s name or username to obtain the student’s email address and campus mailbox. Students may not elect for the internal directory information to be unpublished.

Students have the right to request that directory information be withheld from disclosure, within the constraints of the federal guidelines. To request this, please see a staff member in the Registrar’s Office, located on the first floor of New Garden Hall.

Requesting to View Educational Records

Students have the right to request to view their educational records. To do so, the student must request, in writing, an opportunity to review the official educational records maintained by the College. Details about which office maintains which parts of the educational record are available below.

Requesting to Amend Educational Records

Students have the right to request the amendment of their educational record if the student believes it is inaccurate or misleading. A student must first request, in writing, an opportunity to review the official educational records maintained by the College. If the student believes the records are inaccurate or misleading, the student would then write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. The College has five (5) business days to respond to the student request. If the College decides 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 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.

Student records and where they are housed:

• Academic Curricular Records – Registrar’s Office
• Academic Disciplinary Records – Office of Academic and Student Affairs
• Admission Records – Admissions Office
• Advising Records – the student’s assigned advisor
• Disciplinary Records – Office of Academic and Student Affairs
• Financial Aid Records – Student Financial Services
• Health Records – Student Health Services
• Title IX Records - Title IX Coordinator

The academic record of a student is maintained by the Registrar's Office and is kept by the College in perpetuity.

The student record of a student, excluding academic records, is coordinated by the Office of Academic and Student Affairs and is maintained for seven (7) years after the student graduates. Students wishing to review documents contained in their student record or their student conduct record must make such a request in writing to the Dean of Students. Students will be permitted to review these records in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. Certain student conduct records may not be viewed without being first redacted to protect the FERPA rights of other students mentioned in those records.

The health record of a student is maintained by Student Health Services, and by the Athletic Training office for student-athletes. Information is not released without the student's written permission. Students are encouraged to notify their parents of illness or injury. Parents are notified by the College in the event of serious illness or injury or with the student's permission. Student Health Services and the Athletic Training office comply with the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 2003. The HIPAA Compliance Officer for the College is the Director of Human Resources. The health record, including immunization records, is maintained by the Student Health Center for seven (7) years after the student graduates.

FERPA Complaints

If you feel that Guilford College has not complied with your privacy rights under FERPA, you have a right to file a complaint. The information necessary for filing such a complaint is available at the following site maintained by the federal government agency responsible for FERPA:  https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html

For more information about FERPA: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html