Central Piedmont would like to inform students of their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, FERPA. The annual notification is listed below. For more information about FERPA, visit cpcc.edu/ferpa.

Annual Notification of Rights Under FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students, when the student turns 18 years old or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the following rights with respect to their education records:

The right to inspect and review education records. To review records, students and former students may contact Student Records; present valid photo identification; and request in writing to review the record. Central Piedmont Community College will provide access to records within 30 days.

The right to request amendment of education records that students believe are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA. Students may question information in their educational records that they believe to be incorrect or inaccurate. This request must be in writing and must be submitted to the Dean for Admissions, Registration, Records, and Graduation. All requests for corrections will be acted upon within 30 work days of receipt of the request. If the Dean can verify that such data are, in fact, in error, appropriate corrections will be made, and the student will be notified in writing when the correction has been completed. If an error cannot be readily substantiated, the request will be referred to an Ad Hoc Hearing Committee appointed by the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services. After a student has had the opportunity to present the case to the hearing committee, the committee will render a decision in writing, stating the reasons for its decision.

The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in education records.Central Piedmont Community College has declared the following information to be ‘directory’: student’s name; student’s city of residence; semesters attended; major field of study or program; credentials earned and dates awarded. ‘Directory’ information may be disclosed without the written consent of the student. All other disclosures, except when permitted by FERPA, require the written consent of the student. A Central Piedmont student ID card should be submitted along with the Student Information Release Authorization form to the Records Office.

One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official is performing a task that is specified in his or her position description or by a contract agreement, performing a task related to a student’s education, or performing a task related to the discipline of a student.

The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Central Piedmont Community 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, D.C. 20202-5920
Phone: 1.800.USA.LEARN or 1.800.872.5327

Directory Information Public Notice

FERPA permits the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) from students’ education records, without consent of the student, if the disclosure meets certain conditions found in 99.31 of the FERPA regulations.

“Directory information” can be disclosed without your written consent:

• your name
• city of residence
• semesters attended
• credentials earned and dates awarded
• your major field of study or program

A postsecondary institution may disclose PII from the education records without obtaining prior written consent of the student under the following circumstances:

• To other school officials, including teachers, within Central Piedmont Community College whom the school has determined to have legitimate educational interests. This includes contractors, consultants, volunteers, or other parties to whom the school has outsourced institutional services or functions, provided that the conditions listed in 99.31(a)(1)(i)(B)(1) – (a)(1)(i)(B)(3) are met.
• In connection with financial aid for which the student has applied or which the student has received, if the information is necessary to determine eligibility for the aid, determine the amount of the aid, determine the conditions of the aid, or enforce the terms and conditions of the aid.
• To appropriate officials in connection with a health or safety emergency, subject to 99.36.
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
• To accrediting organizations to carry out their accrediting functions.
• To authorized representatives of the U. S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or State and local educational authorities, such as a State postsecondary authority that is responsible for supervising the university’s State-supported education programs.
• To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, the school, in order to: (a) develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; (b) administer student aid programs; or (c) improve instruction.