FERPA

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records.  The law governs access to records maintained by educational institutions and the release of information from those records.  Louisiana Delta Community College is required to provide students with basic information about their rights under FERPA.

Your rights under FERPA include the following:

• The right to inspect and review your educational records within a reasonable time after the college receives a request for access
• The right to request an amendment of your educational records if you believe something is inaccurate or misleading
• The right to restrict disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in your educational records, unless otherwise authorized under FERPA
• 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

Two notable exceptions to the student’s right to restrict disclosure of information from the student’s record:

1. Directory Information may be released by the college without the student’s prior consent.  Directory Information includes a student’s name, address(es), date of birth, dates of attendance, degrees and dates received, current schedule of classes (released to LDCC, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies only), classification (e.g., freshman, sophomore), program and major, full and part-time status, and level (i.e., undergraduate).
   • What you may restrict:  Although the college is not required to have the student’s consent before releasing Directory Information, the students have the right to prohibit the release of all or part of any item(s) listed as directory information by submitting a Permissions Restrict/Release Educational Records form. This request to restrict the release of information becomes a part of the student’s record and remains in effect (even after graduation) until the student instructs the College, in writing, to remove the hold status on the record. Requests for releasing any Directory Information should be directed to the Registrar release the information hold on his/her record.
   • Withholding Directory Information prohibits the college from releasing information to anyone, including YOU, THE STUDENT.  If this universal information is in place, anyone requesting information on the record will be told that there is no record of that student at all.
   • What you may not restrict:  A student does not have the right to restrict access to their records for college officials deemed to have “legitimate educational interests.”  A college official is determined to have a legitimate educational interest if that official needs access to the student’s educational record in order to fulfill his or her official responsibilities.
   • Examples of people who may have access within their official duties include:  college faculty and staff, agents of the institution, students employed by the institution or who serve on official institutional committees, and representatives of agencies under contract with the college.
2. Degrees awarded to a student are considered public information and can be released by the college without the student’s prior consent.  In addition to the degree itself, the college can release information pertaining to the degree earned including honors received, majors, minors and specializations.  This information is releasable because the degrees are conferred in a public ceremony.

Students who wish to restrict their Directory Information must complete the FERPA Release & Confidentiality Request located on their Log on Louisiana (LoLA) dashboard under Academic Links. A confidential hold will be placed on their record which prevents any Directory Information from being pulled for any purpose. Additionally, the FERPA Release & Confidentiality page allows students to designate one or more individuals with whom they have chosen to share their information. A 4-digit shareable access code can be created by the student and is used when their designated person requests information. The access code can be updated by the student at any time.

LDCC staff can access FERPA Release & Confidentiality requests by accessing the Employee tab in LoLA and selecting FERPA Information. Students who have submitted confidential or release requests are listed in alphabetical order by last name and searchable by Banner ID or name.

If you have any questions, please contact the Registrar at 318-345-9126.