South Georgia College Student Handbook

Procedure to Inspect Education Records

Students may inspect and review their education records upon request to the appropriate record custodian.

Students should submit to the record custodian, or an appropriate staff person, a written request that identifies as precisely as possible the record or records they wish to inspect.

The record custodian or appropriate staff person will make arrangements for access as promptly as possible and will notify the student of the time and place where records may be inspected. Access must be given in forty-five days or less from the receipt of the request.

When a record contains information about more than one student, the student may inspect and review only the records that relate to him or her.

RIGHT OF SOUTH GEORGIA COLLEGE TO REFUSE ACCESS
South Georgia College reserves the right to refuse to permit a student to inspect the following records:

1. The financial records of the student's parents.
2. Letters and statements of recommendation for which the student has waived his or her right of access, or which were placed in the file before January 1, 1975.
3. Records connected with an application to attend South Georgia College if that application was denied.
4. Those records that are excluded from the FERPA definition of education records.

TYPES, LOCATIONS, AND CUSTODIANS OF EDUCATION RECORDS
The following is a list of the types of records that South Georgia College maintains, their locations, and their custodians.

DISCLOSURE OF EDUCATION RECORDS
South Georgia College will disclose information from a student's record only with the written consent of the student, except:

1. To College officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the educational records. A College official is a) A person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position; b) the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia and his staff; or c) a person employed by or under contract to South Georgia College to perform a special task, such as an attorney or auditor. A College official has a legitimate educational interest if the official is a) performing a task that is specified in his or her position description or by contract agreement; b) performing a task related to a student's education; c) performing a task related to the discipline of a student; d) providing a service or benefit relating to the student or the student's family, such as health care, counseling, job placement, or financial aid.
2. To certain officials of the U.S. Department of Education, the Comptroller General, and state and local education authorities, in connection with certain state or federally supported education programs.
3. To comply with students application for or receipt of financial aid, as necessary to determine the eligibility, amount, or conditions of the financial aid, or to enforce the terms and conditions of the aid.
4. If required by state law requiring disclosure that was adopted before November 19, 1974.
5. To organizations conducting certain studies on behalf of SGC.
6. To accrediting organizations to carry out their functions.
7. To parents of an eligible student who claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
8. To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena.
9. To appropriate parties during a health or safety emergency.

CORRECTION OF EDUCATION RECORDS
Students have the right to ask to have records corrected that they believe are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their privacy rights. The procedures for the correction of education records are as follows:

1. A student must ask the appropriate record custodian to amend a record. In doing so, the student should identify in writing the part of the record to be changed, and specify what is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of his or her privacy or other rights.
2. South Georgia College may comply with the request or decide not to comply. If it decides not to comply, South Georgia College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of the right to a hearing to challenge the information believed inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's rights.
3. Upon written request, South Georgia College will arrange for a hearing, and notify the student, in reasonable advance, of the date, place, and time of the hearing.
4. The hearing will be conducted by a hearing officer who is a disinterested party; however, the hearing officer may be an official of the College. The student shall be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the issues raised in the original request to amend the student's education records. The student may be assisted by one or more individuals, including an attorney.
5. South Georgia College will prepare a written decision based solely on the evidence presented and the reasons for the decision.
6. If South Georgia College decides that the challenged information is not inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's rights, it will notify the student of the right to place in the record a statement commenting on the challenged information and/or a statement setting forth reasons for disagreeing with the decision.
7. The statement will be maintained as part of the student's education records as long as the contested portion is maintained. If South Georgia discloses the contested portion of the record, it must also disclose the statement.
8. If South Georgia College decides that the information is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the student's right of privacy, it will amend the record and notify the student, in writing, that the record has been amended.