5          STUDENT POLICIES OF INTEREST TO THE FACULTY

Most policies concerning student life at the College are contained in the following reference materials:  the Student Handbook, the Student Conduct Code Manual, and Academic Integrity at Roanoke College.  Copies of each are provided to the faculty.  For information not contained within these documents, faculty should contact the Office of Student Affairs.  The academic integrity system is administered by the Associate Dean's Office.
5.1       CONFIDENTIALITY OF STUDENT RECORDS

Faculty should be aware that legislation (e.g., the "Buckley Amendment") guarantees the confidentiality of data concerning student records.  Faculty should therefore not release and/or reveal any such information to anyone other than appropriate College personnel without ascertaining whether students have authorized such dissemination.  The Assistant Dean/Registrar is the Privacy Act Coordinator.

The College distributes an annual notice to students concerning the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974:

On June 17, 1976, regulations of Section 438, amendment to Part C of the General Education Act, as amended, became effective.  This amendment, known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, pertains to educational records, defined as records which are directly related to a student and maintained by an educational institution.  Roanoke College is required by Section 438 to give annual notice to eligible students in attendance of their rights under Section 438.  Under this section, eligible students shall be permitted access and review of educational records maintained by the particular educational institution.  Eligible students shall also have the right to file complaints under Paragraph 99.63 concerning alleged failure by the institution to comply with Section 438 of the Act.

Needless to say, the regulations are somewhat lengthy and detailed, and further information, restrictions, and requirements are set forth in a policy established by Roanoke College and available through the Registrar's Office.
Roanoke College publishes annually a student directory containing the name, address (home and College), telephone number, and post office box number of each student.  The information contained in this directory, prepared by Roanoke College for the use of its employees and students, is the property of the College and its unauthorized use is prohibited.  Roanoke College designates the following categories of student information as public or “Directory Information.”  The College may disclose such information at its discretion.

                                    Name
                                    Current Enrollment Status
                                    Local Address
                                    Home Address
                                    Local Telephone Number
                                    Home Telephone Number
                                    Campus E-mail address
                                    Date and place of birth
                                    Dates of attendance
                                    Grade Level (Classification)
                                    Schedule of Classes
                                    Previous Institutions Attended
                                    Major Field(s) of study
                                    Minor Field(s) of study
                                    Concentration(s) of study
                                    Awards and honors
                                    Photographic or videotaped imaged
Participation in officially recognized sports and activities, including     
fraternities and sororities
                                    Physical factor of athletes (height and weight)
Requests for non-disclosure may be made by currently enrolled students.  To withhold disclosure, written notification must be made to the Roanoke College Registrar’s Office.  Requests are in effect from the date received in writing from the student until rescinded in writing by the student.  For the current directory, requests must be received in the Registrar’s Office no later than September 1 to ensure that the student’s Directory Information is not published in the printed Campus Directory.  Students should understand that, by withholding directory information, some information considered important to students might not reach them.

Note:   This policy does not include the release of any information regarding a student’s grade point average or academic standing.  Release of information of this type is only allowed with the written consent of the student by fax or letter.  E-mail requests are not honored.

The above policy is in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and has been reviewed by a representative of the Family Policy Compliance Office of the U.S. Department of Education.  Questions regarding this policy may be directed to the Registrar’s Office.

Roanoke College maintains a World Wide Web site.  On the site, we list a mirror image of the printed Student Directory.  Notification to the Web Administrator in the Fintel Library is necessary if a student does not want this information listed.

The College's policy statement regarding the handling of student records is as follows:             

5.1.1    AVAILABILITY TO THE STUDENT

a.         Students have the right to inspect only their official educational records and are entitled to an explanation of any information in those records.

b.         Students are entitled to the transcript of their academic record.  A transcript issued to the
student or former student will be labeled as "unofficial copy issued to the student."  Official transcripts of academic record, bearing the seal of the College, are issued only by mail to institutions or agencies at the direct request of the student or former student concerned (or to the student, in a sealed envelope, in which case the breaking of the seal by the student voids the official transcript).   

c.         The Office of the Registrar will honor student requests (by fax or in writing) for an academic transcript to be faxed to a third party.  However, any transcript remitted by fax will bear the stamp "UNOFFICIAL.”

d.         Documents submitted by or for students in support of the application for admission, transfer credit, readmission, etc., will not be returned to them, nor sent elsewhere at their request.  (For example, a transcript from another College or secondary school will not be sent to a third institution or agency.)  In exceptional cases however, if the Registrar is able to determine that another transcript is unattainable or could be secured only with the greatest difficulty (as is sometimes true of foreign records), copies may be prepared and released by the Registrar, on the basis of a signed request by the student, to prevent hardship to the student.  A copy of those records will be identified by the Registrar as a certified copy of information available in the student's file.

5.1.2    STATEMENT ON POSTING OF FINAL GRADES

According to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), it is against Federal law to post grades, final or otherwise, using students' social security numbers.  If a faculty member wishes to post students' grades by social security number, he/she must secure prior written consent from each student.  The recommendation of the FERPA office is that a different four-digit code be used instead of the social security number and that the posting be done in an order other than alphabetical.  The faculty member has the option of generating a four-digit code for each student or using the last four digits of each student's social security number.  The decision to post or not to post student grades is at the discretion of each faculty member and is not a matter of College policy.  Grades should not be reported via e-mail for security reasons.

5.1.3    DISCLOSURE TO PARENTS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
AND AGENCIES

a.         Transcripts or grade reports will be released to the person or persons responsible for the financial support of the student (as documented on a U.S. Federal Income Tax Return) unless the student explicitly requests in writing that such release is not authorized.

b.         Transcripts and/or grade reports will not be released to a philanthropic organization providing support for a student without specific prior approval from the student.

c.         Requests from valid research organizations recognized by the College may be honored without prior approval, but in such cases no information will be released revealing the student's name or other identity.

d.         Requests for transcripts or other academic information from recognized institutions of education may be honored if the Dean and the Registrar of the College consider the request to be valid.

5.1.4    DISCLOSURE TO FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
OF ROANOKE COLLEGE

a.         Faculty and administrative officers who are considered by the Registrar of the College to have legitimate interest in the material, and have a need to know, will be permitted to review the academic records of any student.

b.         The contents of the folder of the student will not be distributed outside the Office of the Registrar except as specifically authorized by the Registrar.  In those cases a representative of the office of the Registrar will transport the material to and from the other authorized on-campus location where the material is to be reviewed.  The permanent academic record card will not leave the office of the Registrar inasmuch as copies may be provided for official internal use.

5.1.5    RELEASE OF TRANSCRIPTS OF ACADEMIC RECORDS

Transcripts of academic records will not be released outside the institution without specific written request of the student concerned.  In cases of telephone requests, the Office of the Registrar will require written confirmation before a record is released.  

5.1.6    DISCLOSURE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

a.         Properly identified representatives from federal, state, or local governmental agencies may be given only the following information, if expressly requested.

                                    1. Verification of enrollment as a student
                                    2. Verification of date and place of birth
                                    3. Degrees earned, if any
                                    4. Title of major and honors received
                                    5. Verification of signature

b.         Additional information will be released only on the written authorization of the student.  It must be remembered that in certain cases of application for employment, the applicant, as part of that process, authorizes a review of records by the prospective employer.

c.         If a court should subpoena the records of a student or former student, the College will make every effort to notify the student concerned of the receipt of the subpoena by the institution.

d.         The College will provide information to the Selective Service System with the written permission of the student.
           
5.1.7    DISCLOSURE IN RESPONSE TO TELEPHONE INQUIRIES

Only those items determined by the College to be matters of directory information will be released in response to the telephone inquiries.  Please see Section 5.1 for a detailed list.

5.1.8    DISCLOSURE TO OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Information furnished to other individuals and organizations will be limited to the items listed above under "telephone inquiries" unless the request is accompanied by a release signed by the student.

5.1.9    STUDENT DIRECTORIES

Directories are published by the College for use only within the College community and will not be released by the College to any outside individual or agency.  Neither College employees nor students should provide copies of the directory to individuals who are not members of the student body or faculty or administrative staff, or to outside institutions, agencies, or commercial organizations.

Please refer to Section 5.1 for a complete policy on the release of directory information.

5.1.10  WITHOLDING REQUESTED INFORMATION

The College will not release transcripts or other information as authorized and/or requested by the student if there are unmet financial obligations to the College.