Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), with which Georgia Northwestern Technical College complies fully, was designated to protect the privacy of educational records.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. The rights include:
- The right to inspect and review information contained in education records within forty-five days after the day that GNTC receives the request for access. Requests for access to records should be submitted to the GNTC registrar listing the records the student wishes to inspect.
- The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA. Such requests should be made in writing clearly identifying the part of the record the student wants changed and why the record should be changed. This written request should be given to the Registrar.
- The right to provide written consent before GNTC discloses personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. A full list of the disclosures that GNTC may make without consent are listed in the Directory Information section.
GNTC may also disclose education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by GNTC in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position, including health or medical staff or outside personnel performing work usually performed by GNTC personnel; a person serving on TCSG or the technical college’s board; a person employed by or under contract to TCSG or GNTC to perform a special task, such as an attorney or auditor; a person who is employed by a TCSG or GNTC law enforcement unit; a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or who is assisting another TCSG or GNTC official in performing his or her tasks; or a contractor, consultant, volunteer or other party to whom TCSG or GNTC has outsourced institutional services as provided in 34 CFR § 99.31 (a)(1)(i)(B). For additional information, see TCSG Procedure for Student Records.
- The right to file a complaint with the United States Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Georgia Northwestern Technical 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, DC 20202-5920
(202) 260-3887
Any questions concerning FERPA should be directed to the Office of the Registrar.
Dana Walker, Registrar
Georgia Northwestern Technical College
One Maurice Culberson Drive
Rome, GA 30161
(706) 295-6938