Office of Registration & Records

Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)

Community College of Denver (CCD) - Notification of Rights under FERPA

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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. FERPA rights are afforded to the students at the time of admission. These rights include:
  1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day Community College of Denver receives a request for access. A student should submit to the Office of Registration and Records, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the Registrar, they shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
  2. 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. A student who wishes to ask Community College of Denver to amend a record should write the Registrar, who will notify the college official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants to be changed and specify why it should be changed. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s right to a hearing re-grading the request for amendment using the Student Grievance Procedure SP 4-31. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
  3. The right to provide written consent before Community College of Denver discloses personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to college officials with legitimate educational interests. A college official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using college employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the College Board; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. Community College of Denver has designated the National Student Clearinghouse, the Auraria Police Department, and the Health Center at Auraria as college officials. Community College of Denver has also designated Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver), and University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) as college officials for students taking developmental courses through these institutions, inter-institutional registration, and physical education courses. A college official (including CCD advisors representing NSLS, PTK and other honorary or leadership programs) has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the College. Upon request, the College discloses education records, without a student's consent, to officials of another school, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll, or after enrollment.

The College may share educational records to parents in the following circumstances: for a student who is dependent under I.R.S. tax code; a student under 21-years old who has violated a law or the school's rules or policies governing alcohol or substance abuse; and when the information is needed to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals in an emergency.

As of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education's FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records — including your Social Security Number, grades, or other private information — may be accessed without your consent. First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities ("Federal and State Authorities") may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is "principally engaged in the provision of education," such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.

The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) considers the following to be directory information and Community College of Denver staff may disclose this information, without prior consent, to anyone inquiring in person, by phone, or in writing: student name; major field of study; dates of student attendance; degrees / certificates and awards student has earned; most recent educational institution attended by the student; enrollment status (full-time, part-time, etc.), participation in officially recognized activities and sports; and if participating in an officially recognized activity or sport, height, weight, and high school attended.

Addresses (including mail and e-mail) are considered PII and are not released as directory information except for the following:

  • Graduation lists released to news media, which may include the student’s city of residence.
  • Other listings to the news media and college personnel for special awards, honors, and events.
  • Notification to Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and other academic honor societies for students who are eligible to be considered for membership.

Additionally, name, address, phone number, date and place of birth, level of education, most recently attended college, the field of study, and degree(s) received of students may be released to military recruiters upon request in accordance with the Solomon Amendment. All other information contained in student records is considered private and not open to the public without the student’s written consent. Students who do not want their directory/public information released to third parties or students who do not want to be listed in the College online e-Directory should complete a form to suppress directory information available online or at the Office of Registration and Records Office by the first day of the semester.

  1. 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. 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 20202-5901

In accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003, CCD adheres to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Red Flag Rule (A Red Flag is any pattern, practice, or specific activity that indicates the possible existence of identity theft), which implements Section 114 of the FACTA and to the Colorado Community College System’s Identity Theft Prevention and Detection Program, which is intended to prevent, detect, and mitigate identity theft in connection with establishing new covered accounts or an existing covered account held by the Colorado Community College System or one of its 13 community colleges, and to provide for continued administration of the program. If a transaction is deemed fraudulent, appropriate action will occur. Action may include, but is not limited to, canceling of the transaction, notifying and cooperating with law enforcement, reporting to the Office of Student Conduct, and notifying the affected parties. Please review these links for more information on the Federal Trade Commission Statute, Red Flag Rules, and Identity Theft Consumer Information.