Registrar Services and Educational Records

Change of Contact Information

Change of address can be made by current students via the College’s Web-based student information system or in person, with a photo ID, at the Enrollment Services Center. Every attempt will be made to forward first-class mail to residential students during the summer months.

International students are also required by federal statute to notify the director of international student services of any change of address within 10 days of moving. 

Confidentiality of Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students, defined as anyone who is or has been in attendance at the College, certain rights. The rights described in the sections below are provided here to satisfy the notification requirements of FERPA, and this notification is not intended to confer upon students any rights (by means of a contractual or quasi-contractual theory or otherwise) that are not provided by FERPA itself.

You have the right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from your student education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. You may submit or revoke your permission to release otherwise non-releasable educational records at any time, by providing a request in writing to the Registrar’s Office.

The Consent to Release Educational Records form is available, for your convenience, on the Champlain College Web site under “Registrar’s Office.”

FERPA defines educational records as “records, files, documents, and other materials which contain information directly related to a student…maintained by an educational agency or institution.” By law, “educational records” do not include:

1. Personal files of faculty and administrative staff in the maker’s sole possession that are not revealed to any other person
2. Records of Champlain College’s Security division
3. Medical or psychological records created and used only by those providing treatment to a student (a physician or other professional may review these records at the student’s request, however)

Public Information

 The College publishes “directory information” about you at various times during the academic year. This information includes your name, sex, date and place of birth, marital status, home and school addresses, e-mail address, phone number, major field of study, student status (full-time or part-time), class level, class year, extracurricular activities, dates of attendance, degrees, honors or awards you have received, your photograph or video image, the most recent education institution you attended, and your parents’ names, addresses and phone numbers.

This information will be disclosed without your prior consent unless you notify the College, in writing, that you choose not to have directory information shared. You may choose to submit this request to the Registrar’s Office at any time.

Please consider the consequences of a decision to withhold directory information. A nondisclosure block will call for Champlain College not to release any or all of this “directory information”; thus, any future requests for such information from non-institutional persons or organizations will be refused, unless another exception to FERPA (e.g., the exception that permits release of education records without consent in the event of a health or safety emergency) applies. Champlain will honor your request to withhold directory information, unless an exception applies, but cannot assume responsibility for contacting you for subsequent permission to release this information, regardless of the effect upon you. 

Photo Release Policy

Unless a written statement to the contrary is filed with the Registrar, students give permission and authorization to Champlain College to use any photographic, video and/or digital images, or images in any other form now existing or invented in the future, of themselves that are taken or authorized to be taken by a Champlain College faculty or staff member, where such use is for instructional or promotional purposes. Students waive any right to inspect or approve such use. Students release any and all claims or damages for libel, slander, or invasion of right of privacy. 

Student Access Rights

You have the right to inspect and review your education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access.

However, by law, much of the information you and your parents provide to Champlain College when applying for admission is kept confidential. This section outlines which records you may and may not be permitted to review:

1. Financial records and related financial information about your parents cannot be released to you. The law requires Champlain College to either store these records separately from records subject to your review or conspicuously stamp them “Confidential-Not to Be Released.”
2. The College is not required to let you see confidential evaluations and recommendations that were placed in your education files prior to January 1, 1975. All your other education records are open for your inspection unless you waive your right of access (see following paragraph).
3. You may elect to waive your right to review evaluations and recommendations submitted on or after January 1, 1975, but you cannot be required to waive this right as a condition of admission, of receiving financial aid or of receiving any other services or benefits from the College. Even if you waive your right of access, you still have the right to request the name of each person who has submitted any evaluation or recommendation to your files. These evaluations and recommendations may be used only for the purpose(s) intended.

Grade Notification Policy

Students: Grades are available to students via the College’s Web-based student information system. With the security of a student identification number and a personal identification number (PIN), students may view their grades on the Web at any time. Grades are reported by faculty following the completion of a term and at mid-semester for full-semester courses. See the Grades  section for further explanation.

Parents: It is the policy of the College to mail mid-semester and final grade reports to the parents or guardians of all students who have consented to such release. Upon request, the College also mails mid-semester and final grade reports to the parents and guardians who have supplied documentation indicating their child’s dependent status for federal income tax purposes.

Access Rights of Others

The following are non-exhaustive examples of individuals to whom education records may be released without consent, and/ or circumstances in which education records may be released without consent:

1. A College official with a legitimate educational interest. For the purposes of this policy, College officials include Board members; supervisory, academic, research and support employees of the College; or employees or contractors hired to perform special tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, consultants, attorneys, auditors, insurers, evaluators, therapists, tutors, paraprofessionals, health staff, transportation staff, collection agents, extracurricular staff and interns. A College official has a legitimate educational interest when fulfilling the duties of his or her job description or contract agreement, contributing to a student’s education, participating in a disciplinary proceeding, reviewing a complaint about the student, providing a service to the College, or providing a service to the student or the student’s family such as counseling or job placement.
2. Authorized federal officials auditing federally supported education programs, and state officials for whom information from student records is required by statute.
3. Recognized accrediting organizations carrying out their accrediting functions.
4. A student’s parents, if the student is dependent on them for federal income tax purposes.
5. In a health or safety emergency.
6. In other circumstances as allowed by FERPA.

The College forwards records to officials at other institutions where a student seeks or intends to enroll upon the request of the institution. Each office maintaining education records should keep an up-to-date list of individuals, agencies or organizations, other than College officials (as defined above), authorized federal officials, representatives of accrediting organizations, or parents of dependent students, who have requested or obtained access to your education records.

Procedures for Examining a Record

1. To review any of your academic records, you first must submit a request in writing to the institutional office that maintains the record in question. Each office maintaining records has its own procedures for receiving and processing such requests.
2. Each office will inform you when the requested record will be made available.
3. Anyone seeking to review his or her student record is required to properly identify himself or herself before being shown a record.
4. You are obligated to examine your records during reasonable hours at the office where they are maintained and not to interfere with the operation of that office.
5. Before the records are turned over for review, all confidential data as outlined under Student Access Rights will be removed.
6. The examination of the record will be supervised.
7. You may receive copies of your records upon paying the established fee for copies.

Reviewing & Expunging Academic Records

Each student’s permanent academic record is maintained in perpetuity by the College. Other records are not officially designated as permanent records; therefore, they will be expunged in accordance with any document retention policy maintained by the College and/or at the discretion of the office maintaining the record.

Challenging the Content of an Academic Record

You have a right to challenge the contents of your records if you believe they are inaccurate, are misleading or violate your privacy. To do so, you first must write to the designated custodian of the record in question, clearly identify the part of the record you believe should be changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested, you will be notified in writing of the decision and will be given information about your right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment.

If, upon completion of the hearing procedure, your disagreement regarding the content of your records has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you have the right to place a written statement in your records stating your specific disagreement. Each time the disputed record is released to a third party; the College will also distribute your statement of disagreement.

Filing a Complaint

You have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education if you believe that the College has violated your rights under FERPA. The address of the office responsible for investigating complaints is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-5920

Information Security Program 

In order to continue to protect certain private information and data, and to comply with federal laws effective May 23, 2003, the College has developed an information security program for certain highly critical and private financial and related information. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires the College to develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive security program containing the administrative, technical and physical safeguards that are appropriate to the College’s size, to its complexity, and to the nature of its activities. The program has five components:

(1) designating an employee or office responsible for coordinating the program; (2) conducting risk assessments to identify reasonably foreseeable security and privacy risks;

(3) ensuring that safeguards are employed to control the risks identified and that the effectiveness of these safeguards is regularly tested and monitored;

(4) overseeing service providers; and

(5) maintaining and adjusting this information security program based upon the results of testing and monitoring, as well as changes in operations or operating systems. The plan will be evaluated and revised annually. The designated employee for the coordination and execution of the information security plan at Champlain College is the Director of Infrastructure. All inquiries about the information security program should therefore be directed to the Information Systems Department.