Educational Records

Enrollment and Degree Verification-National Student Clearinghouse

Robeson Community College is a member of the National Student Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse provides a central repository for information on the enrollment status of Qualifying Program borrowers attending educational institutions. The Clearinghouse is the school’s agent for purposes of confirming enrollment status of student financial aid recipients. Robeson Community College reports the enrollment status of students to the Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse is then responsible for providing status and deferment information, on behalf of the College, to guaranty agencies and lenders. See www.studentclearinghouse.org [opens in a new tab]. Employers and/or background-screening firms should access www.degreeverify.com [opens in a new tab].

Student Rights, and Responsibilities

Student Records

ROBESON COMMUNITY COLLEGE RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 (THE BUCKLEY AMENDMENT)

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the rights of the student and the responsibilities of the institution concerning the various types of student records maintained by the institution are established. Consistent with this legislation, Robeson Community College establishes the following policy to ensure compliance. Failure to comply with standards prescribed in the Act could jeopardize federal funding received by the institution and its students.

The full statement of the College policy, non-disclosure forms, requests to review and inspect, as well as request for hearing forms are available in the Office of the Registrar in the Fred G. Williams, Jr. Student Center.

Directory Information

Directory information as designated by Robeson Community College may be released for any purpose and at the discretion of RCC. Directory information includes name, address, telephone number, major field of study, enrollment status, dates of enrollment, participation in officially recognized activities, grade level (freshman/sophomore), degrees and awards received, and the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended. Students have the right to withhold disclosure of any directory information by completing a request for nondisclosure in the Records and Registration Office. Requests for non-disclosure must be filed for every semester. The College assumes that a student’s failure to file a request for non-disclosure indicates approval for disclosure. The complete text of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) can be found on the U.S. Department of Education website. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa [opens in a new tab]

Rights of Students

In compliance with the law, an individual becomes a student when he/she registers at the College. Upon reaching age 18 or attending an institution beyond the high school level, the student has the right to view his/ her own school or college records. These records include the academic transcript of the College, post-secondary transcripts, high school transcripts, and other documents maintained as part of the students permanent file with the exception of confidential letters of recommendation. All permanent academic records are housed and maintained by the Registrar.

RCC requires written authorization from the student prior to release of academic records. A minimum of 48 working hours may be required by the College to access the requested academic information. The student may inspect, copy, and review his/her records in the Registrar’s Office. There may be a charge for copies. A sample copy of the “Request to Review Education Records” can be found on the College’s website at http://www.robeson.edu/registration/ferpa/ [opens in a new tab]

Rights of Parents

Parents of a child who is under the age of 18 and has never attended an educational institution beyond high school level has the right to inspect and review that child’s academic records. After a student reaches the age of 18 or enters a post-secondary institution, the parent will be denied access to the students academic record unless the student gives written consent. The College assumes that all students are independent adults attending an institution designed for adult education. Parents do have the right to review the academic records of their child if they are claiming the child as an income tax deduction; however, they must show proof of the claim.

Rights and Duties of Faculty

The faculty of the College has a legitimate educational interest in a student’s academic records. Therefore, access to those records is authorized by the institution. Along with this access comes certain obligations and responsibilities. A faculty member shall not access educational records of any student for which he/she does not have a direct advisory relationship. A faculty member shall be responsible for the security of all academic information in his/her possession. These records must not be accessible to students and unauthorized personnel. A faculty member shall refrain from disclosing academic information by phone without the written consent of the student.

Rights and Duties of Administration

Student Services and specifically the Registrar’s Office, have the responsibility of maintaining and safeguarding the academic records of all students of the College. Consistent with this responsibility, the personnel of Student Services will access student records as needed. However, these individuals bear the responsibility for ensuring that no unauthorized disclosure of student academic information occurs without the written consent of that student. Administrators of the College may access student records when needed to facilitate the student’s educational pursuit. College administrators may disclose a student’s educational records to appropriate parties in connection with a health or safety emergency. Furthermore, College administrators have the right to contact parents of any student under the age of 21 that has violated a Federal, State, or local law, or any rule or policy of the institution, including the use or possession of alcohol or a controlled substance.

Educational records of a student will not be accessed for employment decisions without the written consent of the student. Information from student academic records may be shared in aggregate for educational research purposes.

Challenge of the Contents of Education Records:

1. Robeson Community College provides students with the opportunity to challenge the contents of their education records which the student considers to be inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy or other rights.
2. When Robeson Community College receives a challenge request, it will decide within 15 days whether or not corrective action consistent with the student’s request will be taken. The student will be notified of the decision. If the decision is in agreement with the student’s request, the appropriate records shall be amended.
3. When a student is not provided full relief sought by the challenge, he/she shall be informed by the Registrar of his/her rights to a formal hearing on the matter.
4. A student’s request for a formal hearing must be in writing. Student Request for Formal Hearing form is available in the Records Office and on the College’s website at http://www.robeson.edu/registration/ferpa/ [opens in a new tab]. This form may be picked up in the Registrar’s Office. Within 15 days after receiving the request, the student shall be informed of the date, place, and time of the hearing.
5. Students shall be afforded a full and fair opportunity to present evidence relevant to the issue raised. A student may be assisted or represented at the hearing by one or more persons of his/her choice, including an attorney at the student’s own expense.
6. The decision of the hearing panel will be final, will be based solely on the evidence presented at the hearing, and will consist of a written statement summarizing the evidence, and stating the reasons of the decision which will be delivered to all parties concerned.
   1. Robeson Community College will correct or amend any educational records in accordance with the decision of the hearing panel if the decision is in favor of the student.
   2. If the decision is unsatisfactory to the student, the Registrar will inform the student that: (1) The student has the opportunity to place with the education records a written statement about the information in the records, or a statement giving any reason for disagreeing with the decision of the hearing panel. (2) That the written statement given by the student will be placed in the education records and will be maintained as part of the record for so long as the records are held by Robeson Community College. (3) When the education records are disclosed to the authorized party, the statement filed by the student shall be included.
   3. A student cannot use his rights of challenge to question substantive education judgments which are correctly recorded. A student does not have the right to challenge a grade given in a course because he/ she feels a higher grade should have been given.
7. Students will not be permitted to inspect and review the following information that may be a part of their education records:
   1. Financial information submitted by parents.
   2. Confidential letters and recommendations placed in their files prior to January 1, 1975, provided these letters were collected under established policies of confidentiality and were used only for the purposes for which collected.
   3. Confidential letters and recommendations associated with administrations, employment or job placement, or honors to which students have waived right of inspection and review.

Location of Student’s Education Records

A copy of all curriculum student education records is kept in the Office of Records and Registration. The Registrar is chiefly responsible for maintaining all of these records and the issuance of student transcripts.

A copy of all continuing education records are kept in the Continuing Education Department, although all transcripts are issued by the curriculum registrar. The directors and secretaries are chiefly responsible for data included in these records.

Other officials which are responsible for student education records are as follows:

Financial Aid Officer - Student financial aid, benefits, and services.

Veteran Affairs Officer - VA records on all veteran students.

Placement Officer - The placement folder contains a personal data sheet with the following information: biography, education, experience, preferred placement and references. Also a faculty evaluation sheet on the student’s quality of work, appearance, cooperation, dependability, initiative, personality, judgment, and leadership.

Counselors - Entrance assessment records.

Advisors - Scholastic records and grade reports, advisory information sheets.

Other Locations - Robeson Community College electronic data files, including backups, are stored in three campus locations; vintage files are archived in the campus vault, and a digital transcript file is delivered annually to a safe deposit box at BB&T, Lumberton NC.

Refund Policy

The policies relating to tuition refund for students are determined by the North Carolina Community College System Statewide Refund Policy for all North Carolina Community Colleges. Activity and technology fees are not tuition based and are non-refundable. For additional information please see the “Student Finances ” section. You are also referred to the college’s website at www.robeson.edu/policy [opens in a new tab].