The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. They are:

1. The right to inspect and review their educational records within 45 days of the day the College received a request for access.
Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of time and place where the records may be inspected.

2. The right to request an amendment of any of their educational records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading.
Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write to the Registrar and clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading.
If the College decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his or her right to a hearing. The hearing procedures will be provided to the student when he or she is notified of the right to a hearing.

3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosures without consent.
One exception which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or the College bookstore); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; 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.

4. 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
US Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605

Cecil College designates the following categories of student information as public or "Directory Information". Such information may be disclosed by the institution for any purpose, at its discretion: name, address, telephone number, dates of attendance, class, previous institution(s) attended, major field of study, awards, honors (including Dean's list), degree(s) conferred (including dates), past and present participation in officially recognized sports and activities, physical factors (height, weight of athletes), date and place of birth, and photographs.
Currently enrolled students may withhold disclosure of any category of information under FERPA. To withhold disclosure, written notification must be received in the Registrar's Office within two weeks after the first day of class for the semester/session. Forms requesting the withholding of "Directory Information", with the exception of photographs, are available in the Registrar's Office.
Cecil College assumes that failure on the part of any student to request withholding of categories of "Directory Information" indicates individual approval for disclosure.