In accordance with the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, the ECC protects the rights to privacy of every active or inactive student of the information contained in the student’s academic record.

All information, typed or hand written, movie, photo, or any other information in the possession of this institution or an employee of the institution becomes part of the student’s academic record and must be protected by the institution and its personnel.

The ECC grants all the rights to privacy that FERPA confers each student. The ECC will not disclose any information contained in a student’s academic record, unless there exists a written authorization signed by the student. However, FERPA allows the disclosure of information to the following agencies without the student’s consent:

• School officials having specific tasks as defined in the job description and functions dealing with educational training, discipline, counseling, and job placement.
• Organizations providing financial aid to students that use the information for analysis in order to determine eligibility.
• Organizations that carry out studies for ECC. These organizations can not disclose information in the student’s record and they must destroy that information when no longer necessary for the purpose of the studies.
• Crediting agencies.
• A student’s parents, who claim him / her as dependent according to the IRS of 1954, section 52.
• Officials who must execute a court order or a summoning legally emitted.
• In emergency cases, when disclosing information is imperative in order to protect the student’s life or the life of other individuals.
• Employees of institutions to which our students want to be admitted to continue their studies. The ECC will specify that the information is strictly confidential and that they must not disclose the information to other parties without the student’s consent.

As required by FERPA, the ECC will keep a record of all persons, institutions or agencies who have requested information from us.

According to FERPA, the ECC may disclose information classified as of public interest or as a Directory without the student’s written consent such as:

• Name
• Address
• Telephone Numbers
• Course of Study
• Starting and Termination Dates
• GPI
• Certificates and Honors Awarded
• Schools Attended
• Participation in Activities Sponsored by ECC

This information will be disclosed to individuals or agencies interested in the general welfare of our students. FERPA grants the students the right to examine and review all the information included in their academic records by writing to the Academic Director and asking for permission to do so. The Academic Director will make the necessary arrangements to grant the student’s petition and will notify the student in writing the time and place no later than forty – five (45) days after the petition has been filed.

If a student, after revising his / her records finds incorrect or incomplete information, he / she can ask the ECC to make the necessary correction. The student must follow the following procedure:

• Request in writing the correction of the academic record
• Identify the incorrect information and explain the reasons why he/she thinks the information is incorrect. The ECC will analyze the petition and will be corrected. The decision will be notified in writing no later than sixty (60) days after the petition has been filed. If the student is not satisfied with the decision made by ECC he / she can ask the Academic Director for a formal hearing for revision. If the revision is granted, the student will be notified in advance when it will happen. In the hearing the student may present meaningful evidence related to the issue being addressed. The student could be assisted or represented by a lawyer or other persons of his choice. The decision reached during the formal hearing will be final based exclusively on the evidence presented and will be notified to all parties concerned.

The record will be corrected in accordance with the decision reached at the hearing if the petition is granted.

If the student is still not satisfied with the decision made, he/she can include in his record a statement exposing the reason why he/she doesn’t agree wit the decision taken; this statement will be included in his/her record and it will become part of the record and will be disclosed when information is requested.

When the student considers the decision unfair or not in conformity with the law, he/she can submit a complaint to:

Students may obtain copies of their records if they do not have any debt with ECC or a discipline problem pending settlement. The costs of the copies are the responsibility of the student as indicated in the school catalog and other ECC official documents.

A student can not revise the following documents in his record according to regulations established by law:

• Recommendation letters or reports to which the student has renounced the right to access or that have been filed before January 1975.
• Records containing an application for admission which has been declined.
• All the records excluded by the description of FERPA, including the records of teachers, students and other personnel, etc.

The catalog every student at ECC receives includes a copy of FERPA so that he/she can get acquainted with his/her rights.

The ECC has established its own rules to make sure we comply with the law. Any student requesting a course certification or copies of academic record must fill out the proper forms indicating if the document will be picked-up or mailed. In the form the student must specify if the copy is an official copy or a personal copy. A personal copy will have a seal indicating it at such. An official copy must indicate the name, address, individuals or institutions receiving the documents which will be sealed and labeled as confidential and should not be returned to the student or passed to other individuals.