RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY

POLICY STATEMENT

Agathon UAF Policy provides operational procedures for administering and maintaining education and other learner records in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) .

Definition of Education Records

Education records are defined as those records directly related to a learner and maintained by the institution or by a party acting for the institution.

The term does not include:

• Records that are kept in the sole possession of the maker, are used only as a personal memory aid, and are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record.
• Records of the law enforcement unit of an educational agency or institution.
• Records related to an individual who is employed by an educational agency or institution, that:
  • are made and maintained in the normal course of business;
  • related exclusively to the individual in that individual’s capacity as an employee; and
  • are not available for use for any other purpose.
• Records on a learner, that are:
  • made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in his or her professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity;
  • made, maintained, or used only in connection with treatment of the student; and
  • disclosed only to individuals providing the treatment. For the purpose of this definition, “treatment” does not include remedial educational activities or activities that are part of the program of instruction at the agency or institution.
• Records created or received by an educational agency or institution after an individual is no longer a learner in attendance and that are not directly related to the individual’s attendance as a learner.

Designation of Custodians of Records

The Office of Enrollment Management is designated as custodian of pre-matriculation and academic records of students. 

Agathon UAF will furnish a transcript, a formal printed or digital copy of a learner’s permanent academic record, externally only at the specific request of the learner involved.

Transcripts may be furnished to accrediting groups without the learner’s consent, but in such cases the learner’s name will be removed from the transcript. Similarly, transcripts with the name and learner identification number redacted may be released for use in research purposes.

The Office of Learner Success is designated as custodian of learner conduct records of learners. Disciplinary actions affecting a learner’s enrollment status with Agathon UAF may be noted on a learner’s academic transcript.

Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information

Prior consent of the learner is not needed for disclosure of Directory Information (see next section) or for disclosure of a learners’ educational record to school officials with a legitimate educational interest in the record. School officials having a legitimate educational interest include any Agathon UAF leadership or faculty acting within the scope of their Agathon UAF responsibility, and any duly appointed agent or representative of Agathon UAF acting within the scope of their appointment. In addition, Agathon UAF may, at its sole discretion, forward education records to the officials of another institution (a) in which a learner seeks or intends to enroll if that institution requests such records, or (b) if the learner is enrolled in, or is receiving services from, that institution while they are attending Agathon UAF. In addition, personally identifiable information may be released in connection with state-wide longitudinal data systems requests.

Annual Notice to Students

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records (Note: An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who is 18 years of age or older or who attends a postsecondary institution). These rights include: 

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days after the day the University receives a request for access.
2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.
3. The right to provide written consent before the university discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA.

Annual notice of these guidelines will be provided to registered learners and are available from the Office of the Registrar.

Agathon UAF will provide an annual notice to students regarding their rights with respect to their education records. 

Access to Education Records

A learner should submit to the Office of the Registrar or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the learner wishes to inspect. The Agathon UAF official 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 school official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the learner of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

Amendment of Education Records

If a learner believes that any of the education records relating to them contain information that is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their rights of privacy, they may ask Agathon UAF to correct or delete such information. The learner may also ask that additional explanatory material be inserted in the record. A learner may obtain digital copies of records at no cost. An official copy of the student’s academic record will be prepared at the cost of the transcript fee for that academic year.

If a request to amend education records is refused, the learner shall be so informed and shall be advised of the right to a hearing and the procedure to follow to obtain said hearing. A Learner Records Hearing Panel composed of two (2) learners, two (2) faculty members, and two (2) executive faculty has been established for this purpose. If, as a result of a hearing, the Learner Records Hearing Panel decides that the information challenged is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the learner, the Registrar shall amend the education records of the learner and so inform the learner. If the Learner Records Hearing Panel decides the information is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the privacy or other rights of the learner, the Registrar shall inform the learner of the right to place in the education records a statement commenting upon the information in the records and/or setting forth any reasons for disagreeing with the decision of Agathon UAF. Such comment or explanation by the learner shall be maintained, and, if the education records or the contested portion thereof is disclosed by Agathon UAF to anyone, the explanation also shall be disclosed. Learners requesting a hearing should address the request to:

Agathon UAF
Office of the Registrar
Attn: Learner Records Hearing Panel Chairperson
PO Box 241
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549

Learners may not inspect and review the following kinds of records: financial statements submitted by their parents; confidential letters and recommendations with respect to admissions, applications for employment, or receipt of an honor or honorary recognition, provided the students have waived their rights of inspection and a review; education records which contain information about more than one learner, in which case access only to that part of the record which pertains to the inquiring learner will be permitted.

Agathon UAF will not provide copies of official transcripts which have a financial-hold.

Perpetuity of Education Records

Should Agathon UAF cease operation for any reason, Agathon UAF records will be maintained by its academic partner, AgathonEDU Educational Group, into perpetuity, unless Agathon UAF leadership selects another partner school to maintain academic records and transcripting. 

Complaints Regarding Education Records

A student who believes there has been a violation of the provisions of FERPA may file a complaint with the Family Policy Compliance Office of the U.S. Department of Education:

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

Complaints must contain specific allegations of fact giving reasonable cause to believe that a violation of FERPA has occurred.