Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Columbus College of Art and Design is covered by FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974), which serves to protect the student’s educational records maintained by the college. Under this Act, the student is entitled to the following rights:

• the right to inspect and review educational records maintained by the college that pertain to the student;
• the right to challenge the content of records on the grounds that they are inaccurate, misleading, or a violation of privacy or other rights;
• the right to control disclosures from the educational records with certain exceptions;

Columbus College of Art and Design has designated under FERPA the following categories of educational information about students as public, or directory information: Name, address, telephone number (home and work), major, participation in officially recognized activities, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received (including honors), picture or other likeness, and most recent previous college or institution attended.

Any student has the right to have directory information withheld from the public by notifying One Stop Student Services in writing or in person. However, graduation information is exempt and is considered to be public information that may be released by the College.

Students have the right to file written complaints with The Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605, regarding alleged violations of the Act.