Privacy of Student Records

A Special Note to Parents Concerning a Student’s Educational Rights and Privacy

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (referred to as the “Buckley Amendment” or “FERPA”) is designed to protect the confidentiality of the records that educational institutions like MATC maintain on their students, and to give students access to their records to ensure the accuracy of their contents. The Act affords your student certain rights with respect to their education:

  • The right to inspect and review their education records
  • The right to request amendment of their education records if the student believes they are inaccurate or misleading
  • The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information in their education records
  • The right to contact the Family Policy Compliance Office with a complaint concerning the college’s compliance

Information that MATC may disclose at its discretion is called “directory information.” Directory information is information contained in an educational record of a student that generally would not be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Included in directory information for MATC is student name, major field of study, dates of attendance, full-time/part-time status; degrees, technical diplomas or certificates awarded; and participation in officially recognized activities and sports. 

If your student wishes to withhold the disclosure of all of the items of directory information, he or she must complete a Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information form, which is available in the Welcome Center on each campus. The form is processed in the Registrar’s office and must be received within the first two weeks of each term. A new non-disclosure form must be completed each semester, including Summer semester.

A Special Note to Parents Concerning a Student’s Grades

Grades and all other student education records are protected by FERPA. In compliance with the law, non-directory information, which includes grades and academic progress, requires the student’s written consent prior to its release by a school official to any source outside the college (including parents). At the conclusion of each semester, students are able to access their final grades electronically through Self-Service. Students can show parents their grades electronically, or they can print a report to show. Grades are not sent to the student by mail.