In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), VPCC is responsible for monitoring access to and release of information from student education records. Staff and faculty with access to student education records are legally responsible for protecting the privacy of the student by using information only for legitimate educational reasons to instruct, advise, or otherwise assist students. FERPA also assures certain rights to students at the Virginia Peninsula Community College regarding their education records. These rights do not transfer to parents, guardians, spouses or other family members without the specific written permission of the student.
Security and confidentiality are matters of concern to all College employees and to all other persons who have access to education records. Each individual who has access to confidential information is expected to adhere to the regulations stated below. A person who has access to education records may not:
- Reveal the content of any record or report to anyone, except in the conduct of his or her work assignments and in accordance with College policies and procedures.
- Make or allow any unauthorized use of information.
- Knowingly include false, inaccurate or misleading entry in any report or record.
- Knowingly expunge a data record or a data entry form and record, report or file.
- Share individual passwords with any other person (for password protected data).
- Seek personal benefit or allow others to benefit personally from the knowledge of any confidential information they have acquired through work assignments.
- Remove any official record or report, or copy of any official report, from the office where it is maintained, except in the performance of official duties.
Posting of Grades
Faculty and staff are responsible for protecting the identity of students and keeping student grades confidential. Grades linked to personal identifiers (names, student ID number, or social security numbers) may not be publicly disclosed without specific permission from the student as described above. Graded papers, exams, quizzes and other assignments are considered part of the student's education record and must be returned to the student in a manner designed to maintain confidentiality.