Aerial view of campus with Williamsport, the Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Mountain as a backdrop

Student Educational Records

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, college students enjoy essentially seven basic rights with regard to their educational records. These include:

  1. The right to inspect and review, with certain exceptions, their official records;
  2. The right to a hearing to challenge the content of the record to insure that records are not inaccurate or to correct inaccurate information;
  3. The assurance, with certain exceptions, those records will not be released without the student's written consent;
  4. The right to know what agencies, organizations, or persons has access to the records and their interest in such access;
  5. The assurance that personal information from the student's educational record shall only be transferred to a third party on the condition that such party will not permit any other party to have access to such information without the written consent of the student;
  6. Annual notification of their rights pursuant to the Act;
  7. The right to submit a written complaint to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Office, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. concerning the alleged failure of the College to comply with the Act and its implementing regulations.

The regulations implementing the Act may also be found in the Federal Register Vol. 48, No. 118, Thursday, June 17, 1976, pp. 24670-24675. Questions regarding the Act or its implementing regulations should be directed to the Registrar or the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students.

Directory Information

Under the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (PL93-380) and amended in 1992) (FERPA), directory information is considered public information and, as such, may be made available through the approval of the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students and, when appropriate, the Registrar to third parties unless you request to be excluded from such published information. Directory information may include your name, your parents' name, local and home address, email address, and telephone numbers, date and place of birth, major field of study, class year, dates of attendance, degrees, related to participation in officially recognized activities and sports, dates to be used in determining eligibility for honors and awards, activities, intercollegiate athletic participation, other appropriate recognition, and educational agencies and institutions attended by the student. If you do not wish to have this information about you made public, you must complete the “Request for a Directory Hold” form in the Office of the Registrar, 109 Long Hall, by the end of the drop/add period in any term. The directory hold will remain in effect until you request that it be removed. Seniors are urged to remove this hold prior to graduation. Otherwise, the College will not be permitted to respond to calls from potential employers.

Release of Student Information

Lycoming College, in respect to a student's growing independence and "ownership" of their educational record, which includes academic, financial and conduct records, elects to give students the opportunity to decide whether they wish to waive their FERPA right (disclosure of educational record to parents) regardless of their IRS status as a dependent . Upon entry to the College, students are required to complete a FERPA Release Form. The completed form is considered in effect during the student’s enrollment at the College. A student may change their FERPA option at any time during their enrollment by visiting the Office of the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students.

Lycoming College communicates with the student directly and releases information about the student to others, including parents, only with the student's consent as indicated on the FERPA Release Form with the exception of the following:

  • Directory information;
  • Release of information necessary for protection of health and safety of the student and others;
  • Multiple violations of the Code of Conduct for alcohol;
  • Violations of the Code of Conduct that may lead to suspension;
  • Release of information to faculty and staff that have a legitimate educational need for the information.
  • In connection for financial aid for which the student has applied;
  • Under a court order subpoena.

Retention of Records

Student records considered non-public are maintained only by full-time members of the College staff employed for that purpose. These include:

  1. Academic and Admissions Records—Registrar and the Provost
  2. Psychological and Counseling Records—Director of Counseling Services
  3. Financial Records—Treasurer and Director of Financial Aid
  4. Disciplinary Records—Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life
  5. Medical Information—Director of Health Services
  6. Alumni Records—Director of Alumni Relations
  7. Placement Files—Director of Career Services

Student records will be retained as follows:

  1. Each student's ACADEMIC RECORD will be kept indefinitely.
  2. The MEDICAL RECORDS of a student will be retained seven (7) years from the date of the student's graduation or withdrawal.
  3. The DISCIPLINARY RECORDS maintained by the Office of the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students and/or Director of Residential Life are maintained as follows:
    • Records of suspension and/or dismissal from the College will be maintained permanently;
    • Records of deferred suspension will be maintained for a period of one (1) year after a student graduates or may be maintained for a longer period of time at the discretion of the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students based on the circumstances of the incident;
    • Records of warning, probation, or other sanctions will be destroyed upon a student's graduation;
    • The judicial records of a student who has voluntarily withdrawn from the College will be destroyed after two consecutive years of such withdrawal unless the record indicates a prior suspension in which case the record will be maintained permanently.
  4. The complete Disciplinary Records Retention Policy can be found at: https://www.lycoming.edu/student-handbook/disciplinary-records-retention.aspx
  5. COUNSELING RECORDS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST DATA are maintained by Counseling Services for a period of five (5) years after the termination of services.
  6. ADMISSIONS RECORDS and supporting documents are sent to the Registrar's Office when a student matriculates. The Registrar's Office retains these records for a three-year (3) period.
  7. FINANCIAL AID RECORDS are retained for a five-year (5) period, unless for purposes required by law, records must be kept longer.
  8. FINANCIAL RECORDS will be retained so long as any obligation to the College remains or as required by law.
  9. PLACEMENT MATERIALS are kept in the Career Services Office for a period of five (5) years after a student graduates.
  10. INCIDENT REPORTS are kept in the Office of Public Safety in Rich Hall for a period of five (5) years.