Announcements

Annual Notice to Students:
FERPA & Consumer Information Announcement (PDF)
September 29, 2020
FERPA

Annually, the Peralta Community College District informs students of the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. This Act, with which the institution intends to comply fully, was
designated to protect the privacy of educational records.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their
education records.

These rights include:

• The right to inspect and review the student’s Peralta Community College District education records within
  15 days of the request for access. Students should submit a written request to the Vice Chancellor of
  Student Services that identifies the record(s) they wish to inspect. The Vice Chancellor of Student Services
  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 Admissions and Records Office, the student shall be
  advised of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.

• The right to request an amendment to the education records that the student believes is inaccurate.
  Students should write to the Vice Chancellor of Student Services, clearly identifying the part of the record
  they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate. If Peralta Community College District decides not to
  amend the record as requested by the student, the student shall be notified of the decision and advised as
  to his or her right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the
  hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.
  The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s
  education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. Student records
  may be released to authorized representatives of the Comptroller General of the United States, the
  Secretary of Education, an administrative head of an education agency, state education officials, or their
  respective designees or the United States Office of Civil Rights, where that information is necessary to
  audit or evaluate a state or federally supported educational program or pursuant to federal or state law.
  Exceptions are that when the collection of personally identifiable information is specifically authorized by
  federal law, any data collected by those officials shall be protected in a manner that will not permit the
  personal identification of students or their parents by other than those officials, and any personally
  identifiable data shall be destroyed when no longer needed for that audit, evaluation, and enforcement of
  federal legal requirements. An exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school
  officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the Peralta
  Community College District in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position
  (including law enforcement personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom Peralta
  Community College District has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, collection agent, degree conferral
  & transcript processing agent, document managing agent, and placement sites for internship or similar
  student work/study opportunities); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; a student serving on an
  official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in
  performing his or her tasks; consultants, volunteers or other outside parties to whom Peralta Community
  College District has outsourced institutional services or functions that it would otherwise use employees to
  perform. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education
  perform. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education
  record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility. Student records shall be released pursuant to
  a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena. As allowed within FERPA guidelines, the Peralta Community
  College District may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school, upon
  request, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the
  Peralta Community College District to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of
  the Office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC,
20202-4605

At its discretion Peralta College District may provide Directory Information in accordance with the provisions of the
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Directory Information is defined as that information which would not
generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if disclosed. Designated Directory Information at the
Peralta Community College District includes the following: student participation in officially recognized activities
and sports, including weight and height, and high school of graduation of athletic team members; degrees and
awards received by students, including honors, scholarships awards, athletic awards, and other types of
recognition.

Students may withhold Directory Information by notifying the Admissions and Records Office in writing; please note
that such withholding requests are binding for all information to all parties other than for those exceptions allowed
under the Act. Students should consider all aspects of a Directory Hold prior to filing such a request. Requests for
non-disclosure will be honored by the Peralta Community College District.

Download and Print Authorization for Release of Student Records. Return signed documents to the College’s
Admissions & Records Office.

Consumer Information
The federal Higher Education Act, the federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA), and regulatory guidance
provided in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) require direct individual notices of Consumer Information to the
college community.

Consumer Information includes general institutional operation, financial aid, general completion and graduation
rates, annual security report, completion and graduation for student athletes. Disclosures are to include
crime/security statistics, student completion/graduation rates, FERPA privacy/security rights, financial aid program
information, and gender-specific information on athletic participation and financial support. College of Alameda’s
Consumer Information is available online. For a printed copy, please contact the Financial Aid office in A-101 or
call (510) 748-2391.

Important Dates Fall Semester 2020
October 9 F
Last Day to File Petitions for AA, AS, or ADT Degree/Certificate

October 20 T
Professional Day – No Instruction

Nov. 11 W
Veteran’s Day – Holiday Observance

Nov. 20 F
Last Day to Withdraw from Regular Session Classes with a grade of “W”. All outstanding
fees are due even if classes are dropped on this day.

Nov. 20 F
Attendance Verification Day – Instructors Verify Enrollment and Submit Rosters “Online and On
Attendance Verification Day – Instructors Verify Enrollment and Submit Rosters “Online and On
Time”

Nov. 26 – 29 Th-Su
Thanksgiving – Holiday Observance

December 12 S
Saturday Instruction Ends

Dec. 13-18 Su-F
Final Examinations

December 18 F
Fall Semester Ends

January 4 M
Final Grade Due