MSCHE/ACOE Self Study

week. Records are kept for five years after a student graduates at which time they are purged. The only record maintained after five years for each graduate is his/her transcript. Record Access SUNY State College of Optometry adheres to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). SUNY Optometry’s FERPA policy (attachment FERPA) is published on pages 48-51 of the online Student Handbook (http://www.sunyopt.edu/current/PDF/StudentHandbook.pdf. or Appendix E-8) A statement on personal privacy protection can be found on page 22 of the online College catalog (http://www.sunyopt.edu/images/College_Catalog.pdf or Appendix E-6). New College employees are given a brief FERPA introduction during their orientation. A link will soon be created on our website to give basic question and answer FERPA training as a refresher to our faculty and staff members. All members of the Office of Student Affairs staff have been trained in FERPA, and are provided with access to the locked drawer where student records are kept and limited access to the student information system. Other SUNY State College of Optometry staff, faculty or researchers do not have access to student records. If such access (time-limited) is desired for internal research, the investigator must provide a justification for consideration by the VPSA. If granted access by the VPSA, the investigator must sign a confidentiality agreement form and be trained on FERPA regulations concerning handling of records. While the admissions office is not covered under FERPA, the staff is expected to meet these same standards as if covered. College work study students may enter inquiries into the admissions module of the student information system. Work study students are given FERPA basic training and are also required to sign a confidentiality agreement form. They are assigned a password that provides access to only the inquiries screen on the system. Transfer of Records from Admissions to Registrar Records are electronically transferred from the admissions module to the registration module. The registrar physically moves all paper records from the admission’s file cabinet to the registrar’s fireproof file cabinet in the registrar’s office. This room is kept locked as is the file cabinet containing student records. Medical and registration forms may be copied and hand delivered to Clinical Administration for their files. Registration forms may also be submitted to the Alumni Office. This procedure applies to both the optometry and graduate programs. Grades At the conclusion of a term, grades are received by the registrar in a sealed envelope from the faculty members who serve as course coordinators for that

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