FERPA and Person Proxy Access

RELEASE OF STUDENT INFORMATION

Proxy Access Information

Bergen Community College students have the ability to grant or rescind access to only their own records’ specific types such as billing information, financial information, or grades.
That is made possible through the Proxy Access process.
Students must initiate the proxy access process and fulfill each required step in order for the designated proxy to gain access to the Bergen Portal/Self-Service.
The required steps to establish Proxy access and consent are necessary to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
After students complete the required steps, the designated proxies will receive a confirmation email with next steps.
Students and proxies should carefully review the Person Proxy Access Process instructional videos for more information.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) governs access to and release of information from student academic records.
Under the provisions of the Act and College policy, Bergen Community College grants students the right to inspect and review their education records and to request amendment of records that they believe are inaccurate.  As a general rule, the contents of students’ educational records will not be released to third parties without the written consent of the student.
Once a student reaches 18 years of age or attends a postsecondary institution, he or she becomes an “eligible student” and all rights formerly given to parents under FERPA transfer to the student. The Act specifies a number of exceptions to this rule, the most important of which concerns the concept of “Directory Information”.

FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR 99.31):

  • School officials with legitimate educational interest
  • Other schools to which a student is transferring
  • Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes
  • Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student
  • Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school
  • Accrediting organizations
  • To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena
  • Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies
  • State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law

“Directory” Information

Bergen Community College may disclose “directory” information which includes student’s full name, institutional email address, field of study, degree or certificate received, last term of attendance, and enrollment status.
However, Bergen will notify students about directory information requests to provide a reasonable amount of time for students to request not to have their directory information disclosed.
For “Directory” information assistance or questions, reach out to Registrar’s Office

FERPA Waiver Request Procedure

  • FERPA requests can be submitted in-person by the student at the Registration Office, Pitkin Education Center/One-Stop Center.
  • If the student is unable to be present, then the FERPA form must be notarized first before being submitted to the Registration Office.