Family Education Rights and Privacy Act Information (FERPA)

Federal law requires that Westmoreland County Community College provide every student with access to his/her academic record. Information contained in the academic file relates only to the student’s academic history and performance.

At the present time, the following information is maintained in a student record:

• Application form
• Permanent transcript
• Placement assessment scores
• Course approval forms (i.e. course substitution forms, course waiver forms, advanced standing
  forms, etc.)
• Graduation information (when applicable)

Any student wishing to inspect the contents of his or her academic record may do so by completing a “Request for Academic Record Review” form and submitting it to the Student Records Office. Students may inspect their academic record during normal working hours (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.), provided they have made a written request at least two working days in advance.

You have the right, by law, to keep all the information in your academic file confidential. However, the college has established a category of information known as Directory Information.

Directory Information may include: student name, address, phone number, date of birth, major field of study, participation in activities and sports, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received and previous schools attended

Because of its very general nature, the student normally releases Directory Information without a signed consent.

Since Directory Information does not include grades, financial data or any other strictly personal data, we expect very few students will wish this information withheld. If, however, you do not wish directory information released without your signed consent, please complete a Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information form which can be found under Student Resources in the portal at My.Westmoreland. This request to keep Directory Information confidential will be placed in our file and no information will be released unless a signed release form is presented with your signature. Any further questions you may have concerning this may be directed to the Information Center by calling 724-925-4000.

Westmoreland County Community College will disclose personally identifiable information (PII) from a student’s education records to appropriate parties in order to address a health or safety emergency. FERPA’s health or safety emergency provision permits such disclosures when the disclosure is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.

Information for Students with Disabilities

Federal law prohibits us from making preadmissions inquiry about disabilities. Information regarding disabilities, voluntarily given or inadvertently received, will not adversely affect any admissions decision.

If you require special services because of a disability, please notify Lauren Eicher, counselor, Disability & Student Behavioral Intervention Services, at 724-925-4000, ext. 3053 or eicherla@westmoreland.edu.

This voluntary self-identification allows Westmoreland County Community College to prepare appropriate support services to facilitate your learning. This information will be kept in strict confidence and has no effect on your admission to the College. 

Data Classification and Security Procedure

This Policy applies to all Westmoreland County Community College employees and third party contractors creating, storing or maintaining College Data. Full policy