U.S. Campuses
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") is a U.S. federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and gives students who reach the age of 18 or attend a postsecondary institution the right to inspect and review their own education records.
FERPA grants students at the U.S. campuses the following rights with respect to education records:
- The right to inspect and review their education records. Students may inspect and review their education records after submitting a written request to the school official responsible for the record. The school official will make arrangements for access and notify a student of the time and place where the education records may be inspected within 45 days of receiving such written request.
- The right to request an amendment of their education records that they may believe are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy. Students may ask a school official to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy. Students must provide the appropriate school official with a written statement clearly identifying the part of the education record they would like changed, and specify why it is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy. The school official who receives the request for amendment must decide within a reasonable period whether corrective action consistent with a student's request will be taken. The CIA may either amend the education record or decide not to amend the education record. If the school decides not to amend the education record, the appropriate school official will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of the right to a hearing to challenge the information.
- The right to consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in their education records. The CIA does not release information from a student's education records without the student's written consent unless such disclosure is permitted under FERPA as discussed fully in The Culinary Institute of America's FERPA Policy.
One of the permitted exceptions to the consent to disclosure requirement is to a CIA school official with a legitimate educational interest.
A school official is a person in an administrative, a supervisory, an academic, or a support staff position, or a law enforcement official employed by the CIA; a trustee; a person or company under contract to or acting as an agent for the CIA to provide a service instead of using CIA employees or officials, such as an attorney, an auditor, a consultant or a collection agent; or a student serving on an official committee or assisting a school official in performing a task. A school official is deemed to have a legitimate educational interest when the information requested is necessary for that school official to (a) perform appropriate tasks that are specified in the school official's position description or by a contract agreement; (b) perform a task related to the student's education; (c) perform a task related to the discipline of the student; or (d) provide a service or benefit relating to the student or the student's family such as health care, counseling, job placement, or financial aid.
- The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the CIA 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
600 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605
Please note: In accordance with FERPA, the CIA may disclose at its discretion the following directory information without the student's consent: name, permanent address, campus box number, dates of attendance, degrees and/or certificates received with date, campus e-mail address, photographs, academic program, awards or honors, or enrollment status. A student may opt out of disclosure of directory information by completing the Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information in the Student Financial and Registration Services Office or on the student portal within two weeks of their start date at the CIA.
All questions in reference to FERPA should be directed to the registrar.
Singapore Campus
The CIA Singapore protects the privacy of student education records and gives students who reach the age 18 or attend a postsecondary institution the right to inspect and review their own education records.
Please note that the college's contract with the Singapore Institute of Technology, the CIA's partner university, requires that the CIA provide student transcripts to SIT for Singapore Ministry of Education records.
Students are required to sign on the Student Undertaking Form that they consent to the storage and transmission of their personal information by SIT and the CIA Singapore internally within SIT and the CIA Singapore and mutually between SIT and the CIA Singapore for the purpose of the delivery of the degree program. SIT seeks the student's consent before disseminating the student's information to an outside party (e.g., a sponsoring company).