As a topic that is alleged to be outside the scope of FERPA and the US
Department of Education, I have recently learned that at least some
junior college, community college, college, and universities claim
that the actual rights a student or former student has to their
academic transcript are none, irregardless of payment of the published
fees for a copy of the transcript.
And therefore, that access to the trancript, for an employer or
another school or any other purpose, is actually discretionary for the
school, whether or not the student is a student any longer, and on a
permanent basis that does not require cause, information, due process,
or appeal outside of a court procedure.
Further, the schools do not have to warn prospective students that
that is their position and actual policy, as a potential hazard of
paying for and attending a school with such a policy which appears to
be becoming prevalent.
I have seen some others that post and publish policies that are
similar to this one on a general search on academic transcript
policies posted to the internet, but the one I am aware of directly
that is doing so in our area (www.cod.edu)posts a policy that states
that the only hazard on that topic only applies to students attending
the school at the time, only for disciplinary cause, only through a
due process proceeding that includes the right to appeal internally to
the school, and even then, only as a tem****ary block on access, wheras
the actual policy is the above, as with some other schools I have
located on the internet.
Since this is an esoteric topic legally, I was wondering if given that
this appears to be a growing practice, first, if there is any law that
requires the schools warn the public in advance that that is the
actual policy if that is the case, and two, what the legal grounds are
that allow the schools like this to claim that the academic transcript
is completely outside any existing legislation granting students and
former students rights to their records that is so extreme that former
students may be administratively sanctioned without cause and that the
blocks may be permanent.
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