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Rights through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)

VCOM strives to uphold the rights of students and families set forth in the FERPA Act of 1974 and all current FERPA regulations. The act places certain restrictions and limitations on the disclosure of personal identifiable information maintained by VCOM with respect to students, and it limits access to educational records, including the right to access, the right to obtain copies, the right to seek correction of such records through informal and formal internal procedures, and the right to place a statement in such educational records explaining any information that the student believes to be inaccurate or misleading. VCOM has adopted a policy with respect to its student educational records consistent with the requirements of FERPA and regulations promulgated by the Act.

VCOM considers certain information to be “directory information” under FERPA and therefore subject to disclosure without prior consent from the student. Unless written objection is received no later than 30 days from the commencement of the academic year, VCOM will treat name, address (permanent and mailing), telephone (land and cell), VCOM email address, date and place of birth, major field of study, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, the name of the undergraduate college(s) attended, residency program matched, photographs, participation in student activities, and marital status as directory information. Student social security numbers will be provided as requested in the registration process for the COMLEX and USMLE testing. For this purpose only, the social security number will be considered directory information, subject to disclosure without prior consent from the student.

Information on all students offered admission to Virginia’s public and private institutions of higher learning may be submitted to the state police for checking against the sexual offender registry.
VCOM is required to submit information in the case of an official subpoena, and as required by the state and federal government.

For the purposes of operating the daily academic programs, VCOM has the right to share academic and behavioral record information internally with faculty, administration, and pertinent staff. All employees of VCOM are informed of their responsibility not to share student information outside the institution or with persons within the institution where the information is not required for job responsibilities.

Students who enter the ERAS process and request a medical student performance evaluation by the Dean (Dean's letter) should be aware that this is a comprehensive report of the student’s academic and behavioral performance as of the end of OMS III. This document and the student transcript s of the end of OMS III are part of the student permanent record and are not updated.  
VCOM will contact immediate family only for the purpose of assuring the students safety and the safety of others.

Students concerned about the confidentiality of records at VCOM are requested to bring their concerns first to the attention of the Office of Student Services. Complaints regarding alleged violations of rights accorded students by or regulations promulgated by the Act, may be directed to: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Office, Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, 330 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20201.