Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Studen BY SCOTT KEARNS Of The Gamecock staff Congress has passed a law giving students the right to inspect their personal files and the new legislation is finally being implemented after some months of controversy. The law, an amendment to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, was sponsored by Sen. James L. Buckley, R-N.Y., and passed in August. The effective date of the law was to be Nov. 19. however Records for US( 'provided the studeni identification.' many school officials and higher education organizationd felt the law was too quickly passed and they needed clearer explanation of the law in order to implement it. One of the controversial Doints of the law known as the "Buckley Amendment" was the disposition of confidential letters of recommendations. Harvard University removed letters of recom mendations from their students files and officials at the Univeisity of South Florida considered destroying theirs. John F. Morse of the American Council on Education claimed that many colleges and universities would have to violate prior pledges of confidentiality to the authors if the law was to stand. Nicholas P. Mitchell, vice president of USC ad ministrative services acknowleged that officials had similar problems. Mitchell said "the bill was a hastily and poorly drawn piece of legislation and nobody realized how mary different kinds of records the law would effect." Public hearings were not held on the amendment and its passage took many education officials by surprise. And many of them questioned how they were to handle recommendations written before the law was passed. Their complaints and the complaints of educational organizations across the country reached John Kwapisz the- legislative assistant who drafted the bill for Sen. Buckley, and Kwapisz con ceded the bill needed clarification and started working on it. The recom mended revisions to the * amendment were made and Congress passed them into law ( in December. Some of the4 revisions are: -A provision which exempta letters of recommendation written prior to Jan. 1, 1975 from being available for in- 1 t files Federal act a spection. -An opportunity for students to waive their right to access to confidential recommendations respecting: admission to an educational. agency or in stitutions, employment ap plications or the receipt of honors or honorary recognitions. --Restricting financial records of the parents from the provisions of the law. -The establishment of an office and review board within the Department of Health Education and Welfare (HEW) students are open has proper to investigate, process and re viewany violations to the law. -A provision which allows institutions 45 days to comply with a request to inspect files. In addition to compliance with the provisions of the Buckley Amendment, HEW charges with overseeing the enforcement of the law, has suggested guidelines which require education institutions to inform their students: -What type of information is maintined in their files. -What officials maintain the records, what persons have access to them and why they have access. -The policies the institution is to follow if a student challenges information con tained on his record anI how they would change it. -The cost chaiged for USC student records are kept ministrtion Building. Beca...e s ures student reproducing copies of the records for students. -The kind of directory in formation, such as student's name, address and major, that the institution will release to agencies granted access under the law. The Buckley Amendment allows various state and gov ernment -agencies to be given directory information from students files and grants research officials access to students records for audits and predictive surveys. Institutions are required to keep a written record of who has requested and obtained access to student's records. -They are also forbidden from releasing information to of ficials or research groups unless they promise they will not release the information to anyone else without the student's written consent. The new amendment affects all institutions receiving federal funds administered by the U.S. Commission on Education. Mitchell, who is in charge of student records for USC, said the records kept by his department are open to the students "provided they have proper identification." The Buckley Amendment gives students an opportunity to inspect their files to insure that information the school maintains on them is relevant and to challeige any entries they believe are inaccurate or misleading. Failure to comply with the new law will result in the loss of federal funding. Samassie file at the Ad-. af the new fra..aw ....t access to personal records (Jr . 4 Student fles, which at USC are Iidexed and MAe sys"atically, can be foend In mimues with the PI of womers-in the student records' offic. allowsacces tothi r B s e el a ed ne the iegay enystdets hees. a.,a.. m