Academic Regulations

Student Records

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA was designed to protect the privacy of students’ educational records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their educational records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data. CEI may release directory information as allowed by law.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of eighteen (18) or attends a school beyond the high school level (e.g., a college or university). Students to whom the rights have transferred are “eligible students.”

Eligible students have the right to inspect and review their education records maintained by the school.

Eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records that they believe to be inaccurate or misleading.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the eligible student in order to release any information from the student’s education record. A Release of Information Form must be submitted to the Registrar’s office with a valid ID.

FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

• School officials with legitimate educational interest
• Other schools to which a student is transferring
• Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes
• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student
• Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school
• Accrediting organizations
• To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena
• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies
• State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific state law
• Schools may disclose, without consent, directory information. Eligible students may request that the school not disclose directory information about them

Directory Information is defined as the following:

• Student’s name
• Student’s phone number
• Student’s photograph
• Most recent previous educational agency or institution attended
• Freshman/sophomore standing
• Candidacy for degrees/certificates and anticipated date of graduation
• Student’s address
• Student’s email address
• Enrollment status
• Full-time/part-time status
• Dates of attendance
• Major
• Degrees conferred and dates
• Awards and honors received

A school official is a person employed by the college in an administrative, supervisory, counseling, faculty, or support staff position; a person or company with whom the college has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using college employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, external evaluator, medical service provider, law enforcement or security personnel, or collection agent); a person serving on the CEI Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

A school official who has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to access/review an education record in order to fulfill his or her responsibilities for the college. Any school official who needs information about a student in the course of performing instructional, supervisory, advisory, or administrative duties for the college has a legitimate educational interest. The information must not be used for personal or other purposes extraneous to the official’s areas of responsibility. Having access to education records does not constitute authority to share this information with anyone who does not have legitimate educational interest.

Students may request that their directory information not be disclosed by filing the Student Records Privacy Request form or a written request with the Registrar’s Office. Requesting non-disclosure of directory information will:

• Restrict disclosure of all student information, including degrees awarded or fact of attendance.
• Remove information in all publications, including the online student directory and commencement program.
• Require a photo ID to receive any customer service related to your student record.
• Prevent any customer service related to your specific student record over the phone (general information will always be available).
• Remain in effect until you release the restriction using this form.

The Dean of Student Affairs may review any exceptions. Any student may also submit a written request to review his/ her records to the Registrar’s Office. Records covered by FERPA will be made available to the student within forty-five (45) days. In general, the college is not required to provide copies of the education records requested unless failure to do so would effectively prevent the eligible student from exercising the right to inspect and review the records. The college may charge a reasonable fee for preparing copies for the student. A college representative may be present during the review of the records and may provide information regarding the interpretation of such records to the student. Students may not inspect financial information submitted by parents or guardians, confidential letters associated with admission, and records to which they have waived their inspection rights. The college will not release records that are not owned by the college.

Any student has the right to file a complaint under FERPA with the U.S. Department of Education Family Policy Compliance Office concerning alleged failures by the institution to comply with the Act. Complaints must be sent in writing, with all pertinent information, to the following address:

Family Policy Compliance Office

For questions concerning FERPA, please contact the Registrar’s Office at 208-524-3000.

Sensitive information such as driver’s license, Social Security numbers, etc., should not be sent through email unless the email is encrypted. Other acceptable means of transmitting sensitive information would include regular mail, fax, or in person.

Notification

CEI shall notify enrolled students annually regarding their rights to privacy and confidentiality under FERPA. CEI shall use the catalog, website, direct email notifications, and other methods of communication that are reasonably likely to inform students of their rights.

Solomon Amendment

Solomon Amendment is a federal law that allows military recruiters to access some address, biographical, and academic program information on students aged 17 and older.

The Department of Education has determined the Solomon Amendment supersedes most elements of FERPA. An institution is therefore obligated to release data included in the list of “student recruiting information,” which may or may not match the College of Eastern Idaho’s FERPA directory information list. However, if the student has submitted a Student Records Privacy Request to restrict the release of their Directory Information, then no information from the student’s education record will be released under the Solomon Amendment.

Under Solomon, information will be released for military recruitment purposes only. Military recruiters may request student recruitment information once each term for each of the 12 eligible units within the five branches of the service:

• Army: Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard
• Navy: Navy, Navy Reserve
• Marine Corps: Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve
• Air Force: Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air Force National Guard
• Coast Guard: Coast Guard, Coast Guard Reserve

Student Recruiting Information

Information identified in the Solomon Amendment that institutions are required to provide military recruiters upon request. Those items are:

• Student name
• Address
• Telephone number
• Age
• Class level (freshman, sophomore)
• Major
• Degrees conferred and dates
• The most recent previous educational agency or institution attended

Health and Safety Emergency

During a health or safety emergency, FERPA permits CEI school officials to disclose education records without a student’s written consent. When possible, CEI will only disclose designated directory information. However, when necessary to protect the health or safety of students or other individuals, CEI may provide more specific information to appropriate parties such as law enforcement officials, public health officials, and trained medical personnel. A school official may release education records within sufficient time for appropriate parties to act to keep individuals from harm or injury.

This exception is limited to the period of the emergency and generally does not allow for a blanket release of personally identifiable information from a student’s education records. In addition, FERPA permits CEI to disclose information from education records to parents if a health or safety emergency involves their son or daughter. See 34 CFR § 99.31(a)(10) and § 99.36.

Disclosure Recordkeeping Requirements

Each office of CEI that maintains educational records must include within each student’s file, for as long as the file is maintained: (i) a record of all third parties who have requested or received personally identifiable information from a student’s educational record pursuant to FERPA; and (ii) the legitimate interest of the party in requesting or obtaining the information.

The Registrar’s Office is the primary contact for all student information inquiries. For questions concerning FERPA and student privacy, please contact the Registrar at 208.524.3000 or assistant.registrar@cei.edu.

Name, Address, or Phone Number Change

It is the students’ responsibility to ensure that their information in our system is current and accurate. When a student’s name changes the Name Change form must be filled out with the Registrar’s Office. The form can be found online at https://cei.edu/registrar-forms.  Updating address and or phone number can be done online in Self-Service (SS) or in person/over phone with the Registrar’s Office. To update information in SS, students can click on User Options then User Profile and update the information that needs to be changed. Students are responsible for any delays in communications sent from CEI when incorrect information is on file.

Academic Calendar

CEI operates on the semester system.

• Sixteen-week semesters: Fall and Spring
• Eight-week blocks begin:
  • Fall Semester: August and Mid-October
  • Spring Semester: January and Early March
• Eight-week semester: Summer 

View CEI Calendar.

Credits (Hours)

A credit, sometimes referred to as a semester credit or a semester hour, is related to time spent in class, study, preparation, lab, or field experience. One semester credit hour normally requires forty-five hours of student work which includes:

1. Minimum of fifty minutes in class each week for one semester (which assumes twice this amount of time in study and preparation outside the classroom)
2. Two to three hours in lab each week for one semester
3. The equivalent combination of one and two 

Credit for workshops and shortened courses is granted on the basis of one semester credit for every forty-five hours, or more, of scholarly activity.

Course Numbering

The following numbering system is used for all credit courses offered by CEI:

• Zero Level (000-099): Course content is considered below college-freshman level. These courses are not applicable for graduation.
• One Hundred Level (100-199): Course content taught at the college-freshman level.
• Two Hundred Level (200-299): Course content taught at the college-sophomore level.

Delivery Method of Classes

Classroom/Lecture/Lecture Lab (CLA/LEC/LCLAB)

The majority of CEI courses are offered on a face to face basis, which take place in a designated location such as a classroom. Students in a classroom or lecture structure are expected to meet with the instructor during the scheduled course time and at the scheduled locations. Students may use technology appropriate to the course content and as needed to access web-based course materials.

Hybrid (HYB)

A hybrid class is a combination of face-to-face classroom instruction and asynchronous online instruction. A portion of the instruction is delivered on-site, scheduled, in a classroom (between 25%-75%), and the remaining instruction is provided asynchronously online. Online proctored tests may be required and will be defined during the registration process.

Online (OLI)

An asynchronous online course is taught entirely online and does not require on-site meetings or live lectures. Students can access class materials, assignments, and interact with their classmates and instructor through Canvas. Course work can be completed on the student’s own schedule, but must meet deadlines set by the instructor. Online presentations and proctored tests may be required and will be defined during the registration process. Students must have access to a computer, reliable internet, headphones/speaker, microphone, and a web camera. 

Independent Study (IND)

An independent study course is a course of organized instruction or research in which the instructional delivery is determined by a student and his/her instructor. These courses require the student to work independently to complete the course.

Interactive Web Conference (IWC)

An interactive web-conference course is offered synchronously (live lectures) using web-conferencing software. Class sessions are scheduled and virtually attended by students at specific dates and times. Students must have access to a computer, reliable internet, headphones/speaker, microphone, and web camera. All course content will be administered digitally and can be accessed from the learning management system. Online proctored tests may be required and will be defined during the registration process.

Hybrid-Interactive Web Conference (HYBIWC)

An Hybrid-IWC course is a combination of face-to-face and synchronous online interactive web-conferencing (IWC) class instruction. Class sessions are scheduled and attended by students at specific dates and times both in-person and virtually (between 25% and 75%) depending on the course schedule. For the web conference portions, students are required to have reliable internet, computer/device, webcam and microphone. Online proctored tests may be required and will be defined during the registration process.

HyFlex

Students taking a HyFlex course have the option to attend each regularly scheduled class lecture in person or online synchronously. All course content will be administered digitally and can be accessed from the learning management system (Canvas).  Online proctored tests may be required and will be defined during the registration process. Students must have access to a computer, reliable internet, headphones/speaker, microphone, and a web camera.

Student Class Level

The following number of completed credits determines a student’s class level:

Credit Enrollment Limits

Degree-seeking students who want to register in more than twenty-one credits during a Fall or Spring semester, or more than ten credits in the Summer semester will to fill out a Credit Overload Pretition. Non-degree seeking students may register for no more than ten credits for Fall, Spring, and Summer, and will need to fill out a Credit Overload Pretition.

Students receiving financial aid should also keep in mind financial aid regulations when deciding on the number of credits in which they should enroll.

Identification Cards

A nontransferable student identification card is issued to CEI students. ID cards are available on the main campus in the Student Affairs Office with a valid government issued ID. Students will need their student identification card to take tests at the Testing Center, to participate in Student Life activities, and to check out materials from the Library. Students should carry their student identification card with them at all times when on campus. If the student’s ID card is lost or stolen they will need to pay a $10 replacement charge.

Repeating Courses

See Financial Aid  repeat coursework for their policy. 

Course repetition to improve grades is allowed, regardless of the grade received, with the exception of some professional program components. It is recommended that the student visit with their advisor before repeating a course. The credit for the repeated course will be included in the calculation for federal financial aid awards for one repeat of a passed course.

While all grades received remain on the record, only the grade received for the most recent enrollment in the course is calculated in computing grade point average. If a course is failed and repeated with a higher grade the original failed grade is not calculated in the GPA. If a course is failed and repeated with a failing grade the more recent failed grade will then be calculated in the GPA.

Academic Enrollment Status

The following chart will be used:

For Financial Aid enrollment status guidelines, see Financial Aid .

Student Health Insurance

College of Eastern Idaho does not require all students to carry health insurance. However, a few CTE and Healthcare programs require proof of a health insurance plan. Contact your program administrators for any questions regarding a health insurance requirement. Insurance is available on the Idaho Exchange to students who do not already have individual, employer or parental health insurance plans.