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FERPA & PRIVACY POLICIES

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FERPA (for Students)

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Student Privacy

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Messenger College has a firm commitment to protecting the privacy rights of its students. In making this commitment, the College wants to ensure that all faculty and staff are familiar with state and federal laws pertaining to student privacy, as well as College policies and procedures that have been implemented to help guarantee student privacy.

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Health and Safety Exemption Requirement

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Messenger College adheres to all requirements pertaining to the protection of student information. Information about Student Records and confidentiality can be found on this web page below,  or in the school catalog.

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However, there are limited exceptions to FERPA regulations under which Messenger College is permitted to disclose education records or personally identifiable, non-directory information from education records in connection with a health or safety emergency without student consent.

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The situation must present imminent danger to a student, other students or members of the school community in order to qualify as an exception. This action is not taken lightly and only under circumstances that present imminent danger.

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All faculty and staff are asked to review this Web site.

Back to Consumer Information

 

Notification of Rights under FERPA

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Please read the following and also refer to this link for up-to-date amendments and regulations regarding FERPA: FERPA | Protecting Student Privacy (ed.gov)

 

Notification of Rights under FERPA
Messenger College

 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) afford students certain rights with respect to their education records.  These rights include:

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(1)  The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access.
A student should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic program, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect.  The College official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.  If the records are not maintained by the College official to whom the request should be addressed.  

(2)  The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.  


A student who wishes to ask the College to amend a record should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.

If the college decides not to amend the record as requested, the College will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment.  Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.  

(3)  The right to provide written consent before the College discloses personally identifiable information from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

The College discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests.  A school official is a person employed by the College or its Foundation in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, 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, or collection agent); a person serving on the District Board of Trustees or the Foundation Board of Directors or a student or other person serving on an official committee, including without limitations disciplinary, grievance, or scholarship committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks.

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A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional or official responsibilities for the College.  Upon request, the College also discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll or is already enrolled, when the disclosure is for purposes related to the student’s enrollment or transfer.

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(4) The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA.  The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is:

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Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC  20202-5901

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Directory Information Public Notice

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(a)  The College may disclose directory information upon request without consent unless a student has declared their record private. The College has identified the following as directory information:

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1. Student’s name

2. Email address

3. Degree Program
4. Major field of study
5. Dates of attendance
6. Degrees

7. Honors and awards received

An eligible parent or eligible student has the right to refuse to let the College designate any or all of those types of information about the student as directory information.  If you refuse to permit the College to release any or all of those types of directory information, you must inform the Admissions/Records Office in writing within forty five (45) days of the first day of classes of each session.  Your decision to refuse the release of any or all of those types of directory information also means that your name will not appear on recognition lists or in news releases, etc.  Thereafter, you must provide written consent for the release of information to second parties.  The confidential hold will remain on your record until you submit your written consent to release the hold. 

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FERPA FAQ's

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What are Education Records?

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Information recorded in any form that is directly related to a student and maintained by the college and by those acting for the college.

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  • personal information

  • enrollment records

  • grades

  • schedules

  • financial aid documents

 

The storage medium in which you find this information does not matter. A student educational record may include but is not limited to:

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  • a document in the Admissions and Records District office

  • a computer printout in your office

  • a class list on your desktop

  • a computer display screen

 

Education Records Do Not Include:

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  • Records of instructional, supervisory and administrative personnel kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record and not revealed to anyone other than the maker's substitute;

  • Records of a campus law enforcement unit created and maintained by that unit and used solely for law enforcement purposes;

  • Employment records, maintained apart from educational records, relating to persons who are employees;

  • Records kept and maintained by a health care professional, used solely in connection with treatment and disclosed only to individuals providing treatment; or

  • Records which include information about an individual after he or she is no longer a student.

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What is the Right to Inspect and Review?

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Messenger must grant requests to review within a reasonable time but in no case more than 45 days after the request is received. Messenger must respond to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records.

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What is Prior Written Consent?

 

A signed and dated document that includes specification of the records to be disclosed, the purpose of the disclosure and the identity of the person to whom records will be disclosed.

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When is Consent Not Required? (This is not an exhaustive list of exceptions)

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  • For legitimate educational purposes within the college.

  • To officials at an institution in which student seeks to enroll.

  • To comply with a court order or subpoena.

  • In connection with a health or safety emergency if necessary to protect the student or others.

  • To parents of students who are dependents for income tax purposes.

  • If it is directory information.

  • To parents of a student younger than 21 years of age if the disclosure concerns discipline for violation of the campus drug and alcohol policy.

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What is Directory Information for Messenger College?

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1. Student's Name

2. Email address 

3. Degree Program

4. Major Field of Study

5. Dates of Attendance

6. Degrees awarded

7. Honors and awards received

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Special "DON'TS" For Faculty and Support Staff

 

To avoid violations of FERPA rules,

DO NOT:

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  • at any time use the Social Security Number of a student in a public posting of grades

  • ever link the name of a student with that student's social security number in any public manner

  • leave graded tests in a stack for students to pick up by sorting through the papers of all students

  • circulate a printed class list with student name and social security number or grades as an attendance roster

  • discuss the progress of any student with anyone other than the student (including parents) without the consent of the student

  • provide anyone with lists of students enrolled in your classes for any commercial or other purpose

  • provide anyone with student schedules or assist anyone other than college employees in finding a student on campus

  • Email grades to students 

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​Privacy Policy for Web & Mobile Services

 

This Privacy Policy governs how Messenger College collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a “User”) of the www.messengercollege.edu website (“Site”). This privacy policy applies to the Site and all products and services offered by Messenger College. This policy is effective as of January 2025.

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This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their 'Personally Identifiable Information' (PII) is being used online. PII, as described in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.

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What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our website or our learning management system?

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When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information, social security number or other details to help you with your experience.

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When do we collect information?

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We collect information from you when you register on our site, subscribe to a newsletter, respond to a survey, fill out a form, or enter information on our site.

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How do we use your information?

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We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, or use certain other site features in the following ways:

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  • To improve our website in order to better serve you.

  • To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.

  • To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature.

  • To quickly process your transactions.

  • To send periodic emails regarding your order or other products and services.

  • To follow up with you after correspondence (email or phone inquiries).

 

How do we protect your information?

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Our website is consistently monitored for security vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible. Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential.

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We implement a variety of security measures when a user places an order, enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of personal information. All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.

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Third-party disclosure

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We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personally Identifiable Information unless we provide users with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or serving our users, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release information when it's release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property or safety.

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California Online Privacy Protection Act

CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law's reach stretches well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting Personally Identifiable Information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals or companies with whom it is being shared.

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According to CalOPPA, we agree to the following:

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  • Users can visit our site anonymously.

  • This privacy policy will be available as a link on our Consumer Information page. The Consumer Information page can be directly accessed from the home page. Our Privacy Policy link includes the word 'Privacy' and can be easily found on the page specified above. You will be notified of any Privacy Policy changes on our Privacy Policy Page.

 

You can change your personal information:

 

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

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When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States' consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children's privacy and safety online.

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We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.

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Fair Information Practices

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The Fair Information Practices Principles serve as a baseline in the development of data protection laws world-wide.

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To comply with the Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:

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  • We will notify you via email within 7 business days.

  • We will notify the users via in-site notification within 7 business days.

 

CAN SPAM Act

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The CAN-SPAM Act is a law establishes the rules for commercial email.

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We collect your email address in order to:

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  • Send information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions.

  • Process orders and send information and updates pertaining to orders.

  • Send you additional information related to your product and/or service.

  • Market to our mailing list or continue to send emails to our constituents after the original transaction has occurred.

 

To be in accordance with CAN-SPAM, we agree to the following:

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  • Not use false or misleading subjects or email addresses.

  • Identify the message as an advertisement in some reasonable way.

  • Include the physical address of our business or site headquarters.

  • Monitor third-party email marketing services for compliance, if one is used.

  • Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly.

  • Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email.

 

If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, follow the instructions at the bottom of each email and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.

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Contacting Us

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If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below.

 

SMS Terms & Conditions (Text Messaging)

 

Opting In

 

If you choose to Opt-In to text messaging, you may receive an embedded link. No mobile opt-in will be shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

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If you share a phone number when you register on our site, subscribe to a newsletter, respond to a survey, fill out a form or application, or enter information on our site, you will be prompted to agree to our Terms & Conditions outlined below.

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  • To opt-in text START, CONTINUE, or SUBSCRIBE

  • If you choose to opt-in, you will receive the following message: “Thank you for opting in to receive recurring messages from Messenger College. Message frequency varies. Message & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for assistance. Reply STOP to cancel.”

 

Frequency & Cost

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  • Frequency varies depending on your relationship with Messenger College (see below).

  • Messenger charges no fees for the use of SMS notifications.

  • Message & data rates may apply.

 

Campaigns

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  • Messenger College will run at least a fall and spring fundraising campaign to collect donations.

  • Marketing campaigns for potential students are ongoing throughout the year and are to inform potential students of the benefits of attending Messenger College and upcoming events and/or deadlines.

  • Campaign SMS messages will not exceed 2 messages/week.

  • Campaign SMS messages will follow the same opt-in and opt-out procedures as listed below.

 

Opting Out

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  • To opt-out text STOP, END, or UNSUBSCRIBE.

  • If you choose to opt-out, you will receive the following message: “You have successfully opted out from messages from Messenger College. You will receive no further messages.”

 

Help

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  • For more information text HELP.

  • For help or additional info, call 817-554-5950 or e-mail info@messengercollege.edu

  • If you text HELP, you will receive the following message: “Thank you for contacting Messenger College. How may we help you today? Please email questions to info@messengercollege.edu. Reply STOP to opt-out.”

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