Privacy Notice

The privacy, confidence, and trust of individuals who visit Volunteer State Community College (Vol State) web sites are important to us. No personal information is collected at this site unless it is provided voluntarily by an individual while participating in an activity that asks for the information. The following paragraphs disclose the information gathering and usage practices for the web site.

Site Definitions

Vol State Web space includes several sites with varying levels of the college involvement and commitment as outlined below.

Official College Web Sites

Except as noted, the information in this privacy notice applies to all official Vol State Web sites, which are defined as the Web pages of college departments, divisions, or other units and any other sites specifically designed as official by a vice president, dean, department head, or director. Official pages are generally recognizable by a standard page header and/or footer carrying the college logo, contact information and reference to this privacy statement.

Unofficial College Web Sites

Within Vol State domain – signified by the address “volstate.edu” – you may find Web sites over which the College has no editorial responsibility or control. Such sites are considered unofficial and include, but are not limited to, the Web pages of individual faculty members and the Web pages of student organizations and other entities not formally a part of the College. While Vol State encourages compliance with this Web Privacy Statement at such sites, in order to better understand the policies and practices under which they operate, please consult the privacy statements of individual sites or seek information directly from the persons responsible for those sites.

Collection of Information

Vol State only collects the personally identifiable information that is necessary to provide the information or services requested by an individual[LPS1]. "Personal information" refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. This is the same information that an individual might provide when visiting a government office and includes such items as an individual's name, address, or phone number. Vol State uses the collected information to respond appropriately to requests. This may be to respond directly to you or to improve the web site. E-mail or other information requests sent to the Vol State web site may be maintained or forwarded to the appropriate agencies in order to respond to the request. Survey[LPS2] information is used for the purpose designated in the survey.

Vol State also collects statistical information that helps us understand how people are using the web site so we can continually improve our services. The information collected is not associated with any specific individual[LPS3] and no attempt is made to profile individuals who browse the web site. This information includes, but is not limited to:

  • Device-specific information (hardware, operating system, language and browser type)
  • Log information (IP address, search queries and referral URL)
  • Local storage, and anonymous identifiers to collect and store information locally on your device

Cookies

A cookie is a piece of date stored on the user’s computer tied to session information about the user. We use session cookies to customize your browsing experience within any Vol State website. Our website utilizes the following third-party cookies; this is a list of those third parties and a link to their respective privacy policies:

Public Disclosure

Regardless of whether information is provided to Vol State by personal visit, mail, or web site, it becomes public record and is open to public inspection unless protected by State or Federal law. Public records are subject to the rules and requirements located in Tennessee Code Annotated Title 10 Chapter 7. A public record is defined as follows:

"Public record(s)" or "state record(s)" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, microfilms, electronic data processing files and output, films, sound recordings or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any governmental agency. (T.C.A. 10-7-301 (6))

Based on the definition of public records, be aware that any information collected at this site could be made available to the public. Requests for public records will be examined for compliance with public record laws.

Web Site Security

Vol State is committed to the security of the information that is either available from or collected by this web site. Vol State has taken multiple steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but not limited to, authentication, monitoring, auditing, encryption (SSL) and various physical safeguards.

Links to Other Sites

This web site has links to many other web sites. These include links to web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses. Vol State is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these sites and suggests you review their privacy statements.

Confidentiality of Student Records Notification of Rights Under FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. They are:

  1. The right to inspect and review the student’s educational records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access. Students should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, written requests that identify the record(s) they wish 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 was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.
  2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s educational records that the student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the College official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the College decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, the College will notify the student of the decision and advise the student of his/her 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 consent to disclosers of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s educational records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to a school official with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the 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/her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an educational record in order to fulfill his/her professional responsibility.
  4. The right to file a complaint with the U. S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the State Colleges to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA may be obtained from the College Registrar.

Directory information concerning students is treated as public information and is released to the public unless otherwise requested by the student. Directory information includes the following: name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, major fields of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of athletic team members, dates of attendance, enrollment status, degrees and awards received, and most recent educational institution attended. Personally identifiable student record information other than that listed as Directory Information will not be released except as provided by FERPA, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and T.C.A. § 10-7-504.

As of January 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Education’s FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which your education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records - including your Social Security Number, grades, or other private information - may be accessed without your consent. First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state and local education authorities (“Federal and State Authorities”) may allow access to your records and PII without your consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state-supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is “principally engaged in the provision of education,” such as early childhood education and job training, as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution. Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to your education records and PII without your consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when we object to or do not request such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive your PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities. In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without your consent PII from your education records, and they may track your participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about you that they obtain from other Federal or State data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.

If you have any questions regarding the provisions of this Act, contact the College Registrar.

Application

Our Privacy Statement applies to all web sites and services offered by Vol State, its units and their activities, its initiatives, its programs and collaborations, and work being done on behalf of Vol State by its contractors and partners, but exclude services that have separate privacy statements.

Changes

Vol State Privacy Statement may be changed at any time without notice or consent. All changes will be posted on the web site.