Other College Regulations and Policies

Educational Records and Privacy

Privacy rights, regarding access to information, are observed in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly known as the Buckley Amendment.

In accordance with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (Section 438 of the General Education Provisions Act 20 USC 1232), below are the regulations that Urban College has adopted to protect the privacy rights of its students. Revisions and clarifications will be published as experience with the law and the institution’s policy warrants.

Students are informed of their rights under this act through the College Catalog and the Student Handbook. In compliance with this federal law, the college has established a policy to protect students from misuse of information in their education records and to allow students access to their own education records.

The policy is summarized as follows:

Student’s Rights: FERPA

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

• The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the college receives a request for access. Students should submit to the Registrar written requests that identify the record(s) that they wish to inspect. The Registrar will arrange for access and notify the student of the time and place where the record may be inspected.
• The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate.
  
  A student may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate. They should write to the college official that is responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record that they want changed, and specify why they believe that it is inaccurate.
  
  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 their 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.
• The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosures without consent. One exception, which permits disclosure without consent, is disclosure to school officials 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 college official in performing their tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill their professional responsibility.
• The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Urban College of Boston to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605

Our FERPA waiver form is available here

Access to Education Records

Access to records is limited to school officials with a legitimate educational interest.
A school official is defined as follows:

• a person employed by the College in an administrative, counseling, supervisory, or academic, student support services position, or a support person to these positions; or
• a person employed by or under contract to the College to perform a special task.

Legitimate educational interest needed for a school official to access a record includes:

• The information requested is necessary for that official to perform appropriate tasks that are specified in their position description or by a contract agreement.
• The information is to be used within the context of official agency or school business and not for purposes extraneous to the official’s areas of responsibility or to the College.
• The information is relevant to the accomplishment of some task or to a determination about the student.
• The information is to be used consistently with the purposes for which the data are maintained.

Those with access to education records are required to maintain confidentiality of the contents of those records.

 Directory Information

The following pieces of information are considered Directory Information and may be released with or without notice by the college except in cases where they have been specifically protected by written request from a student:

• Name as it appears in the College’s records
• Degrees or Certificates enrolled or conferred and Date of Graduation
• Dates of Attendance
• Enrollment status
• Urban College Email address
• College Honors including Dean’s List (see “Dean’s List ”).

Release of Education Records to Educational Partners

When outlined in official Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), the college may release education records to organizations and institutions (Partners) sponsoring courses for their employees, patrons, or those with another recognized affiliation, except in cases where they have been explicitly protected by written request from the student. That may include but is not limited to:

• Directory Information (see Directory Information above)
• Attendance and enrollment information for courses sponsored by the Partner
• Grades in courses sponsored by the Partner
• Personal Information allowing confirmation of student identity (e.g., the student’s Social Security Number, or Date of Birth)

The Partner may also act on behalf of the student to administratively withdraw the student from courses sponsored by the Partner for non-attendance (see Administrative Withdrawal). The release of information will only apply to student education records specifically outlined in the relevant MOU. Partners will not have access to education records that are not directly related to the specified partnership.

Computer and Network Usage

General Principles

Access to the College’s computer systems and networks, including email, imposes certain responsibilities and obligations and is granted subject to College policies, and local, state, and federal laws. Acceptable use always is ethical, reflects academic honesty, and shows restraint in the consumption of shared resources. It demonstrates respect for intellectual property, ownership of data, system security mechanisms, and individual rights to privacy.

Users include - but are not limited to - all students, faculty, staff, and administrators, who have been granted access to college-owned or college-licensed computers, networks, software, or any peripherals associated with the College’s computing facilities and/or equipment (“computer resources”). This policy applies to all Users.

The College’s computer resources are the property of the College. Such equipment and resources, including email, shall be only used for academic, educational, or professional purposes, which are related to official College business and in support of the College’s mission.

No Expectation of Privacy

Users shall have no expectation of privacy when using College computer resources, including email. The President of the College may also authorize the network administrator to inspect any user’s computer, any data contained in it, and any data, including email communications, sent, or received by that computer, on a case-by-case basis.

Guidelines

In making acceptable use of resources, users MUST:

• use resources only for College business, for purposes authorized by the College;
• be responsible for all activities on your user ID or that originate from your system that result from your negligent failure to protect your user ID or to protect against such unauthorized use; Users should not give a password to anyone;
• access only files and data that are your own, that are publicly available, or to which you have authorized access;
• use only legal versions of copyrighted software in compliance with vendor license requirements; and
• be considerate in your use of shared resources. Examples include not monopolizing systems, overloading networks with excessive data, or wasting computer time or resources, disk space, printer paper, manuals, or other resources.

In making acceptable use of resources, users MUST NOT:

• use another person’s system, user ID, password, files, email address or data without permission; use computer programs to decode passwords or access control information;
• download, transmit or display obscene material;
• circumvent or subvert, or attempt to circumvent or subvert system or network security measures;
• engage in any activity that unreasonably interferes with the normal operation of the college;
• engage in any activity that might be harmful to systems or to any information stored thereon, such as creating or propagating viruses, disrupting services, distributing chain letters, or damaging files;
• use College systems for commercial or partisan political purposes, such as using electronic mail to circulate advertising for products, political candidates, or any profit-making company or enterprise;
• make or use illegal copies of copyrighted software, store such copies on College systems, or transmit them over College Resources;
• engage in unauthorized use or distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing; or download any online software without appropriate authorization.
• use the network for purposes that place a heavy load on scarce resources;
• use the College’s computers or networks to libel, slander, or harass any other person. The following shall constitute Computer Harassment:
  (1) Intentionally using the computer to harass, intimidate, or threaten, another person by conveying obscene language, pictures, or other materials or threats of bodily harm to the recipient or the recipient’s immediate family;
  (2) Intentionally using the computer to contact another person repeatedly, whether or not any actual message is communicated, and/or where no purpose of legitimate communication exists, and where the recipient has expressed a desire for the communication to cease;
  (3) Intentionally using the computer to contact another person repeatedly regarding a matter for which one does not have a legal right to communicate, once the recipient has provided reasonable notice that he or she desires such communication to cease (such as debt collection);
  (4) Intentionally using the computer to disrupt or damage the academic research, administrative, or related pursuits of another;
  (5) Intentionally using the computer to invade privacy, academic or otherwise;
• use the College’s systems or networks for personal gain; for example, by selling access to your user ID or to College systems or networks, or by performing work for profit with College resources in a manner not authorized by the College;
• use the College’s systems or networks to transmit any material in violation of United States or Massachusetts laws or regulations;
• engage in any illegal or unethical act, including violation of any criminal or civil laws or regulations, whether state or federal;
• engage in any conduct that violates the College’s other policies; and
• engage in any other activity that does not comply with the General Principles presented above.

College Email

The College provides Users with electronic mail (email) communication. Email communication is intended primarily for educational and College business-related communications, and shall be used by all students, faculty, staff, administrators, and contractors in a manner consistent with this policy.

Student email accounts will be created for each new student upon registration. Students are required to use and check their College email account regularly.

Important College information will be communicated to students through the student email system. The College will not allow students to update their email addresses with private or other email addresses, but they can forward their Urban College email to another email account. Only the assigned College email address will be used by the College for email communications with students.

College email accounts remain active while a student is enrolled at the college. Accounts are deactivated one year after the last term of enrollment, whether or not a student receives a credential. If a student re-enrolls, the account will be reactivated.

Social Media

The use of all College computer resources for social media activities, including but not limited to, Facebook, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, blogs, or other forms of social media, shall comply with this policy. Use of the College’s computer resources by students for educational and social activities consistent with the College’s mission shall comply with this policy.

Enforcement

College officials will review alleged violations of acceptable use policies on a case-by-case basis. Violations of policy will result in appropriate actions, consideration of appropriate disciplinary measures, and/or referral to appropriate authorities responsible for enforcing local, state, and federal laws. Users who breach this policy may be denied access to the College’s computer and communications networks and may be subject to further disciplinary action.

To prevent further possible unauthorized activity, the College reserves the right to disconnect that user from the network. If this is deemed necessary by College staff, where appropriate, reasonable effort will be made to inform the user prior to the disconnection. Breaches of this Computer and Network Usage Policy will be referred to appropriate administrators for consideration of discipline in accordance with applicable College policies and procedures.

The College considers any violation of acceptable use of principles or guidelines to be a serious offense and reserves the right to copy and examine any files or information resident on the College systems allegedly relating to unacceptable use.

Violators are subject to disciplinary action as prescribed in student and employee policies, handbooks, or contracts.

Online Course Etiquette

Online etiquette rules are a set of shared expectations for online interactions that help create a safe and productive learning environment for the class to share ideas, express opinions, make mistakes, and learn together.
Here are a few things to remember:

• Access to Urban College systems including Urban College emails, student information systems (SONIS), and learning management system (Brightspace) is an earned privilege and students are advised to use these with caution. Never provide your Urban College login information to any other individual, including friends or family.
• Please refer to the Academic Honesty section of this catalog for academic honesty policies that apply to all students, including those in online classes.
• If you have a question about assignment deadlines or closed assignments in a course for your instructor, please do not submit a helpdesk ticket. Instead, reach out to your instructor directly with your specific request. An IT Helpdesk Ticket should be submitted only for true IT problems, such as email or Brightspace login issues.
• When communicating online, remember that your classmates who are reading your words deserve to be treated with respect. Without the benefit of facial cues and other physical indications, your readers may not interpret your words as you intended. Before sending any communication, ask yourself if you would say the same thing if you were face-to-face.
• Behavior standards are the same in face-to-face and online courses. This includes:
  • following the copyright laws and Urban College of Boston codes of conduct and civility
  • responding honestly but thoughtfully and respectfully
  • using language that others will not consider foul or abusive
  • being constructive when providing feedback to classmates
• Communication which is acceptable on one platform (texting) may not be appropriate in an academic setting. If you are not sure if a method is appropriate, you should ask your instructor.
• Your communication should be relevant and concise. Your classmates and instructor will need to be able to read your work within a reasonable amount of time. Avoid attaching large files or images that might take a lot of time to download. Your instructor will let you know what to expect in terms of response time and feedback.
• Make sure your written work is well crafted, relevant to the topic and proof-read before submitting. Follow your instructor’s guidance for the class. When appropriate, share your expertise, resources, and reference materials so others can learn from you as well. Handling disagreements:
• It is okay to disagree with a classmate, but interactions must remain respectful. Focus on the issue and not on any individual.

Privacy considerations:

Never share a classmate’s personal information; always respect their privacy. This privacy extends to all aspects of the course. Sharing screenshots, video, or audio of your classmates without their permission is a violation of student privacy rights as well as state and federal law. Similarly, you should not share any of your classmates’ classwork, group work, presentations, or other educational materials without their explicit permission.

A Few Communication Tips:

• Stay actively engaged with each class you are taking at the College. This means checking your Urban College courses and email daily. Check your course’s syllabus to see what expectations and policies the instructor has set around communication.
• Don’t be shy. If you have a question, concern, comment, or suggestion, make sure that you speak up. Even though you cannot raise your hand online, you can send an email to your instructors or post a message to the discussion board. It is your responsibility to communicate with your instructors when you have a question or issue that needs to be addressed.
• Follow the online etiquette rules set out in your courses.
• You can expect your instructor to respond to communications within 2 business days.