Two offices at LSUA maintain student records that might be considered
student affairs records. These offices are Financial Aid and
Scholarships and Student Services, which has student records pertaining
to counseling, testing, students with disabilities and student conduct.
Student Services Records
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guides
confidentiality in Student Services. An in-depth discussion of FERPA
appears on pages 27 through 29 in the Student Handbook [1] 
. All personnel are aware of FERPA and follow these guidelines.
In addition to FERPA, counselors assure students that anything they
reveal in counseling sessions is confidential. Counselors maintain
confidentiality as described in the Professional Disclosure Information
and Consent Form [2] and established in the Code of Conduct [3]
published by the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of
Examiners. If a record is created concerning student visits to Student
Services, the record is kept in locked files and purged after five
years.
Confidentiality for students making use of Services for Students
with Disabilities is assured through a statement located in the
Services for Students with Disabilities Handbook (p. 8) [4] . If a student requests any part of his/her disability record, an Authorization for Release of Information or Records [5]
is generated. Intervention letters generated for faculty do not refer
to the student’s disability and it is not revealed to faculty without
the express consent of the student.
LSUA has adopted a Code of Student Conduct to facilitate its
educational goals and objectives and to help provide security for the
University community. This Code of Conduct establishes reasonable
standards of academic and personal conduct for LSUA students. LSUA has
the right to deny membership in the University community to those
students who fail to meet or maintain these standards and to impose
reasonable disciplinary sanctions on students who fail to meet or
maintain these standards. This policy is generally administered by the
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs; however,
he may appoint a designee to handle some aspects. Only the Provost and
Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs may authorize
dismissal or alteration of grades as a result of a conduct issue. The
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs has
appointed the Director of Student Services to conduct proceedings
related to violations of the Code of Student Conduct. Final authority
rests with the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student
Affairs. All records created in the execution of this duty are kept in
locked files and are also subject to FERPA regulations. The Code of
Student Conduct is published in the Student Handbook (p. 31-50) [6] and is also published as Policy Statement 228 [7] .
LSUA’s Testing Center is staffed with a coordinator. The coordinator
holds a master’s degree in student personnel services. The coordinator
organizes, administers, and coordinates a university testing program.
The coordinator also provides students and faculty members with
assistance in testing to meet requirements for placement, admission,
and instructional purposes. A variety of national tests such as ACT,
CLEP, PRAXIS, and ETS Subject Area Tests, are administered at the
Center. The coordinator insures confidentiality and integrity of test
results. All tests are kept in a locked file, and tests are either
picked up by professors or returned by the coordinator. Student
confidentiality is maintained according to FERPA guidelines.
Financial Aid Records
In addition to following the provisions of the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Financial Aid has established policies
and procedures to ensure the appropriate handling of student financial
records. The Policies and Procedures Manual [8] for the LSUA Financial Aid office states:
“All records and conversations between an aid applicant,
his/her family and the staff of the FAO are confidential and entitled
to the protection ordinarily given a counseling relationship. LSUA
assures the confidentiality of student educational records in
accordance with LSUA rules, State, and federal laws including the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (The Buckley
Amendment – whose primary intent is to provide students access to their
educational records and to limit dissemination of personally
identifiable information without the student written consent) as
amended. As a rule, all currently enrolled and former students have the
right to review their records to determine their content and accuracy.
Parents of dependent students, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code,
who give evidence of this status, have the same rights. A student who
wishes to obtain access to his/her financial aid record is able to do
so in the presence of a FAO employee.”
Academic Records
Protection of the security, confidentiality, and integrity of student academic records is discussed in Comprehensive Standard 3.4.11.