NorthWest Arkansas Community College

Learn about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Guidelines for the release of information...

To the student:

• If in person, no signature required
• If in the presence of other third parties, only release information specifically requested by the student

To the school officials:

• No signature required if requester has "need to know" in order to carry out responsibilities.

To third parties, including parents, spouses, other students, references, schools, etc.:

• If releasing information other than directory information, you must have a signature of release and may only release specific information designated by the student.  Contact the Director of Early College Experience to determine if there is a signed release.

Note: Early College Education (ECE) faculty are not obligated by FERPA to release information to third parties. Therefore, if the request eliminates important information, the request may be denied.

Examples:

• Send my transcript but only the courses with A and B grades
• Send a reference but you cannot mention my unsatisfactory marks in student teaching
• If releasing directory information only, signature of release is not required unless student's records are confidential

Email is considered directory information. However, emails cannot be published if students who have requested all information be kept confidential.  If emailing a group of students that includes a confidential student, cut the confidential student's email out of the TO: line in the email and paste in the Bcc (Blind Copy) box. You may blind copy all students as a rule.

You may send grades by email if you send it to the student NWACC email account. Have the student send a request from his/her NWACC email for the grade and then send it back at that address.

Only release grades to students in person or to their NWACC email account, never over the phone.

If your office is in an open area:

• Close all files when not in use or when third parties are present.
• Position computer screen so that third parties cannot see information; close out whenever leaving work area.
• Check to see if printers, copiers and fax machines are in secure areas. If not, arrange to do so.
• When discussing educational record information with a student, if at all possible go to a private office or area so that conversations aren't overheard.
• If you have questions about FERPA and information which may be released, please contact Enrollment Services at 479-986-4000.

A member of the NWACC faculty serves as a liaison between the campus-based college classes and instructors, and the high school-based classes and instructors. The faculty liaison reports to the division deans and works with the NWACC learning representative housed in the office of the VP for Student Learning to coordinate activities and maintain a quality program.

ECE Faculty Meeting Report

Use this report to record meetings with Early College Experience faculty outside of the Annual Professional Development event. Please give a detailed description of information/issues discussed during the meeting and any follow-up steps that need to occur.  

ECE New Faculty Orientation Meeting Form

Use this form to document ECE New Faculty Orientation.  Faculty Liaison needs to meet with new faculty prior to the instructor teaching the course.

ECE Faculty Site Visit

Faculty liaison are required to conduct a site visit each year for every high school instructor. Classroom observations are required for new faculty and every third year for veteran faculty. Please note in your report observations from your classroom visit.

The responsibilities of the Faculty Liaison include:

• Providing feedback to high school instructors on course curriculum and course assessments/grading
• Reviewing course content for courses taught at the high schools
• Reviewing Early College Experience syllabi each semester
• Working with the Program Director to ensure student evaluations are completed each semester
• Training and development of Early College Experience instructors
• Annual site visits and classroom observations              

The Early College Experience instructors teach at the high schools  where students enroll for college credit.

Discovery Day

ECE, Discovery Days provide an opportunity for ECE, high school faculty to come to the NWACC Campus and observe college classes and to interact with college faculty.  If you would like to participate in this program, please complete the form below.  After receiving your request, you will be contacted by the faculty liaison for your discipline to arrange your campus visit and classroom observation.

The responsibilities of the Early College Experience instructor include:
• Preparing a course syllabus
• Ensuring that all learning outcomes for the college course are achieved
• Providing copies of assessment tools to the Faculty Liaison
• Attending NWACC departmental meetings, Early College Experience annual lunch/meeting, and other professional development functions

Early College Experience faculty is required to meet NWACC standards for experience and academic credentials. Instructors must hold at least a Master's degree in the subject, or in some cases, possess a Master's degree with a minimum of 18 graduate hours in the academic area to be taught.

Qualified high school faculty who wish to teach part-time for NWACC, including Early College Experience, should make application through the NWACC Personnel Office. Necessary paperwork: NWACC application form with three references and an official transcript showing Master's degree work.

If an instructor is teaching an ECE class on the high school campus or via distance education but is not member of the high school faculty, the hiring procedure would follow the same steps through the appropriate division as for the employment of any other part-time NWACC instructor.

Instructors who are also high school employees should follow the class attendance schedule as set forth by the high school administration for Early College Experience classes. Instructors paid by NWACC are not required to hold class when the high school begins school earlier than the college beginning date. However, the instructor may wish to meet with the high school students before the first day of class to give an overview of what will be covered in the course. This procedure allows for other arrangements to be made should the student choose not to continue with the class for college credit. If a high school semester ends at a different time than the college semester, the instructors paid by NWACC are not required to hold classes at the high school beyond the end of the semester.

Instructors based in the high school should be in regular contact with campus lead faculty and should feel free to bring suggestions and/or concerns about the program to the attention of the appropriate faculty liaisons. Early College Experience faculty are bona-fide NWACC faculty and are encouraged to attend all pertinent campus-based faculty meetings, if schedules permit.

At the beginning of the college semester, the Early College Experience director will take each instructor's class rosters to the high school for instructor verification and signatures. These rosters are forwarded to the admissions office for billing of tuition invoices.

Instructors are responsible for submitting all final grade rosters with letter grades, dated and signed, to the director of Early College Experience, who will forward them to the appropriate Division administrative assistants.

Divisions/departments may require other end-of-semester records to be submitted in addition to the final grade roster. It is the responsibility of the Division Chair or Liaison Faculty to make clear these required materials to the instructor. Instructors may deliver any such material directly to the division or may include those items with the grade sheet for the director.

In situations in which an Early College Experience faculty member who is not a high school faculty member must miss class, he or she should contact both the high school counselor and the appropriate liaison faculty. 

The Early College Experience instructor is expected to perform all teaching duties at a level comparable to other instructors of those same courses on the NWACC campus. The instructor, high school counselors, and the home-based liaison faculty should maintain open communication channel for discussion of any perceived or actual problem related to Early College Experience classes.

Because Early College Experience instructors are NWACC faculty members, they are evaluated by the same criteria as campus-based faculty. Specifically, Early College Experience faculty members will go through student, and administrative reviews. In addition, instructors will be observed by the Faculty Liaison for the discipline each academic year. The faculty Liaison should notify the high school in advance of the intended day of visitation in case of changes in the school's regular daily schedule. 

High school instructors will be provided grading standards and common assessments from the NWACC faculty liaisons for the specific courses. Faculty liaisons will conduct a site visit to every high school instructor each year, which will include reviewing graded assessments for consistency with on-campus college courses.

In order to offer high school-based, concurrent enrollment programs in Arkansas, the college must be accredited by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). NACEP requires an accredited program to provide and require professional development that build collegial relationships to instructors teaching in the high schools. Therefore, NWACC will offer annual professional development to instructors and track attendance. Instructors not meeting the minimum requirement of attending one professional development program or departmental meeting every (#) years will not be allowed to teach concurrent classes.