Release of Student Records

Information from student records must only be released with the written permission of the student:

• only to individuals or agencies designated by the student
• except as required by law or
• except as outlined in these procedures, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

1.  General

1. Confidential information from a student record is not posted publicly unless it is posted in such a manner that prevents a student from being easily identified by a third party. (e.g., staff do not post marks publicly along with a student’s name or a number by which the student could be readily identified.)
2. Staff must not distribute class lists including student addresses or telephone numbers without the explicit written permission of each student in the class.
3. Division staff must not provide student addresses or mailing lists to other agencies or individuals for the purposes of marketing except with the explicit written permission of the student.
4. When the Institute is contracted to provide training programs to a client, and the course(s) are held exclusively for employees of the agency under the terms of the contract, the Institute is deemed to be a service provider and student information limited to the specific contract courses may be provided to the agency without the specific written approval of the student. This does not apply to release of student records related to any courses or programs that are not part of the training contract, regardless of whether or not the employer is sponsoring the student’s enrollment. Questions regarding this clause should be directed to the Registrar or Associate Registrar.
5. A Division may release an Unofficial Student Transcript or Student Course History to a student, or with the explicit written permission of the student, to another individual or agency. This information must be printed on plain paper and does not have the signature or seal of the Office of the Registrar.
6. The transfer of student records to the BC Archives and Records Service constitutes a disclosure of personal information that is permitted under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

2.   Special Circumstance

The release of student information for the following purposes may only be done by or with the permission of the Registrar or the Vice President, Finance & Administration, who is the designated Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Officer for the Institute.

1. The Institute may release information contained in student records:
   • to Provincial Government agencies for the limited purpose of providing a Provincial Education Number for the student;
   • to Provincial or Federal Government agencies for statistical or research purposes that do not involve the identification of individual students;
2. Law enforcement officers and courts of law are granted access to student records when appropriate warrants and orders are provided. Agencies which have statutory authority to access records are granted access when appropriate orders or warrants are issued. Requests for student records under these exemptions must be directed to the Registrar or Vice President, Finance & Administration.
3. Only the Registrar may release an Official Student Transcript, attesting to the student’s enrollment and achievement in all courses and programs sponsored by the Institute.

3.  Student Access to Own Records

1. Students may be granted direct electronic access to view and edit selected components of their own records.
2. Students are given the opportunity to review their work products and exam papers in the presence of an Institute faculty or staff member, but the retention and disposal of these records are governed by the specific Student Records procedures.
3. Student work products and exam papers that are not returned to the student as part of the educational process are the property of the Institute, and, except as required by law, are not released to the student or designate if such release is deemed by the Division Director to be harmful to the interests of the Institute.
4. Applicant interview questions and answers, tools used during student selection, course examination papers and answer sheets and similar documents are the property of the Institute. In order to protect program integrity these documents are not released to the student except as required by law.
5. As part of a student appeal, a student or designate may, in the presence of an Institute faculty or staff member, view the records noted in 3.4.
6. The Registrar, or his/her designate, may release grades and other personal information to a student over the telephone subject to positive identification of the student. Positive identification is established by requesting two pieces of information from the student that are likely to be known only to the student and the JIBC. Where feasible, the identification should include one piece of JIBC information (e.g. student number, last course taken at the JIBC) and one piece of personal information (e.g. name of next of kin, cell phone number, driver license number).

Related Policies and Procedures

• 2105 Protection of Privacy and Access to Information Policy
• 3206 Student Records Policy