Student Records

Directory Information may be disclosed at the discretion of a College or University and without the prior consent from the student for the purposes listed below. Students may request that the university not disclose their directory information (see Form). This will mark a students record confidential.

Purposes of access by school officials of the Colleges and Universities governed by the CT Board of Regents for Higher Education, the following is designated as Directory Information: student’s legal name, permanent mailing address, month and day of birth, photographs, student identification number, User ID, or other unique identifier, email address, telephone number, university or college previously attended or currently attending, dates of attendance, full vs. part-time student status, academic honors and awards, class standing/year, major, minor, concentration and/or program of study, degree(s)/certificate(s) candidacy, degree(s)/certificate(s) earned, previous institutions attended, graduation expected/completion dates.

Purposes of access by military recruiters only, the following is designated as Directory Information (Student Recruiting Information): student's legal name, permanent mailing address, email address issued by the institution, telephone number, age, place of birth, class standing/year, major and/or program of study, degrees received, most recent educational institution attended.

For purposes of participation in any recognized activity or sports, the following is designated as Directory Information: student's preferred name, city and state of residence, dates of attendance, class standing/year, recognized activity or sport, team performance statistics, team position, photos and videos, academic honors and awards, height and weight of athlete.

For purposes of disclosure to/access by the general public, the following is designated as Directory Information: student's preferred name, permanent mailing address, photographs, dates of attendance, major, minor, concentration and/or program of study, degree/certificate candidacy, degree(s)/certificate(s) earned, academic honors and awards, full vs. part-time status, anticipated graduation date, graduation date

National Student Clearinghouse is the official provider of enrollment verification for Southern.

How to Request an Enrollment Verification 

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

1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the College or University 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 or University 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 or University 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 amendment of an education record that the student believes is inaccurate.

Students may ask an appropriate College or University official to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate, misleading or a violation of the student’s right to privacy. However, FERPA is not intended to provide a process to question substantive judgments that are correctly recorded. Consequently, FERPA amendment requests do not allow a student to contest a grade in a course because the student believes that a higher grade should have been assigned.

To request amendment of an education record, the student should write to the official, clearly identifying the part of the record he or she wants changed and specifying why he/she believes it is inaccurate. The institution will notify the student of the decision. If the institution decides not to amend the record as requested by the student, a College or University official will advise the student of his or 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 provide written consent before the College or University discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

FERPA permits disclosure without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials who have a legitimate educational interest. A "school official" is a person employed by a College or University in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person serving on the Board of Regents; an employee of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system office; or, a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee. A school official also may include a volunteer or contractor outside of the College or University who performs an institutional service or function for which the College or University would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct control of the College or University with respect to the use and maintenance of PII from education records, such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent or a student volunteering to assist another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the College or University. Upon request, the College or University also discloses education records to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll without the prior consent of, or notice to, the student.

FERPA also permits disclosure of education records without consent in connection with, but not limited to:

• To comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena;
• To appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency;
• In connection with a student's request for or receipt of financial aid, as necessary to determine the eligibility, amount or conditions of the financial aid, or to enforce the terms and conditions of the aid;
• To certain officials of the U.S. Department of Education, the Comptroller General, to state and local educational authorities, in connection with certain state or federally supported education programs;
• To accrediting organizations to carry out their functions; 
• To organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the College or University;
• The results of an institutional disciplinary proceeding against the alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence to the alleged victim of that crime with respect to that crime.
• Directory information as defined in the policy of the Board of Regents.

4. The right to refuse to permit the College or University to release Directory Information about the student, except to school officials with a legitimate educational interest and others as indicated in paragraph 3 above.

To do so, a student exercising this right must notify the University's or College's Registrar, in writing. Once filed, this notification becomes a permanent part of the student's record until the student instructs the University or College, in writing, to remove it. A student may exercise his or her right to opt out of Directory Information, prohibiting disclosure of the student's information without the student's consent as noted in section 3, except however, that pursuant to the Solomon Amendment, military recruiters must be provided the same access to student information as is provided to nonmilitary recruiters.

5. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by Colleges to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA is the Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202-4605.

Legal Name and Chosen Name

Students may file a Change of Legal Name with supporting documentation. Students may also submit a chosen first name in Banner Student (sometimes known as a preferred name, a nickname, or a name-in-use) that is different from their legal first name. See instructions below to update your Chosen First Name.

A chosen first name will replace a student's legal first name as it appears in:

• Banner for Administrators
• Banner for Students including unofficial transcripts
• Banner for Faculty including course rosters
• Degree Works Evaluations
• Microsoft Student Email Profiles
• The Housing Director for Residential Life including mail logs/guest sign in's
• Slate for Admissions
• Navigate for Advising
• Blackboard Learn
• Career Services
• Maxient for Student Conduct
• Upon request at the Card Office, a chosen first name can be updated on the student's Hoot Loot ID card.

Financial aid, billing, and official transcripts will continue to display a student's legal name.

Gender Marker and Gender Identity

Students may file a Change of Gender Marker (male/female) with supporting documentation. Students may also submit a Gender Identity (ex. female/woman) in Banner Student. See instructions below to update your Gender Identity.

Gender marker and identity is viewed and used where required for reporting purposes in:

• Banner for Administrators
• Navigate 
• Career Services
• Slate for Admissions 
• The Housing Director for Residential Life

Pronouns

Students may also submit pronouns (ex. she/her/hers) in Banner Student. See instructions below to update your pronouns.

A student's personal pronouns currently appear in:

• Banner for Administrators
• Degree Works Evaluations
• Maxient for Student Conduct
• Slate for Admissions 
• The Housing Director for Residential Life

As our vendors upgrade their software, pronouns will become more widely available for use by faculty and staff in additional systems.

How to update Chosen First Name, Gender Identity, and Pronouns:

• Login to MySCSU
• Banner Student
• Records and Registration
• My Contact Information
• Make Updates and Submit

Current Students 
You may authorize the disclosure of academic or financial record information to a parent, guardian, or other third party.  This may be authorized or revoked at anytime through self-service:

• Log into MySCSU
• Banner Student
• Records and Registration
• Authorization to Release Records
• Select Financial, Academic, or Both
• Set up a 4-digit access pin for the authorized user

Former Students

Generally, a student’s residency classification is determined at the time of application for admission.

Any student classified as an out of state resident who believes they qualify for (1) in-state tuition as a resident of Connecticut in accordance with Connecticut General Statute 10a-26, or (2) the New England, New Jersey, or New York tuition discount as a resident of one of those states in an approved program, may file this application at any time to request a change of residency.  

As a reminder...

• You may or may not be called for an interview.
• You will receive notification of your application status within 1-2 weeks. 
• If approved, reclassification will not be retroactive to prior semesters.   
• The Student Code of Conduct prohibits the act of providing false information to school officials. 

Please submit this completed application along with all supporting documentation to:

Southern credits may also be applied towards your Connecticut State Community College AA/AS Degree!

Earning your associate degree is an important milestone, you are more likely to complete your bachelor's degree, and it can provide better job opportunities while in school.  Employers value the associate degree as evidence of your commitment to expanding your knowledge.

Reverse Transfer Criteria

• Previously attended at a Connecticut State Community College and earned at least 45 credits.
• Must be a current undergraduate degree-seeking student who has earned at least 15 credits.

Eligible students are notified by the Registrar's office annually in January.  Upon notification, you may submit the Reverse Transfer Application and an official Southern transcript to the Connecticut State Community College that you previously attended.  Southern courses will be evaluated by the community college and are subject to the degree requirements of your associate degree program.