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Privacy Policy

You can visit our website to obtain information without revealing your identity or any personal information. The only information we collect and store during this type of normal use is the name of your Internet Service Provider, the website that referred you to us, the pages you request, and the date and time of those requests. This information is used to help us analyze trends and improve our site. When you use the website in this way, we do not collect or store personally identifiable information such as your name, mailing address, email address, or phone number unless you have requested specific information through one of our online forms or have filled out one of our surveys.

If you choose to provide personally identifiable information to us when using this site — through a form, survey, or other type of correspondence — the information is collected and stored in a manner appropriate to the nature of the data and is used to fulfill your request. Unless required to do so by the Maine Freedom of Access Act (FOAA), we do not share or otherwise disclose to other organizations or third parties the personal information you may have chosen to provide us as a user of this site.

This site contains content and other materials that link to websites operated by third parties. We have no control over those sites and this Privacy Policy does not apply to them. You are encouraged to review the privacy policies of those other sites.

Privacy Notice

This section of our Privacy Notice provides details about interest-based online advertising (also called “targeted advertising”, “re-marketing” or “behavioral advertising”), Google Analytics, and your choices with respect to this type of advertising.

We use Google Analytics’ 3rd-party audience data such as age, gender and interests to better understand the behavior of our customers and work with companies that collect information about your online activities to provide advertising targeted to suit your interests and preferences. For example, you may see certain ads on other websites because we contract with Google and other similar companies to target our ads based on information we or they have collected, including information that was collected through automated means (such as cookies and web beacons). These companies also use automated technologies to collect information when you click on our ads, which helps track and manage the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.

You may opt out of the automated collection of information by third-party ad networks for the purpose of delivering advertisements tailored to your interests, by visiting the consumer opt-out page for the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising at http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ and edit or opt-out your Google Display Network ads’ preferences at http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/. Because those opt-out and preference control pages are specific to the individual browser used to visit it, and because that page is not operated by SMCC, we are unable to perform the opt-outs on your behalf.

Notification of Rights under FERPA for Postsecondary Institutions

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records. (An “eligible student” under FERPA is a student who is 18 years of age or older or who attends a postsecondary institution at any age.) These rights include:

  1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days after the day Eastern Maine Community College(EMCC) receives a request for access. A student should submit to the registrar, Vice President and Dean of Students or academic dean, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The school 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 school 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 the amendment of the student’s education records that the student believes is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.

A student who wishes to ask EMCC to amend a record should write to the Registrar, Vice President, or Academic Dean and clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed.

If EMCC decides not to amend the record as requested, EMCC will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student’s 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.

  1. The right to provide written consent before EMCC discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

EMCC discloses education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is typically includes a person employed by the College 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 trustees; 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 who performs an institutional service of function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees and who is under the direct  control of the school 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 typically 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.

Upon request, the school also discloses education records without consent to officials of another school in which a student seeks or intends to enroll.

Other third parties who may have access to educational records of students without prior written consent include:

  • certain authorized Federal agencies;
  • persons in connection with the student’s application for, or receipt of, financial aid;
  • organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions;
  • accrediting organizations;
  • parents of a dependent student as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; and
  • judicial authorities.

4. The college may disclose certain education records without a student’s prior written consent under the FERPA exception for directory information. Directory information includes:

  • a student’s full name;
  • hometown;
  • permanent address;
  • assigned college email address;
  • date of birth;
  • the fact that a student is or was enrolled;
  • enrollment status (e.g., full-time, half-time or less than half-time);
  • class level and majors/minors; dates of attendance; degrees, honors or awards received;
  • cumulative credit hours;
  • participation in officially recognized activities and sports; and photograph.

Students may request that their directory information be withheld by contacting the Enrollment Center and completing the appropriate form. If you request that your public directory information be suppressed, then any request from parents, relatives, friends, student organizations, and all others who may wish to contact you will be denied. Only in emergency situations will we release information concerning your whereabouts to other than those persons authorized under the Act.

5. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by EMCC to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the office that administers FERPA is:

Student Privacy Policy Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202

For more information on FERPA, click here