SSC Confidentiality
The Student Success Center treats as confidential any written material obtained to verify a disability, to plan for appropriate services, or to document services and contacts with this office. The following are guidelines used by the Student Success Center regarding disability-related information:
All disability-related information regarding students served by the Student Success Center is housed in the Student Success Center.
- Only staff persons working in Services for Students with Disabilities at the Student Success Center have access to the files.
- Students who request services/accommodations acknowledge that some level of disclosure to select faculty may be necessary to provide the requested accommodation(s). Disclosure will occur with the student’s specific written permission with the understanding that only necessary information for the purposes of accommodation will be communicated.
- A student may request to review the contents of his/her own file. This must be done in the presence of a Student Success Center staff member. All information in the file is the property of The Student Success Center.
- The Student Success Center students may receive copies of only disability-related records verifying the disability and the need for services and accommodation(s). Students must sign a release for the copies. An inventory list of all materials copied will be kept in the student file.
- Seven (7) years after the last date of enrollment, all materials in a student’s folder in the Student Success Center will be destroyed.
Information Disclosure
Periodically the Student Success Center is asked to provide information about students identified and served through the office. This data is reported in a manner that protects the identity of all students. The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), also known as the Buckley Amendment, and the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) do not allow faculty access to disability-related information. The Citadel Student Success Center may inform faculty that a student has a documented disability and a need for accommodation(s).
This Information Disclosure describes how disability information about a student who is registered with the Student Success Center may be used and disclosed and how students can obtain access to their information. Please review this information carefully.
The Student Success Center values the privacy of its students and the confidentiality of the personal, educational, and health information entrusted to us. To protect this privacy, we have policies and procedures in place to limit disclosures of personal information to those who play a role in the delivery of services to the student, those to whom the student has given permission, and/or those required by law or public safety to have access to the information.
- Signed release. Information related to disability accommodations may be disclosed to persons the student has designated in a signed Release of Information form. The student can add or delete names by completing a new Release of Information form at any time.
- Legal requirements. Personal and/or documented disability information may be disclosed as required by a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful processes. It may also be disclosed when legally requested by national security, intelligence, and other federal officials.
- Other uses. Disability information can be disclosed to the proper authorities to prevent/control injury or disability to the student or to others. Uses and disclosures of disability and personal information other than those described above will be made only with the student’s (your) written authorization. Such authorization, when given, may be revoked in writing by the student (you) at any time.
The student also has certain rights related to his/her information retained in the Student Success Center. These include:
- The right to inspect and obtain copies of personal disability information. Any such requests must be made in writing by the student to give the Student Success Center permission to release the information. A cost-based fee may be charged for copying disability records. The Student Success Center may deny, in writing, the release or viewing of personal disability information if the Student Success Center Administration determines that the release of the information may be harmful to the student or another person. When such a request is denied, the student may request a review of the denial by a designated Student Success Center or Citadel reviewing official who did not participate in the decision to deny. Such request must be made in writing to the Student Success Center, 171 Moultrie Street, 117 Thompson Hall, and Charleston, SC.
- The right to request limits on the amount of disability information released. Such request must be made in writing to the Student Success Center. The Student Success Center may release the information when such a release is mandated by the uses outlined above.
- The right to request that communications between the student and the Student Success Center be kept confidential.
Duties of the Student Success Center
To maintain privacy. The Student Success Center is required by law to maintain the privacy of protected disability information and to abide by this notice of its legal duties and privacy practices.
Information and complaints
Students may file complaints regarding the security and/or privacy or discriminatory acts of their personal disability information with the Associate Director of the Student Success Center, Shannon McKenzie, M.Ed.
Shannon McKenzie M.Ed.
Associate Director, Services for Students with Disabilities
Student Success Center
171 Moultrie Street
Thompson Hall, Room 103
Charleston, SC 29409
843-953-6877 (V)
843-953-6823 (FAX)
Contact Information
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, you can contact Shannon McKenzie, M.Ed., at 843-953-6877 or by email: smckenz1@citadel.edu.