Release of Information Policy

General Guidelines

It is the policy of Smith College to protect the privacy of students and the confidentiality of their educational records. The College complies fully with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, a federal law that lays out the rights of students and obligations of the College with respect to the educational records. Under FERPA, students have the rights to inspect and review to their education records, seek to amend those records, and limit disclosure of information from those records to third parties without the express consent of the student, with limited exceptions noted in the regulations. (See Smith College Policy on Access to and Privacy of Records)

Reports of student disciplinary rulings made by the Academic Honor Board and College Conduct Board will be made available by request. These reports will outline both the general nature of the complaints submitted and the final disposition of each case, but will, to the extent required, protect the privacy of the individuals involved. The dean of the college reserves the right to release general information regarding the outcome or progress of a specific case to forestall proliferation of inaccurate information on campus.

In most cases, information will be released to the external media only after release on campus.

Anonymous Harassment

In cases of anonymous bias incidents, the alleged harassment will be reported to students and to the community at large through brief published reports via email. Reports will be made normally with the consent of the person or persons making a complaint and with due consideration for the safety of the complainant(s) and of the community.

Campus Safety

The Director of Campus Safety may release crime prevention notices to the entire campus when she/he determines that public safety is at issue with respect to a specific incident or series of incidents.

Campus Security Report

The annual Campus Security Report contains information regarding campus security and personal safety on the Smith campus, educational programs available, and certain crime statistics from the previous three years. Copies of the annual Campus Security Report are available from the Department of Campus Safety, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts 01063. Please direct all questions regarding these matters to the Director of Campus Safety, at (413) 585-2490.

Updated July 2023