Ricketts Great Books College protects the confidentiality and privacy of student education records and other personally identifiable information. This policy applies to all College operations and delivery modalities and to everyone who handles student data, including service providers. (This is separate from the website Terms & Conditions, which covers website analytics and the newsletter only.)
The College voluntarily applies the protections of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to student education records as its governing standard, and applies the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Safeguards Rule to nonpublic financial information. Where a student lives in a place that grants additional privacy rights — for example California (CCPA/CPRA) or the EU/UK (GDPR) — the College honors the rights that apply to that student.
The College collects only the minimum information needed to deliver education, student services, and operations, and uses it only for those purposes or as required by law. Sensitive data such as government ID or payment-card numbers is limited and stored only in approved systems.
The College designates the following as directory information: student name, program of study, enrollment status, dates of attendance, degrees and awards, and College email address. You may opt out by submitting a Directory Opt-Out Request to the Registrar; the College honors requests within 10 business days. An opt-out stays in effect for your enrollment unless you revoke it in writing.
Access to student data is limited to people with a legitimate educational or business need, using role-based permissions and multi-factor authentication where feasible. The learning system (Canvas) and student information system (Populi) require individual authenticated logins; live sessions on Zoom are password-protected and access-restricted; data in transit is encrypted (HTTPS/TLS). Records are retained only as long as needed and then securely destroyed.
Socratic seminars are recorded for academic quality, accessibility, and program review. Recordings are College property, stored securely, and available only to enrolled students and authorized staff. Students with accommodation needs may request alternative arrangements.
The College confirms student identity through unique authenticated logins and faculty recognition in live seminars rather than third-party proctoring software (see Identity Verification).
The College sends operational messages to enrolled students and obtains consent for optional marketing. The website provides a cookie notice and preference controls. The College does not sell student personal information.
Additional parent or guardian consent is obtained for students who are minors under applicable law.
Submit records requests to [email protected]. Privacy questions and complaints may be sent to the Privacy Officer at [email protected]; unresolved complaints may be escalated through the College’s Student Grievance and Appeals process and, where applicable, to external regulators.
