Need something cleared up (regarding FERPA)

Well, about two years ago I was forced to withdraw from university (family issues led to absences, scholarship revoked). I enrolled in my local CC right after and have been attending since then, but recently I was told by my university adviser to attempt to appeal my withdrawal status-- after writing an e-mail to the dean explaining my situation and talking about what will be done to prevent it from happening again, my withdrawal has been overturned and changed to "leave of absence," I have officially been reinstated as a student. There was never a point where my interim was discussed, and I have not been asked to sign anything that would legally require a transcript from the CC. The problem is, my GPA at the CC is fine, except for the first year (I won't go into detail, but my father had been drinking and abusing my little brother, so absences once again led to low grades for that year). My grades have been fine since then, as my father was forced to seek help and my transportation became more reliable. In choosing to not send my transcript, am I violating university policy? I know that normally I waive my right to privacy when signing documents issued by the college (legal print at the bottom of the applications/aid documents). Obviously if I am potentially violating a policy, I will explain the situation-- otherwise I will consider FERPA blocking my CC records. Is this wise?

Thank you!

tasogare:

In choosing to not send my transcript, am I violating university policy?

You'd have to ask the appropriate person at the university. You didn't say what university it was, and even if you had, it's unlikely that anyone here would be familiar with the details of its policies.

If the university requires all students to submit all transcripts, you have no choice.

This isn't very helpful, as I've already stated, they never requested the transcript. I'm more concerned with how this might affect my scholarship, as government aid is only renewed for a limited number of semesters.

If you want government aid then ALL your transcripts must be provided.  However, what counts is your overall GPA not each indivdual course.  The rules for aid state the student must be making "suitable academic progress" which means typically a minimum GPA of around 2.9 to maintain aid.  What has changed though is the maximum amount of time that the government will provide loans and/or grants.  One cannot drag the process out and not graduate.  So while your GPA may be okay to maintain your financing, if you have lingered too long in the educational pursuit you might find the government is no longer willing to under write your education regardless of what information you disclose to them.

If you completed a required class at that school and you want to avoid repeating it at some cost, you may want to get your transcripts just for that one class.

If they don't require all transcripts, then I wouldn't worry about it.  Some schools will count not only your units attempted and completed but also your grades in their satisfactory progress policy, some will only count units attempted/completed.

The feds have a new 6 year limit on full-time Pell grants (what they call 600%), so if it's that you don't want your current school to know you got aid at the old one - the feds are keeping track and will notify the school you are currently attending once you reach 450%. 

How any poor grades from another school will affect the continuance of any scholarship you are receiving will depend on the school's policy and what the scholarship requires.  Without knowing any of your current college's policies and the terms/conditions of any scholarship aid you are receiving, members here can only make suggestions.