SMC Handbook

As a Catholic institution, we endeavor to cultivate a commitment to Christian community. Such is the spirit in which the guidelines in this handbook have been formulated. They express our commitment to educate women in the Christian values of responsible freedom and interdependence. These guidelines express concern for your right to privacy and safety as well as your responsibilities to and for one another. They are designed to ensure that your life at Saint Mary's College develops in an atmosphere conducive to personal and communal growth.

The student handbook is intended as a general guide and should be used as the first source of information regarding the College's policies, procedures, and rules. Students should also seek information from other sources, especially College staff and faculty. The College reserves the right to delete, add, or modify policies, procedures, and rules contained in this handbook, and may also, on occasion, and at its discretion, publish written notice to supplement or modify information contained within this handbook.

Please read this handbook thoroughly and refer to it throughout the year. Please check the Saint Mary's College Web page frequently so you can take advantage of all the events which are offered.

FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT OF 1974

The Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. Education records are those records, files, documents, and other materials directly related to a student that are maintained by the College. The rights afforded by FERPA include the following:

1. The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the College receives a request for access.

A student wishing to review her education records must make a written request to the registrar listing the specific records she wishes to inspect and review. Once the request is received, the registrar will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected.

2. The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that she believes are inaccurate or misleading.

Students may ask the College to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should direct a written request to the registrar, clearly identifying the part of the record they believe should be amended and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. (Grades are not included here.)

3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent.

One exception which permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate education interests. A school official is any person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the College has contracted (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the board of trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his/her tasks. A school official has a legitimate education interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibility.

Upon request, the College may disclose education records without consent to officials of another school in which a students seeks or intends to enroll.

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the requirements of FERPA at the address below:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-4605

DIRECTORY INFORMATION

At its discretion, Saint Mary's may provide directory information in accordance with the provisions of FERPA. Directory information includes: name, addresses (including e-mail address), telephone numbers, date and place of birth, major, classification, current class schedule, dates of attendance, full- or part-time status, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, photographs or video, degrees and awards received, parent/guardian name, previous colleges attended, and other similar information without prior consent of the student.

Saint Mary's students have the right to file written annual notification with the registrar (beginning August 16, effective through August 15 of the following year) to prevent disclosure of directory information. In the event that written notification is not filed, it will be assumed that the student does not object to the release of directory information.

COLLEGE MISSION STATEMENT

Saint Mary's College is a Catholic, residential, women's college in the liberal arts tradition. A pioneer in the education of women, the College is an academic community where women develop their talents and prepare to make a difference in the world. Founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1844, Saint Mary's promotes a life of intellectual vigor, aesthetic appreciation, religious sensibility, and social responsibility. All members of the College remain faithful to this mission and continually assess their response to the complex needs and challenges of the contemporary world.

STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY AND PURPOSE

As a center of higher education, Saint Mary's fosters an academic climate of scholarship and learning for faculty and students alike. Through excellence in teaching and the example of its own active scholarship, the faculty challenges students to expand their horizons and supports them in their intellectual pursuits. A broad-based course of study invites students to think critically and creatively about the natural world and human culture. Acknowledging the need to prepare women for an array of careers, the College insists on a liberal arts foundation for all its students. Through their years at Saint Mary's students acquire depth and breath of knowledge, competence in quantitative skills and modern languages, the ability to think clearly about complex problems, and the capacity to communicate with precision and style.

As a Catholic college, Saint Mary's cultivates a community of intellectual inquiry, liturgical prayer, and social action. The College creates an open forum in which students freely and critically study the rich heritage of the Catholic tradition, raising the questions necessary to develop a mature religious life. The celebration of liturgy encourages students to explore the fullness of life and its mysteries. The College nurtures awareness and compassion for a troubled world and challenges students to promote human dignity throughout their lives. In preparing women for roles of leadership and action, Saint Mary's pays particular attention to the rights and responsibilities of women in the worlds of work, church, community, and family.

Dedicated to the personal and social growth of its students, Saint Mary's cultivates a community of students, faculty, and staff, which responds to the needs of women. In order to offer the richest educational experience possible, the College strives to bring together women of different nations, cultures and races. It provides a residential environment where women grow in their appreciation of the strengths and needs of others. Through a host of co-curricular programs on campus and in the local community, Saint Mary's initiates students in the habits of civic responsibility. Engaging in all aspects of the college experience, students acquire the hallmarks of a liberally educated woman: keen self-knowledge, lively imagination, lifelong intellectual and cultural interests, and the ability to make socially responsible choices about the future.

PHILOSOPHY OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

Our Saint Mary's philosophy of student affairs is rooted in the mission of the College and gospel values, student affairs professional ethical guidelines, and developmental issues of young adult women.

We seek understanding and appreciation of the Catholic identity and local traditions of Saint Mary's College including: – spiritual development as an important priority, –student participation in decision-making processes at all levels, and – the dignity and worth of each individual as God-created.

We emphasize positive and effective interpersonal relationships through: –a team model for divisional operation with expected collegiality, –constructive conflict-resolution process and procedures, and –appreciation of differences and acceptance of diversity.

We work to develop a community where individuals live out their ethical and moral beliefs and which supports: –moral development for students and staff, responsible individual decision- making as an extension of one – s personal ethics, and –responsibility for consequences of personal actions and choices. We strive to develop women for leadership through: – understanding historical and contemporary women's issues, – valuing the qualities of caring and compassion, and – understanding the sacramentality of life evidenced in daily response to others, willingness to serve, and working for social justice.

In all these areas, we work to enrich the campus environment and student culture to increase compatibility with the Saint Mary's College mission and to challenge detrimental messages of the larger culture.

Section 1:Student Affairs >>>