The Higher Education Opportunity Act (Public Law 110-315) (HEOA) was enacted on August 14, 2008, and re-authorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).  Colleges and universities are required to disclose information to students, parents, and other consumers under the HEOA and the HEA.

Non-Loan Related Disclosure Requirements:

Availability of Institutional and Financial Aid Information

The Federal Education Right to Privacy Act or FERPA protects you, the student from disclosure of private information once you reach 18 years of age or attend a post-secondary institution. Rights that formerly belonged to your parents are now transferred to you. Some of these are the right to have access to your education records, control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your records, and other similar rights. Additional information on FERPA rights can be found in several places. The links below will assist you in understanding your rights.

Pierpont Community & Technical College’s policy regarding FERPA may be found in the “Policies” Section of the Academic Catalog. Per regulations, we notify you of your FERPA rights by email at the beginning of each Academic Year. Paper copies are available upon request.

Health or Safety Emergency Information

FERPA permits non-consensual disclosure of education records, or personally identifiable, non-directory information from education records, in connection with a health or safety emergency under § 99.31(a)(10) and § 99.36 of the FERPA regulations. In particular, § 99.36(a) and (c) provide that educational agencies and institutions may disclose information from an education record “to appropriate parties in connection with an emergency if knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals” and that the exception will be “strictly construed.” Congress’ intent that the applicability of this exception be limited is reflected in the Joint Statement in Explanation of Buckley/Pell Amendment, 120 Cong. Rec. S21489 (Dec. 13, 1974). Accordingly, the Department consistently has limited the health and safety exception to a specific situation that presents imminent danger to a student, other students, or other members of the school community – or to a situation that requires the immediate need for information from education records in order to avert or diffuse serious threats to the safety or health of a student or other individuals. For example, the health or safety exception would apply to nonconsensual disclosures to appropriate persons in the case of a smallpox, anthrax or other bioterrorism attack. This exception also would apply to nonconsensual disclosures to appropriate persons in the case of another terrorist attack such as the September 11 attack. However, any release must be narrowly tailored considering the immediacy, magnitude, and specificity of information concerning the emergency. As the legislative history indicates, this exception is temporally limited to the period of the emergency and generally will not allow for a blanket release of personally identifiable information from a student’s education records.

Government Policy Guidance – FERPA
Annual FERPA Notice

Institutional and Financial Aid Contact Information to assist enrolled or prospective students in obtaining information required to be disclosed is:

Pierpont Comunity & Technical College
Office of Student Services
500 Galliher Drive
Fairmont, WV 26554
Phone: 304-367-4907
Fax: 304-367-4881
Email: StudentServices@pierpont.edu

Accreditation

The Higher Commission of the North Central Association (HLC)
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604-1411
(800) 621-7440
www.hlcommission.org

What is the Higher Learning Commission?

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an independent corporation, which was founded in 1895 as one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. The Higher Learning Commission accredits, and thereby grants membership in the Commission, to degree-granting educational institutions in the North Central region: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Pierpont Community & Technical College was recognized as an independent institution and separately and fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) in April 2008. Pierpont received reaffirmation and continued accreditation in July 2014. 

Pierpont held its most recent extensive on-site review from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) in October 2023. Upon completion of the visit, Pierpont Community and Technical College’s accreditation has been reaffirmed and the institution has received an accreditation status of ‘Accredited – On Notice.’

Contact Information:
The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (HLC)
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604

800-621-7440
info@hlcommission.org
hlcommission.org

Student Financial Assistance

Student Financial Aid Information:  Prospective and Enrolled students
Notice of Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations. This information is emailed directly to students.

Student Financial Aid Entrance Counseling and Exit Counseling Links

• Federal Work Study
• Financial Aid Terms and Conditions
• Scholarships

General Institutional Information

1. Academic Program (Educational Programs, Instructional Facilities, and Faculty)
2. Articulation Agreements
3. Consumer Information on College Navigator Website
4. Copyright Infringement Policies and Sanctions (Including Computer Use and File Sharing) Student Aid Handbook Page 38; Copyright BOG Policy 55
5. Facilities and Services Available to Students with Disabilities (Accessibility Services)
6. Information Technology (IT) Security
7. Intellectual Property Policy
8. Net Price Calculator
9. Price of Attendance
10. Professional Licensure and Certification Determinations
11. Refund Policy
12. Requirements for Withdrawal
13. Return of Title IV Financial Aid
14. Satisfactory Academic Progress
15. Special Fees
16. State CTCS Enrollment Report
17. Student Body Diversity and IPEDs Data
18. Syllabus Sample
19. Transfer of Credit Policies (Transferring into Pierpont)
20. Transfer of Credit (Transferring to another institution)
21. Textbook Information

Voter Registration

Voter Registration Forms

Health and Safety

1. How to Apply (Vaccination Policies, Application Process, etc.)
2. Alcohol and Drug Education
3. Notices of Security Report including Crime Log, Fire Safety, with Timely Warnings, Hate Crimes

A notice is sent to each enrolled student annually. Copies of the report may be obtained by contacting Vice President of Finance and Administration Dale Bradley at 304-367-4752.

Student Outcomes

1. Completion/Graduation and Transfer-out Rates (including Disaggregate Completion/Graduation rates)
2. Job Placement Rates and Placement in Employment: Not Applicable since PCTC does not calculate job placement rates.
3. National Center for Educational Statistics
4. Pass Rates (NOTE: Not all students have completed testing for 2023)
5. Pierpont Almanac FY22
6. Retention Rate
7. West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) Data/Publication Center
8. Graduation Survey Data 2022 & 2023

Loan Related Disclosure Requirements:

(L-1) State Grant Assistance
(L-2) Student Loan Information Published by Department of Education
(L-3) National Student Loan Data System
(L-4) Entrance Counseling for Student Borrowers
(L-5) Exit Counseling for Student Borrowers
(L-6) Private Education Loan
(L-7) Code of Conduct for Education Loans
(L-8) Preferred Lender Lists
(L-9) Preferred Lender Arrangements

Verification of Student Identity in Blackboard

Pierpont utilizes a single sign-on (SSO) portal for users to authenticate identity and gain access to a dashboard of resources (e.g., Blackboard). Recently, Pierpont’s Information Technology (IT) implemented multifactor authentication (MFA), adding an additional level of protection. The SSO solution provides a detailed log of a user’s activity, helping administrators monitor and detect any suspicious or unauthorized access attempts. The SSO allows administrators to control user access and permissions from a centralized location, making it easier to enforce security policies and revoke access if needed.  

Other Information

1. Annual Public Notification Course and Program Civil Rights Statement
2. Availability of Employees for Dissemination of Information
3. College Navigator
4. Constitution Day 2023
5. Current Catalog
6. Driving Directions
7. File a complaint
8. File a complaint (FORM)
9. File a complaint (PROCESS)
10. NC-SARA Complaints
11. Misrepresentation

Contact Info

Pierpont Community & Technical College
500 Galliher Dr.
Fairmont, WV 26554
304-367-4907