C2: Access for Military Recruiters and ROTC Programs

Responsibility for Maintenance: Registration and Records

Date of most recent changes: June 17, 2024

I. Policy Statement  

Onondaga Community College shall refrain from (a) creating anti-ROTC policies or effectively preventing the operation of an ROTC program on the campus or (b) preventing the access of military recruiters to career employment facilities, services or directory information.

The College will abide by the Solomon Amendment as outlined below:

The Solomon Amendment

Under a 1997 rule adopted by the United States Department of Defense, the College must provide to the military, if requested, the student's name, address, telephone listing, date of birth, level of education, current major and degrees received.

If the student places a hold on his/her record through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), information will not be given to the military. If a student with a hold wishes to release information to the military, the student must authorize this release in writing to the Registration and Records Office. However, the student would then need to authorize, in writing to the Office of Registration and Records, each individual disclosure of any information.

Any institution of higher education that has an anti-ROTC policy or that bars or effectively prevents military recruiters from gaining entry to campus, access to students on campus or to directory information is prevented by law from receiving funds by grant or contract from certain enumerated federal agencies. This policy is designed to ensure that the College complies with this mandate as well as the New York State Education Law which grants military recruiters the ability to access campus employment facilities, services and directory information.

II. Applicability of the Policy  

This policy applies to all College personnel who may receive requests for access to campus, to students on campus or to directory information, or requests relating to ROTC programs (on the College’s campus or elsewhere).

III. Related Documents  

• 10 United States Code Section 983
• 32 Code of Federal Regulations Part 216
• New York State Education Law Section 2-a
• Onondaga Community College Policy C1: Compliance with the Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act 
• Onondaga Community College Policy F6: Vendor Agreement on Campus by Outside Group

IV. Contacts  

V. Procedures  

Campus Access for ROTC Programs. The College shall refrain from creating anti-ROTC policies or effectively preventing the operation of an ROTC program on the campus. An anti-ROTC program is a policy or practice that prevents:

• the Secretary of Defense from establishing an ROTC program;
• the efficient operation of an established ROTC program; or
• a student from enrolling in a senior ROTC unit at another institution.

Military Recruiter Access. The College shall refrain from preventing the access of military recruiters to career employment facilities, services or directory information. Military recruiters shall be provided with the same access to career employment facilities and services on campus as that afforded all other employers.

Military recruiters shall have access to student names, addresses, telephone listings, dates and places of birth, levels of education, academic majors, degrees received and the institution in which a student was last enrolled. This information must be released even if one or more items in the foregoing list are not defined as directory information by the College under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); however, this information may not be released for those students who have requested that their directory information be kept confidential under the College’s Policy C1 on Compliance with the Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act.

The College does not have to release information that it certifies it does not collect nor does it have to release information that it defines as “directory information” and that is not included in the description of items noted above.

Recruiter Access to Physical Locations on Campus

Recruiters wishing to table, or facilitate in-person recruiting, must coordinate their efforts by contacting the Director of Career and Transfer Services, or designee, and must follow the standards set forth in OCC Policy F6: Vendor Agreement on Campus by Outside Group. Unless an invited guest from a faculty member, at no point may a recruiter access a classroom, lab, or other educational space where active learning is taking place.

Approved by OCC Board of Trustees April 3, 2006

Updated and approved by the President January 28, 2010

Updated and approved by the President June 17, 2024