Notification of Social Security Number Collection and Use
In compliance with Florida Statute 119.071(5), South Florida Community College issues this notification regarding the purpose of the collection and use of your Social Security Number (SSN).
SFCC collects your Social Security number for use in performance of the college’s duties and responsibilities. To protect your identity, SFCC will secure your Social Security number from unauthorized access. SFCC will never release your Social Security number to unauthorized parties, and each student at SFCC will be issued a unique student identification number. Your unique student identification number is used for all educational purposes at South Florida Community College, including registration, access to your on-line record, etc.
Federal legislation relating to the Hope Tax Credit requires that all postsecondary institutions report the Social Security number of all postsecondary students to the Internal Revenue Service. This IRS requirement makes it necessary for community colleges to collect the Social Security number of every student. A student may refuse to disclose his/her Social Security number to the college, but refusing to comply with the federal requirement may result in fines established by the IRS.
In addition to the federal reporting requirements, the public school system in Florida uses the Social Security number as a student identifier. This use is authorized in Florida Statute 229.559 and in School Code Section 1008.386. In a seamless K-20 educational system, it is beneficial for postsecondary institutions to have access to the same information for purposes of tracking and assisting students in the transition from one educational level to the next.
All Social Security numbers are protected by federal regulations and are never released to unauthorized parties.
Athletics Department
When the Athletics Department awards scholarships to prospective athletes who have not been officially admitted to the college and assigned a college ID, the scholarship award is reported using the athletes' SSNs.
Corporate and Continuing Education/Driver Education Program
Because of Florida state education reporting requirements, students who enroll in Corporate and Continuing Education and Driver Education Program classes are required to submit their SSNs. In addition, the Driver Education Program is required to provide a student's SSN to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle after completion of specific courses.
For professional development and licensing classes, SSNs are used for state licenser reporting requirements. For adult education and Workforce grant funded programs, SSNs are used as an identifier for program enrollment and completion.
Financial Aid Office
The financial aid office at SFCC requires students to submit their SSNs on various forms to correctly identify applicants, match each applicant¹s financial aid record with the student record, and to help coordinate state and federal aid programs.
Human Resources and Payroll Offices
The college's human resources and payroll offices collect SSNs for the following purposes: classification of accounts; identification and verification; credit worthiness; billing and payments; data collection, reconciliation, tracking, benefit processing and tax reporting; and for fingerprint submissions to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. SSNs also are used as a unique numeric identifier and may be used for search purposes. Providing your SSN is a condition of employment at SFCC.
Institutional Research Office
The Institutional Research Office uses SSNs for data collection and required annual state and federal reporting.
Outreach Programs
The College Reach-Out Program (CROP) collects SSNs to track students for outcome data.
South Florida Community College Foundation, Inc.
South Florida Community College Foundation, Inc. collects SSNs for the following purposes: as a unique numeric identifier and for reporting scholarship recipients to the Department of Education and the Florida Community College Foundation. SSNs also are required by certain scholarship donors in accordance with their trust or scholarship agreements.