Information for Parents About Student Records

The Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (as amended in 2008 and also known as FERPA) affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records; including provisions for inspecting, amending or disclosing records. Student鈥檚 educational records will not be released except under the guidelines as outlined in FERPA. The University鈥檚 FERPA policy and disclosure of information policy is available in the .

Parents who are concerned about their son or daughter鈥檚 academic progress or judicial issues should consult with their son or daughter FIRST. Students can provide temporary access to parents to their electronic student academic records or sign a release of information available听on the Registrar’s website听or in the Office of the University Registrar. A staff member will contact the student and work with the student and the faculty to gather and share the information with the parents. Written records will not be provided. Please note that information will only be shared if the student requests the information be shared or the parent makes a formal request for the records. The exception will be if the Office of Student Development becomes aware of an 鈥渁rticulable and significant threat;鈥 under those circumstances, the institution may notify parents or other emergency contacts without prior consent or notification. Also, the Office of Student Conduct will notify parents in writing as specified in the guidelines found in the听听section听of the Student Handbook.

For all educational record requests, the University will make reasonable attempts to obtain consent first; if not, the University must provide prior notification to students and request proof of financial dependence (parents) prior to discussing student educational records. Parents should not contact faculty members directly to gather information about academic progress; those requests should come through the Office of Student Development.

Health Services records and Counseling records are NOT educational records and require separate releases and informed consent procedures for sharing information. Those processes are available on the Health Services and the Counseling Services websites, respectively. Questions about those processes should be directed to听Health Services听at听336-278-7230听or听Counseling Services听336-278-7280.