Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

One of the primary differences between high school and college that students will become almost immediately aware of, is that all the college level, students' education records become private. These records are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). To learn more, please visit the registrar's webpage on FERPA.

Students may be accustomed to having their parents ‘do things on their behalf’ such as fill out paperwork, request schedule changes, or meet with faculty or staff. While your parents may still be a big part of your life and your academic future, as a college student, you are now 'in the driver's seat and your parent is the passenger.' This means that if there are forms to complete online or if you want to make changes to your course schedule, you, as the student, need to complete these forms or contact your advisor or program counselor.

FERPA and the Parent Proxy Form:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records. This means that schools generally must have written permission from students for parents to inspect or review academic records or for faculty and administrators to discuss a student’s progress with parents.

Through Self Serve (SSB), students may grant authorization to individuals, such as family members or guardians, to access certain information online or to speak with specific departments regarding matters such as financial aid or student accounts. An authorized individual is referred to as a “Proxy”. Students will have the option of sharing information such as student account invoices, tax information, payment options, financial aid award and summary information, unofficial transcripts, class schedules, and contact information with their designated Proxy(s). If students would like to learn more about the process of designating a proxy they can view the Proxy instructions for students information on the Parent Proxy webpage.