FERPA for Families
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the education records of students, affording them rights of privacy and control over their educational records.
What does FERPA cover?
FERPA covers any records that a university keeps that are directly related to a student. This includes their grades, class registrations, student bill, campus housing records, disciplinary records and almost everything that contains personally identifiable information. This also includes their student status with UAF — whether or not they are even currently a UAF student is protected by FERPA.
What does FERPA mean for the family members of Nanooks?
UAF is not able to disclose any personally identifiable information about a student without the student’s express written permission in the form of a FERPA Release. This means that if you contact the university, UAF staff will check to see if your student has listed you by name in their FERPA Release before sharing any more information with you. Common questions that require a FERPA Release:
- “How much does my student owe?”
- “What grade did my student receive?”
- “Can my student’s transcripts be sent to another organization?”
- “My student is living on campus. What is their new mailing address?”
To receive FERPA-protected information about your student, your student must complete the FERPA Release. This online form will require them to attach a copy or photo of their government-issued photo ID, and they'll be asked to specify which kinds of information to make available and who is authorized to receive that information. Students can list more than one release on the form, or they can submit the form multiple times to release information to multiple people.
Frequently Asked Questions
FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Students have rights regarding their education records, including the right to:
- Inspect and review their education records
- Have some control over who that information is shared with
- Seek to amend incorrect information.
When a student turns 18 or starts attending classes at UAF (even if they're under 18) the rights related to education records transfer from parents or guardians to the student.
A FERPA Release Form is completed by the student to release or cancel permission for specific people, often parents or guardians, to access the student’s education records. This explicit, written consent is required before information can be released. Although a student can release permission for the university to discuss the selected items, it does not require the university to do so. It also does not allow anyone to conduct business or pick up official documents (i.e. transcript, diploma) on behalf of the student.
These permissions can be changed by submitting a FERPA Release Form at any time. FERPA Release Forms can be completed online.
Your student.
Using a FERPA Release Form, students can release or cancel permissions for access to their education records. It's a good idea to discuss FERPA with your student and come to an agreement on how you can remain involved in their academic life and continue to support their success.
FERPA allows the university to release information to designated parties. However, it does not require that the university release that requested information. University officials may choose to withhold information if they believe that it is in the student’s best interest.
When completing a FERPA Release Form, your student can release or cancel permission regarding several types of information. This information may include:
- Accounting — Includes tuition and fee balances, financial holds, mailing and billing addresses, payment plans, accounting statements, collections information and debt information.
- Admission — Includes dates of applications, programs selected, documents received, documents pending, dates of admission, admission status and conditions of admission.
- Registration — Includes current enrollment, dates of enrollment activity, enrollment status, residency status, semesters attended and mailing address information.
- Academic — Includes courses taken, grades received, GPA, academic progress, honors designation, transfer credit awarded and degree(s) awarded.
- Financial Aid — Includes all general financial aid information. (Information derived from a student’s FAFSA application cannot be disclosed to anyone other than the student.)
Directory information is information in an education record that, if shared, would not be considered an invasion of privacy or harmful. At UAF, directory information may include:
- Names of students
- Dates of attendance at the university
- Program/major field(s) of study
- Degrees and certificates received including dates
- Participation in officially recognized university activities
- Academic and co-curricular awards, honors, and scholarships received and dates received
- Weight and height of students on athletic teams
- Students’ email addresses
- Hometown, city and state
If directed by subpoena or court order, the university must comply and release the requested information. In the case of an emergency, the university may need to share information contained in a student’s education record to ensure the health and safety of that student or other individuals. Information may be released without student consent to the following entities:
- School officials with legitimate educational interests
- Other schools to which a student is transferring
- Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes
- Appropriate parties for connecting the student with financial aid
- Accrediting organizations
- Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school
As a family member, supporting your student’s academic success in college may look different than it did when they were in high school. Final grades, exam results and progress reports are some examples of confidential information included in a student’s education record. A student must complete a FERPA Release Form permitting you to receive this type of information.
Your student may choose not to release this information to you, and UAF is obligated to follow their decision. We recommend having open, honest and frequent communication with your student about their academic progress and ways that you, as their family and supporters, can help them be successful — both academically and as an independent adult.
Even if your student releases information to you, actions such as registering for classes or requesting transcripts must be done by the student. FERPA does not give individuals the ability to do business on behalf of another.
In a crisis or emergency situation, non-directory information may be released if the university determines it's necessary to protect the health and safety of the student or other individuals.
The university will not initiate contact with parents or guardians in most situations.
The Office of the Registrar, which is located on the first floor of Signers’ Hall and at uaf-registrar@alaska.edu.
Additional information is available at the UAF Office of the Registrar FERPA Information website.
Contact the Office of the Bursar for more information on setting up authorized users in ePay.
A student may place a directory information hold on their record for privacy. A student’s directory information will not be shared or made public while this hold is on the student’s account, except to school officials or as otherwise allowed by FERPA. A directory information hold can be done through the student’s UAOnline account. Learn more about directory holds.
