“Why can’t I see the grades if I’m paying the bill?” That’s been a regular question—and point of contention—faced by
DePaul Central staff when speaking with parents or guardians.
Bound by the restrictions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (
FERPA), as soon as a student turns 18 or begins taking classes at a postsecondary institution, the right to certain information becomes a student’s own to protect and release—including their grades.
However, informing a parent that DePaul cannot release a student’s information due to FERPA rarely goes well. Now, DePaul has developed a solution to that regular question which will meet both parents’ and students’ needs. Delegated Access, a new online tool implemented by EMM’s Student Records in partnership with Information Services, provides a legally compliant way for students to share certain information with a person, or “proxy,” of their choosing (parent, guardian, spouse, employer, etc.).
The new tool does not change the way that frontline staff interact with proxies (student information is still protected by FERPA), but it should reduce the number of parent inquiries. For example, if a parent calls to discuss a new balance on their student’s tuition bill, DePaul staff cannot currently reply, “It’s because your student added another class to their schedule.” However, if granted delegated access to their student’s schedule, a parent can see a new class registration and have a conversation with their student instead of calling the university.
Delegated Access also provides more security for a student’s account. Historically, students might have provided their login information to one of their proxies. Since it is best practice to not share login information, Delegated Access eliminates the need to do so.
How does Delegated Access work?
After a student provides the name, email address and relationship of their selected proxy, then checks off the information to which they would like that person to have access, the proxy receives an email with instructions on how to log in and access the delegated information in the Shared Information Center in
Campus Connect.
Information that will be available to share via Delegated Access includes:
- Class Schedule
- Contact Information
- Course History (Taken, Credit, Grades)
- Emergency Contact Information
- Holds
- To-Do List
There is no limit to the number of people to whom students can grant access, and students can also revoke access at any time—the proxy will receive an email informing them that their access has been granted or changed.
Delegated Access is now available in the Campus Connect Student Center under “Share my Information.” In addition to a soft launch, incoming freshmen will learn about this tool in one of their Common Hour classes during Chicago Quarter this fall. DePaul Central staff members have been trained to let students and proxies know about this option when troubleshooting specific issues on the phone or in person.
To date, there are about 500 people to whom students have delegated access. Student Records, in conversation with other university offices, continues to explore adding to the list of what information can be delegated.
To learn more about Delegated Access, please contact
Anthony Andrade, associate director in Student Records.