Division of Student Affairs > Resources > Parents & Family > Family Connection News > 2019-2020 News > ferpa

Things to know about FERPA

During orientation, there is a lot of information to take note of and process. It's easy to miss a few things here and there. At the beginning of each new academic year, parents and families usually have a lot of questions about how to receive information about their student in order to pay bills and more generally support them.Here, you will find some basic information about working with your student to make sure you are getting the proper information.

FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, which is a Federal law protecting the privacy of students education records. This law applies to every school receiving funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

So, what exactly is included in a student’s education record? Acceding to FERPA’s website, education records are “(1) directly related to a student; and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution, or by a party acting for the agency or institution.” Essentially, student education records include their grades, course schedule, financial aid history, student account statement and practically any record maintained by DePaul that personally identifies a student.

You won’t have direct access to your student’s education record, but you can get the information by having your student grant permission to receive the information you need. They can also simply share that information with you. DePaul strongly encourages students to communicate directly with their parents and/or family members concerning their academic progress and other important issues.

It is the student’s responsibility to set and maintain their FERPA release preferences in Campus Connect, and they can give DePaul permission to share education record information with you there.

If you and your student have not talked about this already, make sure to ask them to add you.

Students can obtain a “FERPA release” from most offices at DePaul, which they can sign to allow the school to share information from their education record. School officials are permitted by FERPA’s “health and safety exception” to disclose information from a student’s education record to the appropriate parties without consent if the university reasonably determines such disclosure is necessary to the safety and well-being of a student or other individuals.

DePaul also strongly recommends that students list their parent(s) or guardian(s) as their emergency contact in Campus Connect.

Lastly, the Student Care Team at DePaul meets to consider the needs of students of concern who have a wide range of behavioral, psychological, physical, social, or academic needs. DePaul engages families along with other supportive resources to ensure students get the help they need if a student comes to our attention whose behavior falls within certain areas (health, safety, alcohol, controlled substances).  

Learn more about FERPA here, contact DePaul Central via email​ or call 312-362-8610.​

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