FERPA for Students

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, is a federal law that protects your education records, such as personal information, grades, enrollment records and class schedules. You have specific rights as an enrolled student regarding the release of these records and FERPA requires that institutions adhere strictly to these guidelines. These rights include:

  • The right to see the information the institution is keeping on you
  • The right to seek an amendment to your record and, in certain cases, append a statement to the record
  • The right to consent to the disclosure of your records
  • The right to file a complaint with the FERPA office in Washington D.C.

Special Exceptions

Generally, schools must have written permission from the student to release information from his or her educational records. However, FERPA allows schools to release certain information without the student's consent to these following parties:

  • School officials with a legitimate educational interest
  • Other schools to which a student is transferring
  • Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes
  • Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student
  • Accrediting organizations
  • Compliance with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena
  • Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies
  • State and local authorities within a juvenile justice system pursuant to specific state law

Your FERPA Restrictions and Releases

View these documents and videos to learn more about FERPA restrictions and Third Party Releases.

FERPA and Parent Center Information

View these documents and videos to learn how the Parent/Family Center allows you to share access to view your academic and financial information. This site allows your parents or other designated family members to see only what you allow them to see.

IMPORTANT! Access to Parent/Family Center does not give the University permission to discuss your academic information with your parents. Allowing parents to view your academic information on UAConnect is not the same as giving permission through FERPA. Parent Center access lets your parents view your information but will not allow the Office of the Registrar to speak with them about that information. Only permission granted through the FERPA 3rd Party Release located on your Student Center will allow this.