The following is a statement clarifying the University’s position on
Student Privacy and Rights.
The Parental
Notification Policy defines exceptions for three categories of
information, which may
be disclosed
to parents
without student consent. One exception is information
in connection with
financial aid for which the
student has
applied or received.
If the
student wants to grant permission to an individual other than a
parent (including spouse,
sibling, other family
members, interested
parties) then a
FERPA
Release Form must be completed,
signed,
and submitted to the Office
of Financial Aid.
Parents of undergraduate
students frequently contact University staff requesting information
on their son or daughter. Common examples are
parent requests
for information on class grades, academic status, a pending
disciplinary matter,
a financial obligation, or a housing concern.
I am writing to clarify under what
circumstances university faculty and staff
may provide information
to parents.
What information from a
student's education records may be disclosed by Rutgers officials to
parents or other third parties
is largely governed
by a federal law
known as the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Generally, FERPA
would require that a student consent in
writing
prior to the disclosure of
information from the student's education records. Any disclosure to
a parent made pursuant to valid consent
by a student is
permissible. It is also permissible
to counsel a
student to consider involving their parents in the
education process and to contact
them for consent in response to a
parental
inquiry. There are also
various exceptions to the general rule under FERPA requiring consent
including
some that afford
colleges and universities some discretion
as to what information
may be disclosed to parents without consent.
A University committee met in
2000-01 to develop a University-wide policy on parental notification
that would be consistent
with FERPA and
would clarify what
information the University would and would not share with parents.
This Parental
Notification Policy was duly endorsed by the University Senate and
was accepted by the University President. The
Parental Notification Policy can be viewed in its entirety
and remains in
effect. Generally, Rutgers will not disclose
information
to parents of students without a student's consent. The Parental
Notification Policy defines
exceptions for three categories of
information, which may be disclosed
to parents without student consent. These are:
-
Information in connection
with financial aid for which the student has applied or received;
-
Information in connection
with a serious injury or other health or safety emergency when
deemed necessary to protect the
health or the safety
of the
student
or other individuals;
-
Information that the
University has designated as "directory information"
unless the
student has specifically requested that
directory information
be
kept confidential
Neither FERPA nor the Parental
Notification Policy applies to medical and counseling treatment
records that are maintained in the
sole possession
of medical
professionals involved in the treatment of the student. Such
records are maintained in accordance with
various other state and
federal
laws that will govern a parent's right of access.
Questions regarding the
appropriateness of releasing information from student records, about
what constitutes a student record, or
about FERPA
should be directed
to the Office of Compliance, Student Policy and Judicial Affairs at
1-732-932-9414,
cspc@rci.rutgers.edu,
or to the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, at
1-732-932-8576.
Sincerely,
Sheila Fleishman
Assistant Director of Compliance,
Student Policy and Judicial Affairs
