Student Consent to Release Education Records
Under FERPA, students enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions are deemed to own their educational records. These records should be treated as confidential unless prior, written, student consent has been given or disclosure falls under a permissible FERPA exception. Common FERPA exceptions include release of directory information unless explicitly prohibited by the student and disclosure to school officials with a legitimate educational interest.

The parents of a student claimed as a dependent for federal income tax purposes may be authorized to access their student’s educational records. The process by which students authorize this access is through the completion of the AdobeSign Certification of Dependency Form. Once the Certification of Dependency form is processed, the individuals denoted on the Certification of Dependency form can be viewed by faculty, staff, and administrators in multiple places, including the Howdy dashboard (Overview ->Biographic Information) and on the Compass form SOAFOLK (look for the X code with the description of Registrar Certified Dependency).

Additionally, students can provide view access to limited academic, financial, and billing information to individuals through the self-service Parent/Guardian Access portal in Howdy. Information on setting up this access is available in the Howdy portal within the Information about Parent/Guardian Access tab.

There is no form that allows a parent/guardian to act on behalf of a student and/or initiate requests for a student. Information released to individuals denoted on the Certification of Dependency form is allowable, as is the student-initiated and approved self-service Parent/Guardian Access portal in Howdy. However, both options provide information only, not the ability for the individual accessing the information to make decisions on behalf of the student themselves.

Practical Implications
If a faculty, staff, or administrator is meeting with a student and a third-party(ies), either confirmation of the third-party as an individual upon with the student is dependent (see certification of dependency information above) or completion of a written student consent is necessary prior to disclosing any student education record information. The consent form should include what specific information is allowable for release, to whom, for what purpose and should include the student’s name, signature and date. In lieu of a hard copy signed release, this information via their Texas A&M email is acceptable, as it verifies the student identity. The Texas A&M University employee should maintain the consent to release documents, following the TAMUS Records Retention Policy to document the student approval of the education record release. A sample student consent form is available for use on the Office of the Registrar website under FERPA Forms & Resources.

For additional FERPA information, be sure to review the Office of the Registrar site for FERPA and FERPA Forms & Resources. Training is available for university personnel on FERPA: Implications for Faculty, Staff & Advisors (TrainTraq #2114557). The current schedule is available within TrainTraq by searching either the course title or number. Individuals within the Office of the Registrar are available to participate in FERPA presentations and/or question and answer sessions for any department or college faculty or staff meeting. To schedule, submit a request to ferpa@tamu.edu or call (979) 845-1711.
 
If you have a topic that you are interested in being explored in a future Friday Fun with FERPA, please email ferpa@tamu.edu. Alternatively, you can submit an anonymous form with topic ideas HERE.