Parents, spouses & FERPA
By law, parents and spouses of currently (or formerly) enrolled students do NOT have the right to a student’s education record regardless of their involvement in funding the education of the student or the age of the student.
If a parent or spouse of a student contacts you making inquires regarding a student’s education record, according to federal law, you may not disclose any information regarding the student’s education record. In these types of situations the best possible course of action is to direct the parent or spouse to the student in order to gain access to the education record.
However, a student may grant access to designated individual(s) after those individuals have created an account in the Lumberjack Family Hub. After creating an account, the individual can request access to a student’s education records. The student then has the ability to approve and deny specific requested items.
Employees must always check the “Manage Service Indicator page” within LOUIE to find the RA6 service indicator that indicates the student has a FERPA Release on their account. Please see the two Service Indicators in the chart below:
RA6 | Release of Information on File | Registrar’s Office |
RA6 | Release of Information on File | FERPA data exists in CampusESP |
If both RA6 Service Indicators are present, only the Lumberjack Family Hub Service Indicator is valid. The Lumberjack Family Hub Service Indicator requires you to click on the Service Indicator link which will then take you to a page with a link to the Lumberjack Family Hub. Only after logging into the Lumberjack Family Hub and reviewing the information the student has approved for release may you discuss those approved education records.
Parents also have the option to obtain access to a student’s education record by providing the University with evidence that the student is classified as a dependent for tax purposes. Parents must submit tax records at the beginning of each calendar year since the student’s tax status may change.