The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is federal legislation governing access to, amendment of, and disclosure of student education records. For a university student 18 years of age or older, FERPA provides that the education records of the student cannot be disclosed without the student's written consent. The term education records means those records directly related to a student and maintained by an educational institution. Such records, therefore, include, but are not limited to, academic, disciplinary/personal, financial and extracurricular.

In order for the university to discuss the education records of a student with that student's parent(s), or a designee, a Consent to Disclosure form must be completed online by the student via WebTools. The Consent to Disclosure will allow the parent(s), spouse, or the individual(s) a student designates, to have access to the education records the students chooses.