Full Sail
Family Educational Rights & Privacy: A Guide for Parents
Understanding how your child’s educational information is protected under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA).
As your child starts the college admittance process and subsequently begins taking classes, you may have questions about their grades and performance, and how to get access to this information. But even as your child’s legal guardian, their educational information once they enter higher education is private and it is their right to choose whom they share it with.
Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), parents are given certain rights with respect to their children's education records. However, these rights transfer to the student when they reach the age of 18 or attend a school beyond the high school level.
We recently spoke with Full Sail Enrollment Project Manager Morgan Litzas to gain a better understanding of your child’s rights protected under FERPA and the resources available for parents.
According to Morgan, administrators’ hands are tied when it comes to sharing student’s information, saying, “A lot of the time while we're going through that financial aid process in the beginning, the students aren't enrolled yet. So [a guardian] can call in and speak on behalf of the student, they can ask about their financial aid package, their classes, all those types of things. But once the student reaches their start date, if Mom or Dad calls in from that point on, we're not allowed to talk to them without explicit permission from the student, via a FERPA release form.”
A FERPA release form – a required document in Full Sail’s Enrollment Agreement – allows your child to add individuals with whom they are comfortable having their educational information and records shared. “They can add as many people as they wish. So if they want their whole family on there, that's totally fine. If somebody else is going to help [financially] or they only want it shared with someone that's helping, they can always make edits to it.”
Students can make edits to their FERPA release at any time after their start date by contacting financial aid.
Have questions about the enrollment process? Contact admissions today.
Whether you’re ready to apply or just want to learn more about Full Sail University, our Admissions Representatives are here to help. Call us or request more information.
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