About the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)

As a parent, you are understandably concerned about your college student's success, and may have questions about obtaining access to information pertaining to their records. Access to student records is governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA).

Among its several purposes, FERPA was enacted to:

• Protect the privacy of students' educational records;
• Establish the rights of students to inspect and review their educational records; and,
• Provide students with an opportunity to allow inaccurate or misleading information in their educational records to be corrected.

According to FERPA, these rights, which may be exercised by the parents of elementary or secondary school students, belong to the student once he/she is in attendance at an institution of postsecondary education, regardless of the student's age or who is paying their tuition bills.

To Obtain Access to Your Son/Daughter's Grades in Compliance with FERPA:

You, the parent(s), may also make a request in writing, and provide evidence that the student is your dependent under the Internal Revenue Code. You will need to provide a copy of your latest federal income tax return. It is only necessary to send a copy of the information sufficient enough to determine dependency, omitting other confidential information, if you choose.

Before the Institute decides whether to provide the information, your son/daughter will be informed of your request, which should be sent to:

Office of the Registrar, JB 256
NYU Tandon School of Engineering
6 Metro Tech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11201

To Obtain Other Information from Your Son/Daughter's Education Records:

Ask him/her to provide a signed Waiver of FERPA Rights to the Registrar’s Office or person from which you wish to obtain information. This permission should be specific as to whom permission is being given, what information may be shared, and with whom (by name) it may be shared. The student will need to show his/her photo ID when submitting written permission.