FERPA

FERPA Policy

A student's education record is protected by rights provided under a federal law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA protects the privacy of student education records for students who are at least 18 years old or who attend or have attended a postsecondary institution, even if they have not reached the age of 18.

At the postsecondary level, parents and other third parties have no inherent rights to inspect a student's education record. The right to inspect is solely the student's. Records may be released to parents/guardians only under the following circumstances:

• Through written consent of the student
• A court-ordered subpoena

Education record means any record (1) directly related to a student and (2) maintained by the University or a party acting for the University. There are several important categories of records that are specifically exempted from the definition of an education record:

• Records of instructional, supervisory, administrative, and certain educational personnel which are in the sole possession of the maker of the records, and are not accessible or revealed to any other individual except a substitute who performs on a temporary basis the duties of the individual who made the records,
• Records maintained by a law enforcement unit of the University that were created by that law enforcement unit for the purpose of law enforcement,
• Records relating to individuals who are employed by the University, which are made and maintained in the normal course of business, relate exclusively to individuals in their capacity as employees, and are not available for use for any other purpose,
• Records relating to a student which are: (1) created or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional, acting in his/her professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity; (2) used solely in connection with the provision of treatment to the student; and (3) not disclosed to anyone other than individuals providing such treatment.
• Records that only contain information about an individual after they are no longer a student at the University.

A student may inspect and review their education record within a maximum of 45 days after they request to do so.

For more detailed information about Drexel's FERPA policy, please view the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Policy.

Grant Access

Undergraduate students who wish to provide access to their information to family members do so via Drexel University's Family Portal. All other students can grant access via DrexelOne.

Undergraduate Students

Access to information protected by FERPA is granted via the Drexel University Family Portal. Family members must first set up an account in the portal. They can then submit a request for access by taking the following steps:

• Log in to your Drexel Family Portal account.
• Select the graduate cap icon on the homepage.
• Select the "Go to My Connections" button.
• Enter your student's University email address and then check the box to request information.

The student will receive an email advising them of the request for access and with information on approving or declining the request. Students can opt to grant full or partial access (see the breakdown of information below). If a student approves a request, access to the information will be granted in the Family Portal 24 hours later.

It is important to note that the family member must initiate this request; undergraduate students cannot grant access until a family member has made a request via the Family Portal.

FERPA Waivers submitted prior to the launch of the Drexel Family Portal (August 2020) do not automatically grant access to a student's specific information via the Drexel Family Portal. Family members must still request access once their account has been set up in the Drexel Family Portal.

Please note that previously submitted FERPA Waivers remain valid until a student changes this access. This means that a FERPA Waiver submitted prior to August 2020 still grants parents limited access to speak to University officials about their student's specific academic, registration, financial aid, and billing information.

Graduate and Professional Students

A student may grant FERPA authorization rights to an individual(s) by completing the FERPA waiver form:

• Log in to DrexelOne.
• Select the "Academics" tab.
• Choose the "FERPA Waiver" link in the "Grades, Transcripts, and Records" channel.
• Select "Add a new person for access authorization."
• Fill in the blank fields.
• Check the boxes next to categories of access you wish to grant to the authorized person you are adding.
• Select "Add New Contact" to add the FERPA authorization, or "Return to Authorizations List" to not add the FERPA authorization.

Students can opt to grant full or partial access (see the breakdown of information below).

It is important to note that completing a FERPA Waiver does not grant individuals access to a student's DrexelOne account or any other online system. Family members and other third parties named in a student's FERPA Waiver can contact Drexel University and discuss certain details of a student's information with school officials only.

Change or Restrict Access

Undergraduate Students

Drexel Family Portal

• Log in to the Drexel Family Portal by selecting the "Are you a faculty or student? Log in here" link.
• Select the "View Details" button
• On the Connection page, deselect the permissions if you no longer want your family member to have access.
• Select the "Save Changes" button.
• If you want all permissions restricted, then uncheck all of the boxes that your parent has requested and select the "Save Changes" button.

Please note that if you had previously requested FERPA through DrexelOne and not the Drexel Family Portal, please follow the directions below.

• Log in to DrexelOne.
• Select the "Academics" tab.
• Choose the "FERPA Waiver" link in the "Grades, Transcripts, and Records" channel.
• Select the person you previously granted FERPA authorization.
• Uncheck the boxes of the access categories. You may uncheck all, or only select categories to remove FERPA authorization.
• Select "Update Record" to remove the FERPA authorization(s).  

Graduate and Professional Students

Follow the above Undergraduate DrexelOne directions.

Non-Disclosure of Directory Information

Students also have the right to make all information related to their student records, including public directory information, confidential. This is done by completing a Request for Non-Disclosure of Directory Information [PDF] and submitting it to Drexel Central to make records confidential. Please note that by making this request, Drexel Central will need to take extra steps to confirm the student's identity before discussing any information on their account.

FERPA Information Categories

Students have the option to grant access as part of specific University discussions to certain types of information related to their records. Listed below are the types of information that students can grant their family members access to when working with the University as part of University-wide discussions/questions or appointments. Information for undergraduate students is also available for viewing as part of the Drexel Family Portal once formal access has been approved by the student through the portal.

• Class Schedule/Enrollment –  Student course schedule, credit hours, other status information (degree, major, and class year), and co-op-related information
• Grade(s) Information – Course grades (via an unofficial transcript), final grades, and co-op-related information
• Graduation Information – Anticipated date of graduation, expected degrees, and certificates received (coming soon!)
• Financial Aid Information – Award package and financial aid requirements (Students remain solely responsible for completing all financial aid requirements.)
• Account Balance – Current balances (Authorized user access to a student's eBill and billing account is separate from a FERPA Waiver; having a FERPA Waiver does not allow a Family Member to view a student's official bill or make payments on their behalf. Students must set up family members as authorized users separate from granting FERPA access.)
• Holds on Account – Active holds on the record.