PARENT RESOURCES

The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) stipulates that the right to access educational records is transferred to a student once the student turns 18, or is attending any post-secondary educational institution. Generally, the student must provide written authorization in order for parents to have access to information.

FERPA’s primary purpose is not necessary to restrict access to academic records, but to establish a uniform framework for access, review, and correction of academic records at all schools nationwide. In primary and secondary educational institutions, FERPA grants these rights to the parent, but these rights are transferred exclusively to the student once they enter college.

The records covered under FERPA are broadly defined. Educational records are directly related to a student and maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. Examples of student records entitled to FERPA privacy protection include grade reports, transcripts, and most disciplinary files. FERPA does not cover counseling or medical records, but other policies do.

FERPA allows (but does not require) a school to disclose information to a parent of a dependent student. At Case, this disclosure is limited to information needed to resolve billing issues with the Bursar’s Office, as well as some information from the Office of Financial Aid regarding a dependent student’s application for financial aid.

The University Registrar maintains Case's FERPA policy. The U.S. Department of Education maintains a website about FERPA especially for parents.

We always suggest talking with your son or daughter about their grades and their academic performance. Even though they may not always be open and up front, it's important to make the effort to talk with them about these issues. If they know they can talk to you as an adult, they’re much more likely to be open to discussion.

Case uses the QuikPAY electronic billing service. The system notifies all students via their Case e-mail account that their bill is available online. Your student can grant you access to his or her student account by creating a username and password for you. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that a parent and/or legal guardian is set up in the QuikPAY system to receive invoices.

No. Our network and computing Acceptable Use Policy prohibits members of the Case community from sharing their user ID and password with anyone, including parents.

Case does not have a blanket authorization form for the release of academic information. If your son or daughter wishes to grant you access to certain information, they should contact the department that is directly responsible for access.

No. Information about grades and academic standing is only made available to students. We suggest that you ask your child to keep you informed about his or her academic performance.

If a Case staff member learns that a student has been hurt or placed in a dangerous situation, the employee will contact the parents in accordance with Case emergency notification guidelines. The guidelines may vary for police departments and hospital staff since they generally follow their own process and procedures. This would also apply if a student is involved in an emergency off-campus.

Without a student’s consent, state laws and professional ethics policies generally prohibit the university from sharing student medical and counseling records with third parties, which includes parents. We respect the privacy of students because it encourages them to talk openly and candidly with a physician or counselor about issues or causes of concern. There is a fine line, however, and Case will notify parents if hospital staff or counselors determine that a student poses an imminent danger to self, or to an identifiable third party.