Parents’ Guide to the Family Educational Rights

Link to download a copy of the Department of Education’s “Parents’ Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: Rights Regarding Children’s Education Records: Parent's Guide to FERPA

Campus Information

The Office of the Registrar is aware that parents may have questions about their students' experience while attending the University of Colorado Boulder. Many answers to these questions are available in the Students section. However, keep in mind that the information is directed toward students. For contact information regarding the Office of the Registrar, see the Office of the Registrar Contact List.

Topics of interest
- Residency and Tuition Classification -to determine if the student should get in-state tuition.
- College Opportunity Fund (COF) - state voucher program for in-state undergraduate students
- Student Privacy and Parental Access to Information.
- Academic Calendars
- Course Registration

FERPA

The Office of the Registrar must follow FERPA guidelines (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act), which limits the information that parents can access without consent of their student. Be aware when a student reaches the age of 18 or begins attending a post secondary institution regardless of age, FERPA rights transfer to the student. FERPA is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, and to provide guidelines for the protection of inaccurate and misleading data through informal and formal hearings.

Parents may obtain non-directory information (grades, GPA, etc.) in one of the following ways:

Student Permission Form - This is the required method. This form allows student to give approval for access to specific educational records to a parent(s), spouse, other family member(s), or any third party of their choosing. It must be turned in by the student with a photo ID to a Registration assistant in Regent 105.
Parental Affidavit of Dependency - This method is only necessary if #1 isn't available. This form must be completed and notarized and accompanied by pages one and two of the most recent federal tax form and a letter of request for transcripts or other specified educational records. The affidavit must have original signatures. All three documents can be sent to Office of the Registrar, 20 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0020.