Mount St. Mary's University complies with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, and any regulation promulgated thereunder. A copy of the Mount St. Mary's University institutional compliance statement is located in the Registrar's Office and will be made available upon request.
FERPA affords students certain rights with respect to their educational records. They are:
Students and others who wish to have specific information regarding their rights of access to institutional educational records maintained in their name should contact the Office of the Registrar at 301-447-5215.
Mount St. Mary's University may disclose any information deemed as Directory Information without prior consent unless notified in writing to the contrary. Mount St. Mary's University has designated the following information as Directory Information:
Students wishing to prevent disclosure of any aspects of the directory information must file a "Request to Prevent Disclosure of Directory Information" form. Please consider very carefully the consequences of any decision to withhold a category of directory information. Should you instruct the institution not to release any or all of this "Directory Information", any future requests for such information from non-institutional persons or organizations will be refused. This includes potential employers who want verification of your degree(s). Regardless of the effect upon you, the institution assumes no liability for honoring your instructions that such information be withheld.
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What does FERPA mean for parents of college students?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment) was designed to protect the privacy of educational records and to establish the rights of students to inspect and review their educational records. It also provides control over the release of educational record information.
Mount St. Mary’s University complies with the provisions of FERPA, as amended, and any regulation promulgated thereunder. A copy of the Mount St. Mary’s University institutional compliance statement is in the Office of the Registrar and will be made available upon request.
Any questions regarding this information can be directed by email to registrar@msmary.edu, by telephone to 301-447-5215 or by mail to:
Office of the Registrar
16300 Old Emmitsburg Road
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Generally speaking, FERPA rules mean that student academic information will be given to the student and not the parent. College students are considered responsible adults who may determine who will receive information about them. College representatives are prohibited from discussing information about the student’s academic record with parents.
When a student turns 18 years of age or attends a postsecondary institution, the student, and only the student, may access, seek to amend, and consent to disclosures of his or her educational records. This means that all academic information regarding your college student goes directly to the student unless they have given permission to release that information to someone else via the Account Access and FERPA Permissions form in MyMount.
Unless your son/daughter has explicitly stated otherwise, you, and anyone else who inquires, have access at any time, to student directory information. At Mount St. Mary’s University, directory information includes the student’s name, address, telephone number, dates of attendance, previous institutions attended, major fields of study, enrollment status, awards, honors, degree(s) conferred (including dates), and the date and place of birth. All other academic information requires written consent from the student.
Because FERPA legislation prevents parents from finding out student grades and academic standing directly from the school, the best way to find out how your student is doing is to ask them. The sharing of student academic information with parents becomes a family issue rather than an institutional issue. It is a decision that families should discuss and make together. Perhaps one of the benefits of the FERPA rule is that it provides an additional opportunity for parents to communicate with their college students about their expectations and the student’s responsibilities.
If your son/daughter chooses to grant you access to their academic records, they may do so by completing the Account Access and FERPA Permissions form in MyMount. This form must be completed by the student; a parent may not complete it for the student. Please note that this form is different from the Financial Responsibility form that is required by the Accounting and Finance Office of all students.
If a student grants you permission via the Account Access and FERPA Permissions form, you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in to MyMount. On the Parent/Guardian tab in MyMount you will have instant access to the student’s academic and/or financial information depending on the permissions you’ve been granted.
The easiest way for the University to communicate with parents and students about FERPA-protected information is for the student to complete the Account Access and FERPA Permissions form. This makes it easier to verify whom we are speaking with, and there is a document trail housed in the student record, that we can trace back should the need arise. However, if your student has granted you access via the Account Access and FERPA Permissions form, and you are experiencing circumstances where a discussion is warranted and urgent, we can discuss FERPA-protected information via telephone. Upon calling to discuss this protected information, you will be asked several questions to verify your identity. Failure to answer these challenge questions correctly will mean we cannot discuss any protected information over the telephone with you.
There are some individuals who will have access to your student’s records for professional reasons. School officials with legitimate educational interest may have access to records, as well as officials from another school where the student intends to enroll or state or local educational authorities for the purposes of auditing or evaluating an educational program or federal law related to the program.
There is a health and safety exception to FERPA regulations. If a student is considered a threat to himself or to others, or there is a need to protect the health and safety of the student for some reason, information may be shared with parents. A school may also disclose to parents any violation of the use or possession of drugs or alcohol by students under twenty-one. An important note here is that the law allows, but does not require, such information to be released to parents.
It is easy to feel frustrated by FERPA regulations. Parents often feel that they need, or should have, access to student information. As college parents, we need to remember that college students are working toward increased independence and responsibility. Allowing them to determine who receives their academic information is a part of that growing independence. Some students handle this responsibility wisely and some may struggle with it. As with many aspects of the college experience, increased communication between parents and students will make the experience go smoothly for everyone.