Following a trend among national universities, Tufts is giving students the option of deciding who gets to see their academic records. Students received information explaining the new option in a mailing this summer.
According to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), no institution of higher education may release educational records to any third party without the permission of the student. The law - which includes financial records, grades, unofficial transcripts, and disciplinary records - makes no exception for parents.
But universities across the country are beginning to make available FERPA-covered records to individuals authorized by the student. Students at these schools can sign a release form stating whom they wish to have access to their records, and which records they would like released.
Under FERPA, Tufts students were able to view academic records in the dean's office with their parents. But this summer, a mechanism was created that gives students the opportunity to grant their parents access to records without having to go through the red tape. The 'Authorization for the Release of Student Records' allows parents named on the release form to make a written inquiry to the school about their student's educational records.
The release form is slightly different than the one mailed to students over the summer. The latest version includes a list of options for students: they can pick from several records which documents to release. According to Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, by signing or not signing the form, students are not making an all-or-nothing decision. Only the specific records they authorize to be released will be made available to a third party.
In previous years, semester grades were mailed to students' homes, but neither the students nor their parents were satisfied, Reitman said. Now, Tufts has a clear policy on the release of grades - it is all up to the student to decide.
The policy prior to the creation of the release form brought students, deans, and parents together in conversations regarding information requests. "Before, the requests were responded to individually on a case-by-case basis," Reitman said.
The vulnerability to parental pressure for students to share their grades under the old system remains under the new policy. But by sending the form home during the summer, the Dean of Students Office hoped to open lines of communication between students and parents to foster discussions about the new arrangement.
The FERPA raises the question of parental rights to access students' grades. Many parents feel that because they pay for their student's tuition, they should be able to see their child's grades. According to Reitman, there is no right or wrong side of this debate: "It is not unreasonable for parents to ask to see a student's grades, and it is not unreasonable for a student to say no," he said.
If a problem arises, and a student who signed the form decides that he or she does not want the individual named to have access to the records, the student has the right to revoke the authorization. "The students have the support of the school in protecting their privacy rights," Reitman said.
"I can see how some people would want to keep information private," junior Dan King said. Campus reactions are mixed regarding the availability of the new release form. Some say the procedure is unnecessary and that students should be open about discussing grades with their parents. "Aren't we all mature enough that we're going to tell our parents what our grades are?" senior Sarah Siegel said, adding that the majority of students will speak to their parents about grades anyway.
To senior Ariana Steinberg, those who pay for the classes deserve to see the grades. "The parents are paying for school," she said. "I would assume that students would tell them their grades."
Freshman Ilsun Bek, who chose not to sign the release form, said that college students should be able to decide which information to reveal to their parents.
Although student opinion differs about the benefits of releasing information to parents, the release form gives students the opportunity to open up a dialogue with their families regarding this issue. By creating an administrative mechanism to deal with the issue, some of the pressure created by mailed grades may be relieved. Already over 500 students have signed, according to Reitman.
By making a decision about whether or not to give parents the opportunity to receive academic information, and with the elimination of mailed grade reports, students no longer have to worry about racing to the mailbox to intercept bad news. "There will be no more steaming open envelopes," Reitman said.
