One of my favorite sayings is, “Your opinion, while interesting, is irrelevant.” In the software development world, it’s meant to help us focus on business priorities. Everyone has an opinion of what the software should do, but the only opinion that really matters is what the customer needs it to do.

I think colleges and universities should take the same approach with FERPA. On every campus, there are many opinions of what FERPA means and how to regulate it. Few campuses ask the very audience it was made for: Students.

Students want support from their families.

The common narrative is that parents force their way into their student’s educational records. I don’t believe it. Based on what we see from over 10 million families using CampusESP, it’s as much a student decision as it is a parent decision.

We know that because CampusESP includes an electronic FERPA waiver that simplifies the process of requesting and granting access to student data. Parents can request access to a dozen student academic and financial records – which students choose to approve, reject or ignore. Alternatively, students can initiate the FERPA waiver and grant their parent access to the records of their choice.

The data shows that: 

• Nearly all students approve parent requests for their records. Only 5% of parent FERPA requests are rejected by students.

• Students proactively grant access, even before parents request it. 40% of FERPA waivers in CampusESP are initiated by the student, not the parent. 

This data comes from over 150,000 students that completed FERPA waivers at more than 50 colleges and universities using CampusESP for FERPA Management. Simply put, most students want their parents involved in their educational journey.

Protect student privacy.

Many of our customers find that if you don’t create an easy path for appropriate parent involvement, parents will forge a path of their own. Our research shows that 61% of parents have their students’ college ID and password – and that only represents the parents that admit to it! 

Given that most colleges use Single Sign-On technology, access to one student password means access to them all.

What do parents want with their student’s login information? Based on survey data from over 8,000 college parents, four of the top five parent requests are for FERPA-protected information.

Stereotypes of the over-involved parent often focus on parents hovering over their student’s grades, but our research suggests that parents often request financial aid and billing information even more.

Student debt is a family matter.

Why do parents care most about student financial aid? That’s because parents are entangled in this country’s $1.75 trillion student debt crisis. As the average student borrower now spends 20 years paying off loans, parents want to help their students make smart financial decisions.

And student debt is falling on parents, too. Parent PLUS loan debt grew 42% between 2007-2018, with the average family owing $29,324 in Parent PLUS loan debt. For many families, their student’s college education is the single largest investment they’ll make in their lives. 

We hear from parents using CampusESP that they find it critical to access and advise their student’s financial decisions. These decisions can impact their credit score, retirement and financial future. It goes beyond their college journey.

What should colleges and universities do?

I find that FERPA is the single most polarizing question that comes up during a CampusESP demo. Every college wants their students to be independent, successful and happy…. And for some reason, many folks believe these goals are in conflict with family involvement. But have you asked your college students what they want?

After all, students are not only your customer when it comes to learning and outcomes, they are also the ones FERPA is trying to protect:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

We know that FERPA management can be a monster for colleges and universities: Validating requests, answering parent questions, and shuffling paper takes time and resources. CampusESP can help with that.

With digital FERPA waivers, a dashboard of student data, and alerts to parents when records change, CampusESP helps you modernize FERPA while maintaining compliance.

Plus, putting records in the hands of parents reduces calls to the Registrar’s office – one university reported a 93% decrease in paper forms processed each month, resulting in 38 full workdays of staff time saved!

It’s time to put the spotlight back on the original intent of FERPA: A student’s right to own the treatment of their academic and financial data.

Ready to modernize your FERPA process?