Consent for Access (FERPA)

Consent for Access (FERPA)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted in 1974. See the FERPA Regulations that implement that Act.

The primary purpose of FERPA is to protect the privacy of student information, and this protection is achieved by controlling access to and disclosure of student’s “education records,” as that term is defined in FERPA.

Students can provide two types of access to an individual: Guest Access and Special Circumstances. If an individual has Guest Access, it does not give them Special Circumstances. If an individual has Special Circumstances, it does not provide them with Guest Access. The two types of access are entirely different.

Students may grant view-only access to a specified parent and/or guest using the UNC Charlotte Guest Access Portal located securely within Banner Self-Service.

Guest Access

Students can grant view-only access to a specified parent and/or guest using the UNC Charlotte Guest Access Portal located securely within Banner Self-Service.

More information about that service is available by clicking here.

Determine If.

  • You determine if you want to grant view access to your education records.
  • You should not feel pressured to grant access to anyone.
  • If you decide to grant access, your guest will have view-only access and cannot update your records or accept any financial aid awards on your behalf.

Decide Whom.

  • You decide who may view your information and what pieces of information each guest may view.
  • You decide what each guest can view by creating a separate and unique login per guest.
  • You can update or change access at any time.

Dictate What.

  • You dictate what information your guests can view and how long they have access by creating guest access accounts and assigning access to specific information.
  • Options include student account information, class registration status, class schedule, holds, mid-term & final grades, transcripts, and financial aid.

Special Circumstances FERPA Consent Form

For situations not covered by the Guest Access, a FERPA Consent Form is required. This form should be used when a student is granting permission to an individual to speak with an Academic Advisor or when an individual is invited to an advising appointment.

The FERPA Consent Form should be downloaded, completed, and saved before sending it to Niner Central or an Academic Advisor.

Completing the Consent Form

  1. Download and save the Consent Form.
  2. Complete the form and save it.
  3. Send the completed form to the student’s academic advisor and Niner Central (email: ninercentral-reg@charlotte.edu).

Note: The form must be downloaded, completed, and saved before emailing the form.

University College Policy

Appointments

  • Students must complete the consent form before the appointment a guest will be present.
  • If the form is not completed before the appointment, the appointment will be rescheduled.
  • This applies to in-person and virtual appointments.

Written/Verbal Communication

  • Students must complete the consent form before any form of communication with another individual.

Important Note: Guests cannot attend in-person or virtual advising appointments without a completed consent form on file.