<p>In another forum, a parent made a comment about knowing his daughter's passwords, and checking her admissions status at the schools to which she applied without her knowing. I asked if he had her permission to check the site (it would be illegal otherwise), and was then thoroughly flamed for asking that question.</p>
<p>In recent years, I've noticed an alarming trend with parents (and coaches). They'll call and email to ask about a student's grades in a class, then get very upset when I don't tell them. Usually, I get "well I'M paying for his/her college, it's MY right to know!".</p>
<p>Just as a question, are parents aware of the US laws that govern the privacy rights of college students, specifically FERPA? I'm no lawyer, but based on my understanding, professors, admissions staff, Bursar's offices, etc. are not allowed to discuss information such as grades or admissions status or even account information to parents (or coaches) unless the student signs a form waiving his/her right to privacy.</p>
<p>Are parents aware of this? Do they just call / steal passwords in hopes to get around the law? Maybe we can expand the issue: does the law need to change?</p>
<p>Of course parents know the rules. The schools tell us, send us the forms, remind us, etc… But there are always a few parents who didn’t bother/forgot to insist that their kid sign the waiver form and submit it so they could get access to the kid’s information. The law doesn’t need to change-parents need to make sure that they are given access by their kid as a condition of attending college. More importantly however, parents need to have the kind of communication with their kids that make using this access unnecessary except in the most extreme situations. You want to treat your kid like an adult as much as possible which mean respecting their privacy-and they reciprocate by keeping you informed when there is an issue.</p>
<p>So colleges actually send out information now? That’s good. Most people just play dumb when I talk to them.</p>
<p>And do you have your students sign forms for just tuition information, or for actual grade information? I’ve never received a form from a demanding parent when I asked. I assume that if they had one, I would have received a few then had to deal with the parents questioning grading, as well.</p>
<p>The schools my d applied to were very clear about the privacy of the student. Once they re 18, they are adults, and who pays the bills doesn’t change that. Same with medical records. My daughter knows that I want and expect to know what is going on, and she usually just gives me her passwords or would unhesitantly sign a release. She trusts me and knows I don’t expect perfection and have her best interests at heart. I would hope this is a non-issue for most families.</p>
<p>I recall son got a form with a privacy waiver allowing us to see his information. He had no problem signing it, because–as he said (and I heartily agree)–we are paying for college, thus we have a right to see how he is doing. We haven’t had any reason to log into his college info (and actually have no idea how) though we can log into his college card account (which pays for books, food etc.) so we could deposit money. He shows us his grades readily, so I don’t really know what would be so private he’d need to hide it.</p>
<p>My kids signed forms at the time they enrolled allowing both their dad and myself to receive copies of academic information - grades, mid-terms, etc. As someone said earlier in this thread, it was just considered a condition of being provided with a premium college education. At my kids’ school, they receive their grades electronically, but parents get hard copy via snail mail.</p>
<p>G.P.~Logic would suggest the student knows the parent is checking these sites because the student gave the parent the passwords.
Our family does not have access to DD’s passwords-never asked for them. The only way I know DD’s grades is when I get a letter from the Dean saying she is on the Dean’s List for that quarter. One quarter (she is a sophomore now) we did not get a letter-then I knew she earned less than an A in one or more of her classes. ~APOL-a mom</p>
<p>My son didn’t sign the form but I asked him for his password so I could pay tuition on-line (which required access). He didn’t bat an eye. If I was nosey I could look at everything, but I’m not, and the kids have learned that (I’m not nosey) through the high school PowerSchool acess. They trust me…I trust them. S1 did have to go to the emergency room out at his school his freshman year. I was abit of a wreck because I knew I couldn’t call the hospital and ask questions. But then again, I don’t follow up with his physician either when he gets physicals, etc. So we, as parents, let go one thread at a time. I did require my son to use our home address for college bills, etc. so I do, also, open correspondence addressed to him that comes from the school via snail mail. Mostly it’s tuition bills and money solicitations of other types!</p>
<p>I do not recall specifically receiving any info about my kid’s right to privacy, but so much is online that maybe they did not print those forms for me.
I have my kids user names & passwords for their school email accounts, they gave them to me, they often call and ask me to check their email for info that has a time critical component when they are away from the internet.</p>
<p>I do not know how I would get their passwords if they did not give them to me though? I know my kids use hotmail/gmail/yahoo accounts for personal stuff and use the school accounts for school stuff so it is no big deal.</p>
<p>I don’t have passwords for my college son’s accounts, school, bank or otherwise. My goodness he is 20 years old! Sometimes he will call and ask me to look up something for convenience sake, I never right down the password he gives me and never remember it later.
His school has a parent account option if the student approves it. The parent account gives me access to financial information and his final transcript. It doesn’t show other information and the financial information is not detailed. I am extremely grateful for this option. I don’t need to or want to know it all. I have read on cc of parents actually using accounts to monitor what their students eat! I find that beyond the pale of privacy.</p>
<p>M’s Mom, strykermom and SJTH’s posts pretty much sum up our family’s situation. Mutual trust, respect and consideration go a long way toward constructive relationships!</p>
<p>Since I work all day at a computer and my kids are often times away from the internet, I seem to have evolved into their executive asst. I have their info saved on my Firefox, otherwise they would have to repeat it. So, yes, some are 21-25 and still call for a 30 second, “hey, can you check my email and see if Prof ABC has replied?” email check.</p>
<p>Then there is the 1AM, “Hey, I am in Pasadena, how do I get back to OC?” call, but that is a whole 'nother story!</p>
<p>I know my kid’s passwords, and he never gave them to me, nor was I looking. You just know these things.</p>
<p>What concerns me more is if parents know the rules and still try to violate them. If they were students, they would be reported to the dean of students for something like that.</p>
<p>I don’t think paying the bills authomatically gives me the right to review grades, emails, or otherwise invade my son’s privacy. (It’s another thing altogether if they want you to be their executive assistant and look at things. That isn’t invading privacy, you have been invited.) Perhaps if I didn’t know he was working hard or if he otherwise had ever given me cause to think he wasn’t taking responsibility for his own education seriously, I might feel differently here. But for now, I get what little information he is willing to share. Thank heavens for Skype. At least I can see he is alive.</p>
<p>I have (freshman) S2’s password. He gave it to me. I didn’t steal it or go behind his back.</p>
<p>I did not have it his first semester. We got very little info. from him about grades/classes and what we did get was often misleading. He did very poorly academically the first sem.<br>
We allowed him to return for Spring sem. but part of the deal was that we needed more info. about what was going on this time around. He agreed. He’s doing better this semester.</p>
<p>My kids’ colleges were quite clear on this point of privacy. Unless the student signs a waiver and/or provides passwords, the parent has no right to the info regardless of who’s paying the bill.</p>
<p>However, if a parent is paying the bills and wants some reasonable level of access, I think the student should provide it although they’re not legally bound to. Of course, the parent isn’t legally bound to pay for the school either.</p>
<p>From a practical perspective, since so many places allow for online transactions for billing notifications and payments, if the parent is paying then they likely should have access to passwords. It’s much easier this way with less of a chance of missing a bill and having to pay a late fee.</p>
<p>If some parent contacts the school or prof insisting on access to grades just because they’re paying the bills, then they’re ignoring or don’t understand the rules the college is obliged to follow.</p>
<p>I do not know my kids passwords, and to the “you just know these things” I don’t. I have 3 kids and unless they tell me their passwords, I could not guess them. We trained them not to use names, birthdates, pet names, etc. I did have son sign waiver at college and at parent orientation they explained the FERPA laws in detail. He did not have a problem signing, and he tells us what is going on with grades, professors. I never have been a “helicopter parent” and assume that being 19, he can, and needs to, learn to manage things on his own.</p>
<p>Good point!! My kids went to a variety of colleges that handled billing in different ways. At one school they sent bills twice a year for tuition, room and board, and fees – but I never realized they were billing for photocopying, phone, clinic visits, etc in a separate on-line account that they expected to be paid monthly until they sent me a paper bill at freshman years’ end with a huge late fee added. Kid hadn’t bothered to look at the on-line statements or share them with me because I had told him, “we will be paying your college bills” and he assumed I was doing so. Luckily the college waived the fees.</p>
I have their info saved on my Firefox, otherwise they would have to repeat it. So, yes, some are 21-25 and still call for a 30 second, “hey, can you check my email and see if Prof ABC has replied?” email check.</p>
Thankfully!</p>