Office of Academic Records and Registrar
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  • FERPA for Parents

FERPA for Parents

Overview

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) governs the sharing and release of student education records (including to parents).

Access to Student Records

At the postsecondary level, parents have no inherent rights to access or inspect their child’s education records. This right is limited solely to the student.

However, many students do wish to share this information with their parents or other family members, so USC provides an easy way for students to grant permission for relatives to view education records, such as registered courses, the list of books required for courses, final grades, restrictions on the student’s account, and reports of progress toward degree completion.

To grant their relatives access, students should follow the instructions on the OASIS for Guests page.

Please note that OASIS for Guests does not hold disciplinary or medical records. Direct all questions regarding disciplinary records to the Office of Community Expectations. For medical records, contact the USC Student Health Office.

Crisis Situations and Emergencies

If non-directory information is needed to resolve a crisis or emergency situation, an education institution may release that information if the institution determines that the information is “necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other individuals.” Factors considered in making this assessment are:

  • The severity of the threat to the health or safety of those involved;
  • The need for the information;
  • The time required to deal with the emergency; and
  • The ability of the parties to whom the information is to be given to deal with the emergency.

Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions or wish to email us, we invite you to askUSC. The askUSC portal will help you find answers to our most commonly asked questions — and even some you may not have thought about.

General questions may also be directed to any of the following offices, as appropriate:

USC Student Life
The Office of Academic Integrity
Office of Academic Records and Registrar

To contact a specific member of staff, please refer to our Contact Us page.