Student References

As faculty or staff members, you work closely with students and get to know their abilities, skills, and character. As a result, when students are asked for letters of recommendation or to provide names of references, they will naturally seek you out to assist in this manner. You can write a reference or recommendation letter or give a verbal reference based upon your personal observation and knowledge of the student without a FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) release. However, the letter or verbal reference may not contain any information found in the student's educational record, e.g. grades, attendance records, number of hours completed, GPA, discipline records, etc.

The following types of statements would be allowed under FERPA:

"I have found ___________ to be an excellent student. The quality of her writing is exceptional, and she demonstrates insight and strong critical thinking skills during class discussion and in her approach to her academic work"

"__________ has demonstrated to me that she is dependable, conscientious and punctual. This is evidenced by her attendance patterns, her classroom behavior, and the interaction she has with me in the classroom."

Other general statements that could be made and not violate FERPA:

"________ was in the top third of the class"

"_______ exhibited the soft skills necessary for employment"

The following types of statements would NOT be allowed under FERPA:

"I have found __________ to be an excellent student. She earned a grade of "A" in my class, has a cumulative GPA of 3.7, and has successfully completed 90 percent of the courses she has attempted."

"___________ has demonstrated to me that she is dependable, conscientious and punctual. This is evidenced by the fact she has only missed two of my classes this semester and has never had a single incident of academic dishonesty or student discipline during her time at NICC."

Other general statements that should NOT be made:

"___________ only attended 3 of 14 classes"

"__________ has an outstanding balance with the College"

The trouble lies with using a release form for the purpose of giving references--don't do it. If you have any of these release forms in your offices, please destroy them.

Your FERPA resource people are Karla Winter, Registrar and FERPA Officer, and Kelly McMahon, Executive Director for Risk Management. Please contact them if you have other questions.